This article explores the configuration of a university foreign language lab given the dramatic changes in the last decade with regard to digital recording technology and the web as a basis for social networking. Resources and procedures are described for completing class assignments, making content available, carrying out assessment, including…

The architecture of the language processing system for speakers of more than one language remains an intriguing topic of research. A common finding is that speakers of multiple languages are slower at responding to language stimuli in their non-native language (L2) than monolingual speakers. This may simply reflect participants' unfamiliarity with…

This paper describes a single-subject study of vocabulary acquisition. The subject, an L1 English speaker, was required to learn 300 vocabulary items in Arabic at a rate of 15 new words a day over a period of 20 days. The learning period was followed by immediate and delayed tests of receptive and productive knowledge of target items. The…

Little research has been conducted on the development of suprasegmental characteristics of vocalizations in typically developing infants (TDI) and the role of audition in the development of these characteristics. The purpose of the present study was to examine the longitudinal development of fundamental frequency (F[subscript 0]) in eight TDI and…

The study reported in this paper is an investigation of the nature of speaking proficiency in English as a second language in the context of a larger project to develop a rating scale for a new international test of English for Academic Purposes, TOEFL iBT (Brown et al. 2005). We report on a large-scale study of the relationship between detailed…

Sixty-five children with specific reading disability (SRD), 25 children with specific language impairment (SLI), and 37 age-matched controls were tested for their frequency discrimination, rapid auditory processing, vowel discrimination, and consonant-vowel discrimination. Subgroups of children with SRD or SLI produced abnormal frequency…

Interaction research that has investigated the relationship between language production and second language (L2) development has largely focused on learners' immediate responses to interactional feedback. However, other speech production processes might help account for the beneficial relationship between interaction and L2 development. The…

What causes dyslexia, and how does it manifest across languages? As bilingualism becomes increasingly important globally, these questions have never been more critical--and this comprehensive volume from The Dyslexia Foundation explores them in unprecedented depth. Bringing together the best brain-based, genetics, and behavioral research in the…

This study was an ethnographic case study that investigated oral and written language learning in a first grade classroom in Kenya. The languages used in this classroom were Swahili and English only. Kamba the mother tongue of the majority of the children, was banned in the entire school. In this classroom there were 89 children with two teachers,…

Many studies using Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical platform have emphasized the importance of knowing students' motivational orientations in education, and stated that autonomy-supportive or controlling learning climates are significant to determine students' motivational resources, academic achievement, and classroom engagement.…

Children's literature is a primary source for introducing young children to new words at home and at school, and children's early vocabulary knowledge is a key component of oral language, which is essential for comprehension. This column is focused on children from low socioeconomic backgrounds who frequently find themselves in a vocabulary…

This paper reports the results of an experimental phonetic study examining pitch peak alignment in production and perception of three-syllable one-word sentences with phonetic rising-falling pitch movement by speakers of Russian. The first part of the study (Experiment 1) utilizes 22 one-word three-syllable utterances read by five female speakers…

Twelve parents of young deaf children were recorded sharing books with their deaf child--six from families using British Sign Language (BSL) and six from families using spoken English. Although all families were engaged in sharing books with their deaf child and concerned to promote literacy development, they approached the task differently and…

The particular forms of relative clauses (RCs) in Mandarin Chinese lead to particular cognitive, semantic, pragmatic, and discourse constraints on speakers and writers. In this study, analyses of oral and written Mandarin Chinese narratives demonstrate that SS structures (subject head noun phrase [NP] modified by a subject RC) are produced more…

A considerable body of evidence obtained from studies of children who are deaf and who use cochlear implants has been useful in guiding practices that lead to higher levels of English language proficiency and age-appropriate literacy. Both (a) research conducted at implant centers and (b) educational programs with significant numbers of children…