Recent studies have found that infants show relational learning in the first year. Like older children, they can abstract relations such as "same" or "different" across a series of exemplars. For older children, language has a major impact on relational learning: labeling a shared relation facilitates learning, while labeling…

Infants, children and adults are capable of extracting recurring patterns from their environment through statistical learning (SL), an implicit learning mechanism that is considered to have an important role in language acquisition. Research over the past 20 years has shown that SL is present from very early infancy and found in a variety of tasks…

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have been gaining attention, partly as an example of unusual developmental trajectories related to early neurobiological differences. The present investigation addressed the process of learning new words to explore mechanisms of language delay and impairment. The sample included 21 typically developing toddlers…

Six mildly to moderately retarded children (2-5 years old) were studied to compare their pattern of language development with that of nonhandicapped young children. Tape recordings of Ss' spontaneous speech at home were examined and compared to data on normal development according to such variables as differential noun/pronoun use, noun type/token…

Discusses the use of cognitive explanations in attempting to account for linguistic regularities in language acquisition. Theories are discussed concerning first and second language acquisition. The developmental theory of Piaget is outlined along with its application to the cognitive theories of language acquisition. (PJM)

Introduces the common theme among the papers presented in this issue, the development of working memory. Underlines the two different approaches presented. The neo-Piagetian perspective attempts to capitalize on the insights of Piaget's work by proposing information-processing accounts of cognitive development. The second perspective stems from…

Examines the possible role of maturational constraints on first language acquisition and second language learning. Reviews research on the special circumstances of delayed first language acquisition and the effects of age on second language learning. Suggests that ability to attain native-speaker grammatical competence may diminish long before…

An alternative to the standard "rule based" account of a child's acquisition of the past tense in English is presented in this paper. While the rule based assumption suggests that children typically pass through a three-phase acquisition process in which they first learn past tense by rote, then learn the past tense rule and overregularize, and…

Nonsense forms with nonsense labels were utilized in a match to sample task to observe whether children's word extensions are based on static form characteristics or on functional action characteristics. The stimuli consisted of: (1) a single model object which performed an action; (2) a selection array consisting of one object similar in form to…

Examined whether speech rate is related to the amount recalled and if developmental increases in speech rate allow faster rehearsal with age, and hence, greater recall. Found that the group relationship was clear and replicable but that speech rates of individual children were not good predictors of those children's memory spans; age was found to…

Human capacity for language acquisition is not strictly compartmentalized, with one acquisitional mechanism for the native language and others totally unrelated to it; rather, it consists of a unified mechanism flexible enough to handle various differences in external settings. This learning system operates on the formal properties of the…

Sound play is important to child language development in that it contributes to the phonetic substrate, it is a factor in phonological development, and it is something to be learned as part of the socially acceptable use of language. Sound play progresses in three stages: (1) babbling, in which a gradual acquisition of phonetic units is built up…

Argues that learning to spell is a developmental process and reviews research showing that errors made by poor spellers can indicate the point at which that development has broken down. Discusses some of the linguistic strategies students must acquire to become proficient spellers and offers teaching suggestions for helping students develop a…

Intended for elementary school language arts teachers, this paper outlines some recent work in the area of cognitive functioning and shows how this highlights the necessity for great care in fostering a child's language competence at two different stages: very early childhood and early to middle primary school. Following an introduction, the paper…

A literature review and discussion of the language acquisition processes of young children looks at three types of child bilingualism: (1) simultaneous bilingualism in very young children, (2) sequential bilingualism in preschool children, and (3) sequential bilingualism in school-age children below the age of puberty. First, a theoretical…