The effects of an expanded Language Experience Approach (LEA) on language processing skills were explored through experiments conducted with kindergartners. Results suggest that an LEA expanded to include systematic instruction in subskill areas (sound/symbol relationships, visual and auditory discrimination, use of context clues) will be more…

Noting that a gap exists between desired and actual literacy levels in the United States, this paper argues that the issue of literacy should be addressed holistically. Proposing that the communication skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated and support each other, the paper reviews research indicating the…

When follow-through kindergarten and first-grade pupils in four school systems across the United States were encouraged to pick their own key vocabulary words as recommended by the Sylvia Ashton-Warner method and to apply the words to the language experience method of learning reading, the lists the children requested differed significantly from…

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using oral story making experiences to improve the oral language proficiencies and "sense of story" of fourth grade remedial reading students through select literary experiences. These experiences included exposing the students to literature in read-aloud exercises, and using wordless…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with the following topics: the acquisition of bilingualism by infants and young children; psycholinguistic abilities of American Indian children; effects of creative dramatics on oral language abilities and self…