Discusses the use of structured exercises and the media to develop both selective and global listening skills in second language students. (AM)

Reports on two experiments, one performed on infants, the other on adults, designed to examine the issue of categorical perception of speech contrasts in infants in relation to linguistic processing and the innateness theory of speech perception. (AM)

A teaching strategy is outlined for coping with the phonological variability inherent in the nature of an ever-changing language. The basis for the strategy is an understanding of sound change in language and of the language level (as opposed to dialect level) goal of the student. (Author/RM)

Two experiments involving 30 young adults with normal hearing examined how speaking mode (clear vs. conversational) and presentation mode (auditory vs. auditory-visual) influence the perception of words within nonsense sentences. Results indicate clear speech was easier to understand than conversational speech and auditory-visual presentations…

This article reviews research studies on the efficacy of cochlear implants for children's auditory communication skills, including speech perception, speech production, and language. It offers suggestions for building auditory skill development in children with cochlear implants. Four classic levels of auditory skill development (awareness,…

A modification of the observer-based psychoacoustic procedure was used to estimate the detectability of auditory signals by infants. Data from infants up to 3.5 months of age revealed improvement in performance as a function of increasing signal intensity and age. (BC)

Three supplementary tactual displays were investigated for improving speech reception through the Tadoma method of speechreading: articulatory-based display of tongue contact with the hard palate, multichannel display of the short-term speech spectrum, and tactual reception of Cued Speech. For vowel and consonant stimulus pairs, discriminability…

The study found that primary grade children with reading impairments (n=24) or learning disabilities (n=8) demonstrated a marked deficit in ability to discriminate patterned pairs of tones on the Seashore Rhythm Test compared to controls (n=26). Results suggest use of the test to detect young children with potential reading problems. (Author/DB)

Extends dynamic attending theory to developmental questions concerning tempo and time hierarchies. Compares performance of 4- to 10-year-olds, and adults on dynamic attending activities. Suggests that growth trends could be expressed in terms of listeners' engagement of slower attending oscillators with age and musical experience, accompanied by…

This study examined the cross-ethnic predictive validity of Ga (auditory processing) and Gc (crystallized intelligence) for reading achievement among low-SES English-speaking White and Hispanic students. Results indicated that there were no differences between ethnic groups in the prediction of reading ability, and that phonetic coding and…

Over half the world's population speaks a tone language, yet infant speech perception research has typically focused on consonants and vowels. Very young infants can discriminate a wide range of native and nonnative consonants and vowels, and then in a process of "perceptual reorganization" over the 1st year, discrimination of most…

Previous research has suggested that children with specific language impairments (SLI) have deficits in basic speech perception abilities, and this may be an underlying source of their linguistic deficits. These findings have come from studies in which perception of synthetic versions of meaningless syllables was typically examined in tasks with…

In this study, 12 participants with various levels of motor and speech deficits were tested to explore their reading skills in relation to letter knowledge, speech level, auditory discrimination, phonological awareness, language skills, digit span, and nonverbal IQ. Two subgroups, based on a median split of reading performance, are described: the…

Research findings are reviewed concerning infants' abilities to discriminate parents from other social stimuli during the first 6 months of life. The term "discrimination" is used to signify the ability of infants to respond differentially to two or more social stimuli. Studies reviewed are categorized in terms of the visual, auditory,…

A hierarchy of listening skills composed of environmental skills, discrimination skills, and comprehension skills can be used by teachers to develop an effective language arts program that includes an awareness of the stages of auditory perception. (JH)