Provides several types of prereading activities that combine into one strategy stressing vocabulary, oral language development, and prediction. (FL)

Discusses the changes in foreign language instructional strategies regarding error avoidance and correction that have emerged from the emphasis on communicative competence. Considering this trend away from audiolingualism and consistent oral accuracy, urges teachers to reevaluate procedures for conducting class activities and correcting students'…

In a three-year cumulative study, more than 1,000 children were observed either in randomly arranged preschool classrooms or in classrooms deliberately arranged to promote learning. Creativity, oral language use, and development of science and number concepts were significantly higher for children in the specially planned classrooms. (Author/SJL)

Among the techniques used by successful teacher-writers such as Herbert Kohl, Phillip Lopate, and James Herndon in teaching writing are the use of extensive speaking activities, the accommodation of different writing habits, the admission that writing is difficult, and the use of varied media. (ET)

Discusses research on language development and the conditions that facilitate and inhibit language learning; discusses the basal reader approach to language development and proposes spontaneous talk as an alternative format for teacher/student interaction and language development. (HOD)

Describes some of the difficulties involved in conducting language evaluation tests in Edinburgh, Scotland. Reports some results of a pilot study. (RL)

Children learn language by using it in the habitual and repetitive actions of daily life. The question "How do children extend their spoken language competence to writing?" is explored through examples of stories dictated by seven-year-olds. (JN)

Argues that while much research on spoken Arabic uses Classical Arabic as the standard for measuring variation, the assumption leads to fundamental and persistent misunderstanding of the true situation. More careful examination of empirical data reveals that variation and change in spoken Arabic involves interplay between local varieties and…

Ongoing longitudinal study followed 110 students in western Canada from kindergarten through grade 7. In grades K-2, oral language skills were related to gender and problem behavior but not to age or school attendance. Seventh-grade achievement was related to early oral language skills and early problem behavior but not to age at school entry.…

Addresses the notion of "interaction" within performance-based language assessment, arguing that a broader professional view of performance in second-language achievement assessment is needed to permit a focus on the social dimension of interaction. The article focuses on the assessment of spoken language through interviews and role-plays within…

This study tested a theory of null subject pronoun variation, based on a model of discourse connectedness, on the oral and written Spanish narratives of northern California Mexican-descent pre-adolescents. Results indicate the children with greatest depth of ties to the United States are less likely to use overt pronouns than children born in…

Analyzed the spoken and written language of Caribbean college students who consider themselves to be native speakers of English. Discusses the students' linguistic self-perception as well as the morphosyntactic and discourse features that emerge when they write in standard English. The study suggests that anglophone Caribbean students should be…

Investigates the reintroduction of referents in the "Frog Stories" told by Italian children, aged 4-10 (n=100). The study confirms that elementary school children are more competent than preschoolers in integrating the semantic content of the current utterance into the context generated by previous discourse.(Author/JL)

Using common technologies listed in the conversation class, the article suggests a computer-aided language learning (CALL) speaking methodology that is interaction rather than machine centered and outlines ways to ensure the success of speaking activities at the computer. (31 references) (Author/CK)

Evaluates the principle of laryngeal-supralaryngeal cyclicity by manipulating the domain cycle and phase relationship of the cycle as independent variables and by monitoring longitudinally the order of emergent phonemic distinctions in the sound systems of seven children with phonological delays as the dependent variable. Findings are discussed.…