Purpose: Children with Down syndrome often have poor speech intelligibility, which can mask expressive language competence; this, in turn, can lead to serious misconceptions about overall competence and intellectual abilities. Although aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) can be used to bridge these gaps, children with Down…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, lecturers wore masks which covered facial cues. In two studies, we examined students' ability to comprehend both factually and inferentially presented information when the speaker's facial cues were or were not available and when delivered with or without expressive prosody. While comprehension was not affected by the…

The present study continues research that takes non-serious language more seriously (Cekaite and Aronsson 2005) by focusing on a central second language (L2) Metaphoric Competence factor, Metaphor Language Play (MLP). For willing learners, MLP offers a diversity of benefits (Bushnell 2009; Bell 2012a) despite being one of the most challenging…

The development of language skills is critical to the academic success and overall well-being of children. Research shows that late talking, defined as delayed expressive language development in toddlers, negatively impacts future language and literacy skills. The early identification of children at risk of late talking can significantly improve…

Background/purpose: Language is essential for communication and thought, enabling learners to convey ideas and emotions through structured speech supported by gestures, expressions, and intonation. Oral expression, a key educational skill, involves intellectual, linguistic, and physiological processes shaped by cultural and linguistic factors.…

Purpose: This longitudinal study investigated the impact of different academic programs of primary language instruction (Spanish or English) on the dual language development of Spanish--English bilingual children. Types of academic settings offered to bilingual students as well as differing views and outcomes based on language of instruction are…