Children achieve better long-term language outcomes than adults. However, it remains unclear whether children actually learn language "more quickly" than adults during real-time exposure to input--indicative of true superior language learning abilities--or whether this advantage stems from other factors. To examine this issue, we…

Codeswitching is a common feature of bilingual language practices, yet its impact on word learning is poorly understood. Critically, processing costs associated with codeswitching may extend to learning. Moreover, verbs tend to be more difficult to learn than nouns, and the challenges of learning verbs could compound with processing costs…

Theories of language acquisition which emphasize the role of imitation, reinforcement, inheritance, and the active involvement of the child himself in the language acquisition process are discussed in this paper. The three major theories are: (1) the behavioristic theory which asserts that children learn their language through imitation of…

This paper discusses the development of children's communicative abilities in relation to three models: the psycholinguistic model, which posits that grammatical competence is achieved through children's innate ability to abstract linguistic rules and apply them in creating sentences; the Bernstein hypothesis, which holds that not everyone…

An analysis is made of the gradual learning process through which a child becomes bilingual from early infancy. (NCR)

Data are presented that reflect a particular strategy used by a boy from age 1;10 to 2;2 to manage certain polysyllabic words. Analysis shows that substitution was not involved, and an interpretation is made in terms of "underlying forms." Details of the strategy and its component sub-strategies are presented. (CHK)

Intended to investigate children's competence in producing verbalizations to aid learning, this study deals with young children's ability to generate sentences, either covertly or overtly, with concurrent relevant motor activity. Sixty children at each of two age levels--four years and seven years--were employed as subjects. It was hypothesized…

In testing kindergartners and first graders in their comprehension of the words "before" and "after," it was found that when temporal terms are acquired, they are first used as prepositions and then as subordinating conjunctions. (Author/NCR)

Preschool children's comprehension of the adverbial modifiers "very" and "sort of" was experimentally investigated in 64 children. (Author/NCR)

The two primary purposes of this book are to extend information about children's language learning and to look at existing notions of how children acquire language by considering what is meant by linguistic competence. The introductory chapter presents an account of two approaches to the study of language acquisition and outlines the author's…

Examined the use by children of the Novel Name-Nameless Category principle, under the framework that lexical principles are acquired in a developmental sequence. Results indicated that the particular principle was not available at the start of lexical acquisition but that exhaustive categorization ability and a vocabulary spurt occur…

This book describes how the child acquires a linguistic system before he is capable of verbal utterances or has developed the ability to structure language in a meaningful way. The first chapter of the book contains a discussion of previous language development studies on learning the mother tongue and proposes a hypothesis of language development…

Reports on an eight month study examining the development of turn-allocation devices in children acquiring English as a second language. The role of prior language experience in second language learning is explored. (Author/AM)

The amount of time that should be spent on explicit teaching of language patterns and structure is an issue among second language teachers. Those who believe that language learning is a developmental process feel that there is no sense in teaching grammar and syntax explicitly since the learner can be expected to acquire these skills as he…

This pamphlet is the first in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a description of an informal study…