Instead of being completely arbitrary, the meaning of many idioms is "motivated" by their original, literal usage. In an FLT context, this offers the possibility of presenting idioms in ways that promote insightful learning rather than "blind" memorization. Associating an idiom with its etymology has been shown to enhance retention. This effect…

To enhance the effectiveness of therapy for Spanish-speaking individuals and families requires an understanding of the subtleties of language use and interpretive processing. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the interpretive process in bilingual psychotherapists as they reflected upon their lived experiences of providing…

Recent research on Chinese orthography is reviewed in a discussion of the relationship between orthographic symbols and reading processes. Specifically, these issues are addressed with relation to research findings: the difficulty of learning Chinese logographs, particularly with regard to learning disabilities and biliteracy; whether reading in…

This study investigated the word recognition processes of readers of Chinese as a native language (L1) and as a second language (L2), focusing on the effects of two factors, word familiarity and word structure difficulty (complexity of orthographic symbol), on reading accuracy and response time. Subjects were in three groups: (1) 14 adult native…

The debate over whether primates can be taught visual language is examined, and evidence of use of nonverbal language in primate studies is compared with the language criteria of a number of linguistic researchers. Background information on language, visual language (including sign language), and the parameters of the studies is offered, including…

A study expanded on earlier research into "envisionment," defined as "a personal text-world embodying all the reader understands, assumes, or imagines up to that point in the reading," in learners of English as a second language (ESL). Five Mexican engineering students performed think-aloud protocols while reading a short…

The use of verbal report procedures as a research tool for gaining insight into the language learning process is discussed. Specifically, having second language students complete think-aloud protocols when they take cloze tests can provide useful information about what is being measured and how it has been learned. Use of such introspective…

A study of second language acquisition focuses on the transition from formulaic to creative speech patterns. Subjects were two native Japanese-speaking children, aged 4 and 8, learning English as a Second Language in New York, observed over a period of 2 years. The nature of formulaic speech is discussed, drawing from research on such speech and…

A variety of informal language development assessment tools is presented for use with children with developmental disabilities. This book is written as a manual for clinicians and researchers for evaluating children who cannot meet the cognitive, perceptual, or motor requirements of standardized tests and to help evaluate aspects of language not…

One of a series of semiannual reports, this publication contains 18 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instrumentation for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles and their authors are as follows: "Phonology and Beginning Reading Revisited (Isabelle Y. Liberman); "The Role of…

A study investigated second language learners' cognitive and affective responses to one authentic and three edited texts. Forty-nine college students at four levels of language learning read the same Spanish authentic passage and an edited passage written for their course level. After silent reading, they performed think-aloud tasks in their…

The work of connectionist researchers is examined in order to understand better the implications for modeling second language learning processes. Connectionism is a biologically-oriented framework for understanding complex behavior, and provides a modeling tool (computer simulation) that behaves and learns without rules being explicitly wired into…

As increasingly younger children exhibit spiraling social behavior problems, researchers are focusing on the role of family dynamics in these problems. For this study, investigators explored the relationship between problem-solving skills and verbal comprehension in children from distressed families. Twenty-nine children, ages 4 to 8, completed…

A study investigated the interaction of cognitive, cultural, and linguistic factors in second-language concept formation in adults. Specifically, it examined how seven college students in a lower-division intensive Spanish class developed new gender concepts when learning a second language. Course instruction focused on concept construction at…

Traditionally, the study of language patterns has been viewed primarily in terms of rules of grammar and discourse and of vocabulary choice. Researchers are now exploring the nature of collocations, or patterns of word sequence or co-occurrence in discourse. Most of the attention has been focused on colorful collocations, not on more ordinary…