THIS 7-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE SKILLS OF 338 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, SCHOOL CHILDREN UTILIZES A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF BOTH THE SEMANTIC AND STRUCTURAL ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE. A SPECIFIC METHOD OF LANGUAGE ANALYSIS HAS BEEN SHAPED. THE "SEGMENTATION" METHOD OF ANALYSIS USES SEVERAL TYPES OF SENTENCE SEGMENTS. A…

ELEVEN ENGLISH-SPANISH BILINGUAL COLLEGE STUDENTS PARTICIPATED IN A WORD-ASSOCIATION STUDY. EACH SUBJECT WAS PRESENTED 35 STIMULI IN EACH OF FOUR CONDITIONS--PRINTED ENGLISH WORDS FOR ENGLISH RESPONSES, PICTURES FOR ENGLISH RESPONSES, PRINTED SPANISH WORDS FOR SPANISH RESPONSES, AND PICTURES FOR SPANISH RESPONSES. THE SPANISH-PRINTED WORDS WERE…

This research focused on the initial stage of language development of a hearing child who was acquiring simultaneously both spoken English and American Sign Language (ASL). The report covers the first phase of the longitudinal research on the child's linguistic development, focusing on early word meanings. The data were collected from the time…

The state of the art of research in second language acquisition is reviewed. A framework is first established for the examination of second language learning. The concept of proficiency is addressed with respect to its theoretical basis, rating scales, formal tests, and interlanguage studies. The social context of second language acquisition is…

A project is described that was undertaken to investigate: (1) how long a cloze test has to be to achieve optimum reliability without wasting anyone's time; and (2) how cloze tests should be scored in order to obtain maximum reliability. The literature recommended 50 deletions in order to provide for an adequate sample of examinee's abilities; it…

A structural analysis according to narrative rules and common content elements was made of stories on an identical theme in three different foreign language texts. The purpose of the analysis was to highlight some of the elements by which an educational institution influences its students through the world view it espouses. The three texts chosen…

The premise of this paper is that English orthography has formed a system that represents more than phonetic values, but also represents semantic, etymological, and preferential values. The paper notes that English is a fairly regular and complex system in which both sound and meaning share leading roles in determining spelling. Studies are…

This volume discusses some of the language-related factors involved in bilingual education. The first paper surveys the major results and current research topics in the field of syntax, with an emphasis on how they might be of relevance to bilingual education. The first part of the article gives an overview on the nature of the field of syntax,…

This volume brings to light: (1) studies on the effects of different ways of acquiring and teaching a second language; (2) psychological studies on lexical organization in the bilingual brain; (3) neurological research including more than 100 case studies of polyglot aphasics; and (4) original experimental research on language lateralization in…

A decline exists in children's ability at ages 4 and 5 to accurately respond to the difference between polar adjectives such as "big" and "tall.""Taller" and "bigger" are both taken to mean "having a higher top point," rather than "bigger" meaning "greater overall mass." Two hypotheses are put forth to explain this. The "strong cognitive…

In response to the growing awareness of the impact of sexist language in society, many writers and educators have begun to use either noncontrived "inclusive" pronouns ("he or she,""s/he," or "he/she") or contrived inclusive pronouns ("tey") in place of the traditional "exclusive" pronouns (male referents only). A study was undertaken to discover…

Seventy-two children, 18 from each of grades three, six, nine, and twelve, participated in a study of developmental changes in children's knowledge about the morphological structures underlying the spoken form of complex derived words. Three oral language tests were used to show when and how children learn that derived words are not unanalyzable…

This report is one of a regular series about the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. The 11 papers discuss the dissociation of spectral and temporal cues to the voicing distinction in initial stopped consonants; perceptual integration and selective attention in…

As Labov points out (1971), language is a social phenomenon, and therefore must be studied in its social context; sex based language differences, being part of language, must be studied in the same way. Specifically, sex based language differences can be studied by modifying the sociolinguists' notion of speech community and speech continuum, and…

A discussion of the functions of human communication shows that underlying them is the cognitive process by which people have the ability to take the view of others, to internally represent reality, and to take into account knowledge and experience to choose future actions. These features of decentration and abstraction reveal the link between…