Since the 1980s' decoupling of the formal study of second language acquisition from pedagogical concerns, the social relevance of such research has been of little concern. Early studies, in the 1970s, of uninstructed adult learners' acquisition of morphosyntax pointed to social implications: these working class immigrants had varying levels of…

Viewing language acquisition as the product of a biased learner who takes advantage of the information available from a variety of sources in his or her environment, this book provides a new way of thinking about the process of language comprehension. The analysis in the book borrows insights from theories about the development of mental models,…

Arguing that the vagueness with which the relationship between social interaction and language is often treated in the literature makes it difficult to explicate and evaluate different views of that relationship, this paper poses four questions designed to differentiate positions and to provide a system for organizing data potentially relevant to…

Reviews evidence for a developmental sequence in symbolic play and attempts to provide a theoretical rationale for predicting correspondences between symbolic play and early language. (Author/RH)

Reviews recent research, and discusses difficulties inherent in research, on the language development of bilingual children. Recommendations are made supporting a multidisciplinary approach to research on language development in bilingual children, and suggested avenues of inquiry within such a framework are outlined. (112 references) (Author/OD)

Assesses three papers in this volume, those by Wellman and Estes, Olson and Torrance, and Hall and Nagy, for their treatment of the following: (1) definition of semantic space, (2) defining children's processes of understanding that space, and (3) describing the contexts in which cognitive language is used. (AEW)

Certain aspects of meta-linguistic awareness are known to be essential for bilingual children's literacy acquisition. Phonological awareness is one of these skills. Beginning with a discussion of a pivotal developmental research model of control & analysis of cognitive skills in bilinguals, this review will discuss several studies that explored…

It is generally recognized that a positive relationship exists between language ability and mental ability as measured by a standard intelligence test. The relationship has been suspect, however, since the understanding and use of words play so large a part in many of the intelligence tests. The question has been raised of whether a child earns a…

Reports on several syntactic studies and suggests that switches by mode in writing strategy may be developmentally beneficial. (DD)

Argues that psychological constructs prevalent during the 1950s and early 1960s encountered serious challenges when they were applied to African-American children. Specifies the way in which these challenges influenced the direction of developmental theory and research. (RJC)

Seven key generalizations based on research findings from the study of children's language offer specific implications for classroom instruction and for instructional policy formulation and decision making. (Author/MLF)

Suggests that Goad & Ingram's (1987) argument in favor of a cognitive model of phonological development failed to recognize the uniqueness of each individual's neural and vocal structures, ignored documented variability in the phonetic patterns of prelexical infants, and inexplicably assumed that inter-child variability implied the operation of…

This paper suggests that one possibility for the lack of study emphasis and unity of understanding in the area of dual language development is that language study in general shows some serious gaps and reveals a need for viewing language development as a holistic endeavor. Noting the failures of Skinnerian theory, Chomskian theory, Soviet…

Discusses the current approaches to interlanguage syntax, focusing on the goal of finding consistency and pattern in syntactic variation. Some themes contributing to descriptive approaches include: the transition from morphosyntax acquisition studies to those of more complex syntax, the emergence of syntax from discourse, explicitness, and the…

Focuses on a single rule of grammar to produce evidence of a memory system for language acquisition and processing that is modular; independent of real-world meaning; unaffected by frequency and similarity; sensitive to formal distinctions; more sophisticated than the explicitly-taught rules it subsumes; developed independently of ambient input;…