Background: Children with phonological impairment present with pattern-based errors in their speech production. While some children have difficulties with speech perception and/or the establishment of robust underlying phonological representations, the nature of phonological impairment in children is still not well understood. Given that…

When toddlers hear a novel word, they quickly and independently link it with a novel object rather than known-name objects. However, they are less proficient in retaining multiple novel words. Sleep and even short naps can enhance declarative memory in adults and children and this study investigates the effect of napping on children's memory for…

Previous research has shown that an increased second language (L2) vocabulary size leads to better attunement to the cues required to distinguish L2 contrastive phones. This has been the central tenet of the vocabulary-tuning model (vocab) on the basis of evidence by Japanese learners of English in Australia. We aim to test the validity of the…

While little is known about why children make speech errors, it has been hypothesized that cognitive-linguistic factors may underlie phonological speech sound disorders. This study compared the phonological short-term and phonological working memory abilities (using immediate memory tasks) and receptive vocabulary size of 14 monolingual preschool…

One of the thorniest aspects of teaching languages is developing students' vocabulary, yet it is impossible to be "an accurate and highly communicative language user with a very small vocabulary" (Milton, 2009, p. 3). Nation (2006) indicates that more vocabulary than previously thought is required to function well both at spoken and…

This study evaluated a bilingual intervention in the key learning area of mathematics. Nine typically developing Samoan-English students received math lessons in both Samoan and English. A control group of Samoan-English students received all lessons in English. The material covered and the amount of instruction was the same for each group. The…

In this paper, we describe an initial exploratory study designed to compare the outcomes of online listening and online text-based tasks in the context of the study of Italian at The University of Melbourne. Our findings allow us to characterise online listening and online reading as a qualitative difference between deep and surface approaches to…

Background: Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems are commonly used to support children with complex communication needs in Australian preschools. However, such systems will only be effective if they contain words and messages that adequately meet these children's communication needs. The aim of this study was to identify the…

Parents of children with suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech (sCAS, n = 20), Specific Language Impairment (SLI, n = 20), and typically developing speech and language skills (TD, n = 20) participated in this study, which aimed to quantify and compare reports of early vocal development. Via a questionnaire, parents reported on their child's early…

This study investigates the vocabulary development of preschool children in the five programs of the Mt. Druitt Early Childhood Project, New South Wales, Australia. A Vocabulary Assessment Task was designed to tap the customary style of reference used by preschool children in response to familiar objects, and to test the qualitative levels of the…

Researchers have hypothesized four levels of instructional dialogue and claimed that teachers can improve children's language development by incorporating these dialogue levels in their classrooms. It has also been hypothesized that enhancing children's early language development enhances children's later reading development. This…

This article reports studies of adolescent passive and active vocabulary development. It describes measuring instruments applied to the oral and written language of 12- and 15-year-old students drawn from 10 social backgrounds in England and Australia. Implications for education are drawn from the results of these studies. (IAH)

The 1976 reading achievement scores of year 5 pupils in Queensland (Australia) primary schools were compared with the scores of year 5 pupils in 1971, using Reading Test QR5. The sample included 1,754 students in 111 primary schools. Analysis of the results showed that scores for vocabulary development, comprehension of implied meaning, and…

These proceedings contain the papers of the International Conference e-Learning 2013, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and is part of the Multi Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems (Prague, Czech Republic, July 23-26, 2013). The e-Learning 2013 conference aims to…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…