Describes the development of an instrument that identifies what children who are just beginning first grade reading instruction know about the written language code and relates this knowledge to beginning reading achievement. (HOD)

Surveys the distribution of "a" and "an" in both oral and written English. Journal availability: see FL 512 512. (AM)

Reports on a study investigating the occurrence of spelling errors in the French dictations of French-speaking Ontarians. The frequency of errors was compared to that of French speakers from Quebec. Results indicate that spelling interference from English is present for French-speaking Ontarians in far greater degree than from French speakers from…

Explores the interrelationships between linguistic awareness and language awareness (LA) with regard to second-language teaching and learning in Canada. The article argues that findings from research studies on linguistic awareness can inform practices in LA. Results call for explanations grounded cognitively, socially, and culturally. (22…

Presents an account of a study of the role played by a dictionary in the completion of written (encoding) tasks by students of English as a foreign language. The study uses an introspective methodology based on the completion of flowcharts. Results indicate the importance of information on spelling and meanings and the neglect of coded syntactic…

Investigated the relationship between Chinese character recognition and production by second-language learners. Subjects were 47 first-year Chinese language students in the United States. (15 references) (Author/CK)

Compares the information content in descriptions made by sixth grade students based on messages of text and picture, written and verbal, or written language alone. The semantic framework analyzes the importance of words and ideas in text and relationships between them. Found the written language to be more open to interpretation than verbal and…

At the first Conference on Navajo Orthography held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1969, participants agreed upon a uniform orthography for Navajo developed by William Morgan and Robert Young and recommended development of a Navajo adult literacy program. Participants included representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Tribal Council…

Studies of the written language of students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing addressed, among other topics, level of reading skills, development of language skills after age 12, and evidence of a critical age for language learning. Data collection methods, research outcomes, and an overview of other articles in the theme issue are discussed. (CR)

The compositions of 49 students (ages 10-14) with deafness or hearing impairments and 49 typical students were compared to investigate the frequency and proportional distribution of written-language variables. Differences were found between the strategies chosen by the students with deafness or hearing impairments in both syntax and semantics and…

A study of 943 personal narratives of students with deafness evaluated the effectiveness of the Six-Trait Analytical Scale in assessing student's writing. The scale was found to be reliable and valid in evaluating written narratives of students with and without hearing losses and is recommended as a valuable diagnostic instrument and instructional…

Examined whether letter names, which bridge the gap between oral and written language among English speaking children, have a similar function in Hebrew. In findings from studies of Israeli kindergartners and first graders, children were found to rely on letter names in performing a number of letter saying, spelling, and word recognition tasks.…

Examines writing in Lithuanian, a language that has received little scholarly attention in the West and particularly the variety of Lithuanian used by the Lithuanian immigrant community in the United States. Examines articles from both Lithuanian and American Lithuanian newspapers to see how the written American variety differs from native norms…

Discusses the style repertoire in the context of Hindi literature, the functions of code mixing varieties in Hindi literary works, and the implications for sociolinguistics of such investigations from linguistic and stylistic perspectives. Hindi poetry from the last three decades is examined to determine the effects of language mixing involving…

Describes a study showing how the classical Chinese world view finds its way into Chinese students' written compositions. English teachers must help students progress from writing based on reasoning and rhetoric indigenous to their own culture, to writing in line with the thought and rhetoric patterns of the English-speaking context. (CB)