This book is relevant for language testers, listening researchers, and oral proficiency teachers, in that it explores four broad themes related to the assessment of L2 listening ability: the use of authentic, real-world spoken texts; the effects of different speech varieties of listening inputs; the use of audio-visual texts; and assessing…

A forward-gating procedure employing familiar monosyllabic words was used in auditory testing of age- and gender-matched elementary students with and without learning disabilities. Results indicate auditory closure skills were comparable between disabled and nondisabled subjects, but sensory discrimination problems may contribute significantly to…

To determine whether deficits warranting intervention are present in the later functioning of high-risk infants, 22 premature infants who experienced asphyxia or chronic lung disease (CLD) but who had no gross developmental abnormalities were evaluated. Assessments of auditory perception and receptive language ability were made during later…

Evaluates the discrimination of signal and silence duration in six-month-old infants, children aged 5 1/2 years, and adults. Results show that infants discriminated duration changes of 20 milliseconds or greater, children discriminated 15 milliseconds, and adults as few as 10 ms. Findings are consistent with other research in revealing age-related…

Reports on three experiments that investigated why young children's perceptions of bimodal speech are less influenced by the visual component of speech than adults' perceptions are. Results argue in favor of the explanation that children are poorer lipreaders than adults. (HOD)

Describes observer-based technique for assessing auditory capacities of infants from three to 12 months of age. This technique, referred to as the Observation-based Psychoacoustic Procedure (OPP), combines features of the Forced-choice Preferential Looking Technique and of the Visual Reinforcement Audiometry. Pure-tone detection and frequency…

Describes three experiments that examined the processing of speech by dyslexic readers. Compares their performance with that of age-matched and reading-ability-matched controls. Shows that dyslexics have difficulty with the nonlexical procedures involved in verbal repetition. (HOD)

Twenty reading-disabled, 10 math-disabled, and 25 control-group college students were assessed on a battery of psychophysical tasks that included 5 tests of temporal processing. Findings suggest that poor temporal processing is neither a necessary nor a sufficient cause of reading disability but that there is a modest association between the two…