Formulaic sequences are fixed combinations of words that have a range of functions and uses in speech production and communication, and seem to be cognitively stored and retrieved by speakers as if they were single words. They can facilitate fluency in speech by making pauses shorter and less frequent, and allowing longer runs of speech between…

This study examined word-finding ability, measured by accuracy and latency of response, in a group of eight preschool stutterers (mean age 4.2 years) and two groups of eight nonstutterers (mean age 4.4 years) matched according to age, gender, race, and receptive vocabulary. Results indicated that, as a group, preschool children who stutter and…

The pronunciation and use of /s/ in the isleno dialect of Spanish, a dying language spoken in a small ethnic enclave in southeast Louisiana, is examined. Today, there are fewer than 20 fluent speakers of isleno Spanish, which has been described as a fossilized derivative of the speech of Canary Island peasants with additions from Spanish sailors.…

The few remaining fluent speakers of the isleno dialect of Spanish vary their casual pronunciation of /s/ in a manner consistent with, but not identical to, other Caribbean Spanish dialects. The behavior of /s/ in the speech of nonfluent islenos parallels that of fluent speakers, differing only in the higher degree of aspiration and deletion. This…

Describes techniques for achieving emotional involvement and, therefore, better results on the part of his students in an intermediate level Russian conversation course. (Text is in Russian.) (DH)

This report is part of a general study of Reference Measures for Cognitive and Noncognitive Factors. The specific activity that is being reported is the development of "factor-referenced" tests or "marker" tests for several cognitive factors related to divergent production (i.e., ability to produce a variety of words, phrases,…

Is there a Vietnamese child in your classroom? How are you and he adjusting? The author, a former teacher at the Delat Normal School in Vietnam and now a graduate assistant at Southern Illinois University, gives some background material on the Vietnamese child to help you understand these children in your classroom. (Editor/RK)

Investigated the influence of Ukrainian-English bilingualism on first and third grade children's awareness of the arbitrary nature of word-referent relationships and on their ability to analyze linguistic input. (JMB)

Describes efforts of post-graduate student teachers of the Department of Education, University College Cardiff to equip non-English speaking children with sufficient knowledge of that language to be able to follow the school curriculum. Available from: Speech and Drama, Elizabeth Gradwell, Distribution Manager, The White Cottage, Allington,…

The article describes development in Illinois of the Department of Rehabilitation Services Sign Language Assessment Tool. The instrument is designed to evaluate the level of receptive and expressive sign language proficiency of rehabilitation personnel serving the deaf. (DB)

A method is described of deriving two alternative measures of divergent thinking ability as a single entity (avoiding the spurious effects of fluency) from student responses to open-ended questions traditionally used in tests of divergent thinking ability. (PN)

American education fails to prepare students for the world in which we live by not stressing fluency in foreign languages. Asiatic languages are becoming increasingly important. (Author/AF)