The effects of an expanded Language Experience Approach (LEA) on language processing skills were explored through experiments conducted with kindergartners. Results suggest that an LEA expanded to include systematic instruction in subskill areas (sound/symbol relationships, visual and auditory discrimination, use of context clues) will be more…

It is useful to stress the similarity of the linguistic system that underlies oral and written language, but the whole language approach fails to take into account the real and significant differences that exist between oral and written language and the different purposes for which they are used. Children need explicit guidance and support in…

A study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using oral story making experiences to improve the oral language proficiencies and "sense of story" of fourth grade remedial reading students through select literary experiences. These experiences included exposing the students to literature in read-aloud exercises, and using wordless…

Research in psycholinguistics and learning theory is reviewed to support the integration of oral and written language skills, and the language experience approach (LEA) is recommended for secondary school second language instruction. This approach incorporates listening, speaking, reading, and writing in purposeful communication. Students use the…

This monograph points out the difficulties in language development of which teachers should be aware, suggests some methods through which children may be helped to overcome comprehension problems, and presents bibliographies helpful for persons who wish to undertake further reading. Chapters include "Some Possible Origins of the Prevalence of…

Noting that a gap exists between desired and actual literacy levels in the United States, this paper argues that the issue of literacy should be addressed holistically. Proposing that the communication skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking are integrated and support each other, the paper reviews research indicating the…

One hundred native-born, disadvantaged black children were the subject of this study which proposed the following hypotheses: (1) Subjects proficient in spoken language ability would achieve greater gains in reading ability than those deficient in spoken language ability; however, the former group would vary negligibly among sub-groups in reading…

When follow-through kindergarten and first-grade pupils in four school systems across the United States were encouraged to pick their own key vocabulary words as recommended by the Sylvia Ashton-Warner method and to apply the words to the language experience method of learning reading, the lists the children requested differed significantly from…

The first of a two-volume final report, this document focuses on a study of written language growth and development among 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year old children. The first section of the document contains five essays dealing with race, sex, age, socioeconomic status, and language; orchestrating the literacy event; reading and writing as…

To dispel the myths of linguistic deficiency among nonstandard English dialect speakers, evidence that repudiates these myths should be examined. These myths include suggestions that nonstandard dialects are ungrammatical and cannot be used to form concepts, and that speakers of such dialects receive little verbal stimulation as children. The…

While studies in learning and verbal behavior show that learning comes through paired-associate problems, they do not explain the acquisition of language. Three paradigms demonstrate mediation effect in paired-associate learning: response equivalence, stimulus equivalence, and chaining model. By reviewing children's language acquisition patterns…

Research indicates that reading and writing should be learned together since both are language processes, and that children should be shown how the skills they have acquired during learning to read apply to learning to write. A language experience approach is useful for accomplishing this. Many aspects of writing point out the integrative…

The study of psycholinguistics seems to enable English teachers to make their classes more effective and more enjoyable. (JH)

The extended effects of two instructional approaches, the Coordinated Basal Language Arts Approach and the Integrated Experience Approach to Communication, on pupils' language development at the second- and third-grade levels were investigated. Original subjects were 669 first graders who were pretested for readiness and intelligence. Of these,…

Reports an investigation of the most appropriate tutorial setting for the generation of natural urban child language for experience stories. Concludes that the condition that tapped the most profuse linguistic performance for student-created reading material among Black sixth grade students was tutoring by a White adult professional teacher. (FL)