Responds to criticism of a method for analyzing genuine and simulated suicide notes. Claims that the critique is based on an inflexible and unnecessarily limited model of scientific psychology as a purely theory-driven enterprise. Discusses problems associated with such a limited view and addresses methodological and logical criticisms. (RJM)

Word processing presents a new, creative environment that demands a radically different approach to second-language writing. Originating, revising, and formatting are important new literacy skills that students need to make effective use of the medium. (six references) (Author/CB)

Describes how parents can be most effective in teaching their children to value the written language as communication and enjoy reading. Parents are encouraged to keep reading meaningful and make it fun, optimize the child's environment, and maximize success to develop the child's self-concept as a reader. (SM)

A diagnostic teaching approach for determining the appropriate reading medium (print or braille) of children with visual impairments is presented. Two checklists are offered for recording observations useful in making decisions during two phases (selection of the medium for beginning instruction and ongoing evaluation of the initial decision). Two…

A teacher of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing describes how attempting to understand Malay students' cultural oral orientation helped her to understand their writing processes and needs and to incorporate such aspects into the ESL writing program. (12 references) (CB)

Investigation of the development of metalinguistic consciousness examines bilingual children's perceptions of language contact in a situation of marked social imbalance between their first and second languages. The exploratory investigation focused on how school-age bilinguals view written forms in Spanish and Nahuatl. Forty-five Spanish/Nahuatl…

Observes and analyzes Japanese senior high school students' errors due to language transfer. The study focuses on written language, is based on classroom research, and provides possible ways of explaining second-language acquisition. (Author/VWL)

Explores the effect of age of the intended addressee on the written performance of Japanese university students. Twenty-six female students each wrote letters to three people they knew from a recent study abroad program: one significantly older than themselves, one significantly younger, and one approximately the same age. Analysis of the…

Describes a recent longitudinal case study of the concordancing strategies used by two nonnative English-speaking postgraduate students at Monash University, Australia. In the study, a computer-assisted technique was used to correct English expression in sections of the students' written texts; these texts were then used in the corpus for the…

Explores the prediction of the referential theory, which maintains that the relative complexity of discourse representations plays a key role in determining the perceiver's immediate parsing preferences. Results indicate that semantic/referential principles are applied immediately in an online ambiguity resolution and preempt general world…

Examines the background factors that may be related to the French proficiency development of candidates applying for the foreign and second language teaching option at the University of Ottawa. Candidates have to pass tests of oral and written French, and this study sought to determine what makes a candidate successful on the test. (Author/VWL)

Examines language in the workplace, specifically the construction industry in Hong Kong. Provides detailed information on language use in a professional context at the time of Hong Kong's return to China and shows that written communication is mainly in English, while spoken language is predominately Cantonese. (Author/VWL)

French-speaking hearing and deaf children, ranging in age from 6-14 years were required to spell words including phoneme-to-grapheme correspondences that were either statistically dominant or nondominant. Of interest was whether the nature of linguistic and the precocity of such experience determines accuracy in the use of phoneme-to-grapheme…

A case study is described that examines the experience of a seventh-grader with learning disabilities in written expression and his use of word prediction and speech feedback software during journal writing. Results indicate instruction and instructional feedback play a critical role in student success, regardless of the availability of…

Four approaches to the investigation of connections between language by hand and language by eye are described and illustrated with studies from a decade-long research program. The four approaches support a model in which language by hand and language by eye are separate systems that interact in predictable ways. (Contains references.) (CR)