This paper reports the attempt to see which characteristics of the speech of Black and Mexican American children would be reliably evaluated by experts specializing in dialect study. Presumably, if selected characteristics were evaluated with consistency and bases for these evaluations were given, such results could serve in training teachers to…

This document considers the language arts instructional materials in use in the primary schools of Trinidad and Tobago and questions how effectively these materials cater to the development of competence in the English language by children whose vernacular language differs structurally in a fundamental way from Internationally Acceptable English.…

Metalinguistic knowledge, or linguistic awareness, involves the ability to focus attention upon the form of language in and of itself, rather than merely as the vehicle by which meaning is conveyed. This ability to analyze language structures lags behind spontaneous speaking and listening performance because of the additional cognitive skills…

Describes one student teacher's experiences developing the literacy skills of a 13-year-old boy from the former Soviet Union who had poorly-developed first-language literacy skills and difficulty with English. After defining and describing linguistic development in general, the paper explains how the student teacher made tutoring effective and fun…

Investigates the role of primary linguistic data in the acquisition of linguistic competence. The study examines the knowledge of adverb placement of francophone students learning English as a Second Language (ESL) one year after their exposure to a flood of data on adverb placement in English. Results indicate no change in the subjects'…

A method of teaching English as a second language (ESL) involving open sentence combining practice with group discussion was compared with a more traditional teaching method. Students were largely college-bound and attended the University of Arizona's ESL Center. Sentence combining was analyzed for a paragraph-length exercise on a low-level…

In language instruction, a dependable informational base of fact, experience, or judgment is essential if students are to develop a functional literacy. Yet the language information base in use today--the set of concepts about what language is, how it works, and how individual languages are maintained--has proven inadequate and unreliable. Reform,…

The study prepares the ground for the introduction of a language learning system for adults. Part 1 presents a draft outline of such a system, in which the language material to be learned is organized into units and credits awarded on the completion of each unit. The content is defined with reference to the nature of the learners and their…

On the basis of experimental data, the author makes the following observations: (1) the basic encoding processes in speech, the schemas of order, first produce elementary underlying sentences; (2) underlying sentence structure is the controlling step in the organization of speech; (3) underlying sentence structure plays a central role in…

Reports on a case study of the role of native-language literacy in the academic achievement of 387 Vietnamese high school students in New Orleans (Louisiana). Finds that literacy in Vietnamese is positively related to identification with the ethnic group and to academic achievement. (CFR)

Roles of language proficiency and general developmental factors on metaphor interpretation were examined for 60 Spanish- and English-speaking and 60 monolingual English-speaking children aged 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 years. Language proficiency in English and socioeconomic status were considered, but both were less important in metaphor interpretation…

The serious student of language, English or foreign, and especially the future language teacher must receive a solid training not only in theoretical but also in applied syntax. Such a course should be offered at the advanced level and deal with the syntax of the language involved in a rigorously systematic way. The search for a systematic, yet…

The following papers are presented in the conference proceedings: (1) "Development and Current Use of the FSI Oral Interview Test," by H. Sollenberger; (2) "Interview Testing in Non-European Languages," by W. Lovelace; (3) "Measuring Second Language Speaking Ability in New Brunswick's Senior High Schools," by M.…

Six adult students of English as a second language were ranked according to individual input into classroom oral interaction. Four hypotheses were then tested, regarding correlation between degree of input generation on the one hand and achievement and performance on the other. It was found that: (1) high input generators (HIGs) performed better…

Previous research has shown how macro-structures can affect children's verbalizations. This study focuses on whether conversational contexts of forms are learned along with syntax, on what makes syntax, and on how to predict speech. Transcripts of videotapes of young children provided a matrix of function or act against actual utterance, wherein…