Builds on a study on modified output to examine the impact of learner proficiency in learner-learner interaction, particularly on opportunities for modified output through interactional moves. Data were collected from leaners of Japanese using two different types of tasks. Results showed that mixed-level dyads provided more interactional moves…

Examines the availability and utility of implicit negative feedback provided in task-based conversations between pre-academic, intermediate-level English-as-a- Second-Language (ESL) learners and native-speaker (NS) interlocutors. The tasks being used were the information gap tasks in which nonnative speakers (NNS) gave directions to the NS…

Discusses program implementation as a task-oriented process. Highlights details to consider for effective program delivery and offers suggestions for dealing with unexpected circumstances that may arise throughout the course of a program. Includes a program implementation checklist to be used as a practical planning tool when thinking through the…

Tests two accounts of the role of gesture in speaking. Specifically, the study seeks to establish whether gesture is involved in the conceptual planning of messages, or whether it is involved only in the generation of the surface forms of utterances. To accomplish this goal, two tasks were developed that elicit comparable utterances but make…

Presents the results of an empirical study of the interpretation of left branch "combien" (how many) extractions in English-French interlanguage. Results show that knowledge of the interpretation of left-branch "combien" extraction is detectable in English-French interlanguage. (Author/VWL)

Presents the research findings of an empirical study conducted in Finnish governmental organizations on task complexity and information-seeking activities in real-life work tasks. Focuses on the relationship between information types and source use, and the effects of task complexity on that relationship. (Author/LRW)

Investigated the development of syntactic awareness in Cantonese-speaking children. Fifty-six subjects from four age groups were asked to judge the grammaticality of 40 sentences and to correct the grammatically-deviant sentences. There was a significant age effect on subject's performance in both judgment and revision tasks. (Author/VWL)

Examines project teams and performance-centered design and electronic performance support systems. Topics include performance improvement; technology development; skills; subject expertise; organizational communication; the role-skill paradox; task analysis; and interpersonal communication. (LRW)

A multiple probe across subjects design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of embedded instruction with three students with developmental disabilities who were enrolled in general education classrooms. Two general education teachers delivered embedded instruction to students during regularly schedule instructional activities. The skills taught…

Background: Semantic and inferencing abilities have not been fully examined in children with communication difficulties. Aims: To investigate the inferential and semantic abilities of children with communication difficulties using newly designed tasks. Methods & Procedures: Children with different types of communication disorder were compared with…

Eight- to 12-month-olds might make A-not-B errors, knowing the object is in B but searching at A because of ancillary (attention, inhibitory, or motor memory) deficits, or they might genuinely believe the object is in A (conceptual deficit). This study examined how diligently infants searched for a hidden object they never found. An object was…

In this paper we discuss an experiment that was carried out with a prototype, designed in conformity with the concept of parallelism and the Parallel Instruction theory (the PI theory). We designed this prototype with five different interfaces, and ran an empirical study in which 18 participants completed an abstract task. The five basic designs…

In this article, the author explains the key differences among three kinds of instructionally relevant tests that can have a huge impact on what goes on in classrooms: "instructionally insensitive tests," "instructionally sensitive tests," and "instructionally informative tests." If educators understand the advantages and limitations of these…

Purpose: Vietnamese children's performance on language-based processing tasks of fast-mapping (FM) word-learning and dynamic assessment (DA) word- and rule-learning tasks were investigated. Method: Twenty-one first- and second-generation Vietnamese preschool children participated in this study. All children were enrolled in 2 Head Start programs…

The study investigated theory of mind and central coherence abilities in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS) using naturalistic tasks. Twenty adults with HFA/AS correctly answered significantly fewer theory of mind questions than 20 controls on a forced-choice response task. On a narrative task, there were no…