Examined through slips of the tongue how tones are represented and processed when speaking Mandarin Chinese. With regard to sound movement errors, it was found that, although errors of segmental phonemes were fairly common, errors of tones were rare. Suggests that lexical tones in Mandarin Chinese are represented and processed differently from…

Notes that memory-based text processing (MBP) is a label that has been used to refer to a theoretical perspective shared by contributors to this special issue. Defines the domain addressed by MBP; identifies the major shared assumptions of researchers representing the MBP perspective; and raises some challenges for MBP researchers. (SR)

Notes that students often find difficulty with the language used in the learning of and assessment of mathematics. Reports on a study that analyzes questions from a 1996 Higher School Certificate Mathematics in Society examination in New South Wales. Makes suggestions on changing the language of the assessment to make the mathematics in it more…

Illustrates through the concept of causality how thinking and language are connected. Suggests that an approach to instruction that understands the foreign or second language as a medium of learning provides a deeper vision of the processes of language as a medium of learning. (Author/VWL)

Addressed whether hierarchical relations and word order can be separated in sentence production. Assessed in two experiments whether subject-verb agreement errors require linear proximity of a so-called "local" noun to the verb. Found evidence for a stage in language production in which a syntactic structure is built prior to stage in which words…

Investigated the influence of morphologically complex and simple words on the production of morphologically complex and simple picture names in five picture-word interference studies. Two variants of picture-word interference were employed to separate morphological from semantic and phonological effects. (Author/VWL)

Argues that British students of language study at A level need opportunities to build a broad foundation for exploring language experience, familiar issues and accessible concepts using practical activities and informal discussion if they are to develop their understanding of the more formal and systematic aspects of language theory. (SC)

A study compared 28 children (ages 6-10) with dyslexia, 23 with reading disabilities, 15 low verbal intelligence good readers, and 24 reading-level matched younger children. Results found most of the poorest readers (nearly all were dyslexic) had a double or triple deficit in phonological, naming-speed, and orthographic skills. (Author/CR)

In response to a published study of second-language input processing and processing instruction, a relatively new concept in language teaching, misinterpretations of theoretical and conceptual issues are pointed out and methodological concerns about the study are discussed. (MSE)

In this study, a sentence interpretation experiment based on Bates and MacWhinney's Competition Model was administered to second language learners of English and Chinese at three different stages of learning. Examined how transfer patterns at the sentence processing level change as a function of proficiency and investigates whether or how transfer…

Outlines a framework for academic language learning that highlights the importance of focusing instructionally on meaning, language, and use. Reviews research that suggests that to develop students' academic language proficiency in bilingual or trilingual contexts, instruction must focus extensively on the processing of comprehensible input.…

Explores the effects of Urdu on the acquisition of English literacy skills by comparing the reading, memory and phonological processing skills of bilingual Urdu-English and monolingual English children (7-8 years old). Demonstrates that bilingual reading development can have a positive effect on the acquisition of literacy skills, such as…

Reports on the results of four experiments that show that people can recognize ironic meanings that were not intended, and that processing unintended irony can be done easily precisely because speakers' utterances, unbeknownst to them, create ironic situations. Discusses implications for psycholinguistic theories of irony comprehension and for…

Presents model describing adult learning of morphosyntax in a novel language where frequency and regularity are factorially combined. Accuracy and latency data show frequency effects for both regular/irregular forms early in acquisition process; as learning progresses, frequency effect on regular items diminishes but remains for irregular items.…

Explores the hypothesis that children identified as having phonological processing problems may have difficulty processing a different accent. Children with speech difficulties were compared with matched controls on four measures of auditory processing. Children were presented with stimuli in their own accent and in an unfamiliar accent…