Asserting that language enrichment programs are often weakened by the assumption that standard English is necessary for the development of abstract thought, the author discusses problems of educational planning and policy with regard to low-income youth and specifies four areas in which further research must be carried out. (FWB)

Discusses current research in child language to help teachers understand how young children acquire language skills. (DR)

A "Learning" magazine editor recommends five books for teachers: (1) "Hunger of Memory" (Richard Rodriguez); (2) "Cushla and Her Books" (Dorothy Butler); (3) "Uncivil Liberties" (Calvin Trillin); (4) "Selected Letters of James Thurber"; and (5) "The Selected Letters of Mark Twain." A…

Nine first-grade, nine second-grade, and eight third-grade children of migrant farm workers provided the data for a descriptive study of writing development in a bilingual program. (FL)

Describes a study designed to test if, when children describe actions, they consider the role an entity plays in an action, independent of the animateness of the entity. Results indicate that young children have relational intentions which are independent of animateness. (EKN)

Examines children's acquisition of language meaning through their use of homophony, riddles, and other word play. Discusses ways to encourage the study of meaning, using classroom techniques such as finding metaphorical relations among words and phrases, learning word origins, or studying naming strategies of other cultures. (HTH)

Showed that in a task requiring judgments about the concept of "more" based on the relative numerosity of sets, three- to four-year-old children may base their judgments on such parameters as the extent to which the sets are homogeneous with respect to the color of their components. (Author/DB)

Presents data supporting the belief that reading stories to children is particularly beneficial and explains that hearing stories read aloud familiarizes children with the language of books and with the characteristic narrative structures they will meet in school. (JL)

Illustrates how children constantly solve communication puzzles in the course of language acquisition and offers suggestions for teachers and parents to assist children in their understanding of language. (HTH)

In a small experiment, normal and educationally subnormal primary children had no difficulty making negative referential descriptions in natural contexts, when their attention was drawn to the context by the experimenter. Awareness of context related to mental maturity, and there was a developmental trend in descriptive forms. (Author/SJL)

Studies the simultaneous language development in American Sign Language and spoken English by a hearing girl. Findings show: (1) a mixture of oral and manual babbling, (2) a code-switching ability across modalities, and (3) a single syntactic system incorporating rules from both languages but with two separate lexicons. (Author/PJM)

Focusing on the question, "Can chimpanzees produce new sentences or merely sequences?" Terrace describes his efforts to teach the chimpanzee Nim to communicate through sign language. From his results, and the Gardners' experiments with Washoe, he concludes that no proof yet exists that chimpanzees can use language as humans do. (SJL)

Replies to McLaughlin's (l978) critique of the Krashen (1975, 1977) Monitor Model of language learning, presenting rebuttals to major attacks, followed by a discussion of minor issues. (AM)

Results of a 10-item oral language test presented only orally, orally with pictures, and orally with concrete aids replicate earlier research findings showing that bilingual children manipulate language more easily than unilinguals. Unilinguals' errors were due to incomplete development while bilinguals' were caused by that and first-language…

Contrasts what is taught by child language theorists and the traditional speech communication educators and suggests a new curricula which will better prepare children as competent communicators. Outlines needs and methods of disseminating new information so that it will be incorporated into the language arts curricula. (JMF)