An investigation focuses on the portion of preschool verbal action that could be considered successful dialogue. Ten dyads of four-year olds were videotaped during freeplay, where segments of talk were identified as dialogue or nondialogue. (35 References) (JL)

This investigation explored the conversational practices and conversational rule-conformity of children aged four, six, and eight. Procedures included observation of the conversational behavior of children in classroom interaction among peers and a controlled laboratory investigation of the conversations of 18 children, of varying age levels, who…

Describes an experiment which tested the infant's sensitivity to the timing of the mother's responses by arranging a video system so that mother and baby each saw a full-face, life-size image of the other on a video screen. Results provide evidence for the infant's active role in interaction with adults. (SED)

Videotape recordings of interaction of 42 preschool children in same-sex dyads were coded and analyzed to see how these children used the word "no" in their interactions. Results showed that, although boys and girls used the word equally frequently, they were found to use it in different ways. (Author/JL)

Presents a variety of social contexts for verbal interaction between adult and child and between children. Discusses the variations in interaction caused by different contexts, as well as features that are consistent across contexts. (HTH)

The article reports on an experimental study undertaken in a suburban Parisian kindergarten to determine the optimum environment for child language development. Adult-child interaction is underlined as essential in the acquisition process. Observation methods and specific examples of the effect of child-adult interaction are outlined. (Text is in…

Examines sex differences in vocalizations and play behaviors displayed toward an infant by preschoolers, preadolescents, and adults. Preschoolers showed less interaction than older subjects. Males talked and played less with the baby than did females at all ages; however, among adult subjects, no sex-role effects were found. (Author/RH)

Suggests that young children use their expectations of a context-specific, normal range of pause duration in timing the onset of a turn at speaking. (FL)

Examines controversial interactions between children, a group generally overlooked in second-language acquisition research. Specifically, the research focuses on (1) whether children can negotiate for meaning, (2) what strategies they use, and (3) whether there are differences between the ways adults and primary school children negotiate for…

Describes a study of preschool children's utterances and their context, intended to provide evidence of children's argumentative capacities. Shows how children, though perhaps not consciously, use language to intervene upon reality in order to modify a state of things by sensibly arguing their case. (SED)

The phonological rhythm of French is characterized by a tendency to syllabic isochrony within an utterance and a clear final lengthening, whereas the rhythm of English is stress-timed. A study of babbling at a turning period of the child's development has shown that the French child acquires adult phonological rhythm quite early in interactive…

A major purpose of the research reported here is to determine whether or not children of minority backgrounds possess the ability to tell stories and verbalize in narrative form at age 3 and 4. Narratives and speech play were collected over a 9-month period in two Headstart classes in Honolulu (Hawaii). The children, most of mixed backgrounds,…

Adult "redoing" sequences (expansions and repeats) in conversations between adult and child (age 1;6) are analyzed with a conversational analytic approach, and two ways in which redoing sequences are involved in the initiation of repair are explored. It is proposed that a redoing sequence picks up a child's utterance and displays it for some kind…

Presents findings of ethnographic research on children's talk and behavior, specifically routines in spontaneous peer play and verbal routines in structured activities. Concludes that instructional strategies should incorporate some of the features of children's play routines and peer culture. (SRT)

Three children were observed interacting with their mothers before the onset of single words, when vocabulary consisted of 10 words, and when it consisted of 50 words. Relations between communicative functions and acoustic analysis of prosodic variables were studied. Considerable variability was found in the number of rises produced overall and…