A phoneme confusion matrix consisting of 1,620 spontaneous speech errors was analyzed. It is shown that there is no tendency for linguistically unmarked consonants to replace marked consonants and that sound segment errors almost always involve the movement of unitary segments and not the movement of component distinctive features. (SW)

Error patterns identified in cloze tests for independent, instructional, and frustration reading levels could be useful in diagnostic work and placing of students in appropriate reading levels. (Editor)

Investigates the development of reading and spelling skills in French. Finds that, in first graders, the role of phonological mediation was confirmed and that a complexity effect for spelling but not reading was observed. Discusses findings in light of U. Frith's, J. Morton's, and P. Seymour's models. (PA)

Describes the design of the International Corpus of Learner English, outlining the learner and task variables in the corpus of texts written by English-as-a-Foreign-Language university undergraduates. The design of the corpus and sampling of students with different native languages make contrastive interlanguage analyses and error analyses…

Discusses three experiments conducted to examine the effects of three types of elaboration--marked paraphrase, unmarked paraphrase, and unnecessary detail--on the listening comprehension of nonnative speakers. Findings indicate that the quality of elaboration has implications for listening comprehension in both the classroom and the workplace. (36…

Discusses how computer-assisted language learning programs can generate error messages to help students in different ways. The article points out that an easier solution is to program a computer to recognize several different kinds of generic errors not related to any particular question but applicable to many situations, in order to generate…

Examines young children's ability to use simple morphological relations among words as a source of information about the words' spelling. Found that children used morphological relations among words only to a small extent. Suggests that although phonology plays an important role in early spelling, young children can also use other sources of…

A study examined the ability of 10 two-year-olds to produce minimal pairs of novel trisyllabic words with primary stress on the first or second syllables. The syllables contained dissimilar or similar vowel contrasts to determine if segments affected omission. Omission was more frequent for the first syllable of weak-strong-weak word pairs.…

Spontaneous speech samples were collected from four three-year olds with surgically repaired cleft palates. Analyses showed that subjects were similar to one another with respect to their phonetic inventories but differed considerably in the frequency and types of phonological processes used. (Author/JDD)

Analysis of spelling errors of 45 primary-school children needing reading and writing improvement found that a considerable proportion of errors involved both syllabic reduction and feature changes similar to those seen in normal speech development. A model is presented to account for the phonological simplifications seen in both speech and…

Describes how a computerized text analysis program can help students discover error patterns in their writing, and notes how students' responses to analyses can reduce errors and improve their writing. (MM)

Investigation of the acquisition of Tamil verb inflections in three two-year-old children revealed a high percentage of usage of verb inflections indicating tense, aspect, modality, person, number, and gender. Explanations for this early, almost error-free language acquisition are explored in terms of the facilitating properties of agglutinating…

Reports on an evaluation of the Bangalore/Madras Communicational Teaching Project (CTP), a content-based approach to language learning. Analysis of 21 lesson transcripts revealed a greater incidence of error treatment of content than linguistic error, consonant with the CTP focus on meaning rather than form. (26 references) (Author/CB)

Suggests that error analysis can be manageable for teachers and instructive for basic writers. Explains five critical principles of error analysis in basic writing: understand students' intentions; set consistent priorities; analyze for clarification of intentions; encourage students to set their own goals; and help students objectify their…

Examination of English as a second language students' (N=59) preference for and views on feedback on written work revealed three categories of students: receptors (46 percent); semi-resistor (41 percent); and resistors (13 percent). Students' progression from English learners to apprentices in their chosen discipline increased their restrictions…