Fourth and seventh grade reflective, impulsive, fast/accurate, and slow/inaccurate subjects were asked to paraphrase the meaning of ambiguous sentences and then to indicate their meaning through the selection of pictures. Results indicated that reflective children were more successful in some settings than impulsive or slow/inaccurate children.…

In 4 experiments, 85 preschoolers and kindergartners had to pronounce the initial consonants of spoken words. Subjects' performance varied markedly with the linguistic structure of the words. Words with initial consonant clusters were more difficult than words beginning with a single consonant. Implications for phonemic awareness instruction are…

The effect of three model variables on student performance of syntactic and semantic language behaviors in the absence of direct or vicarious reinforcement was examined. Subjects were sixth-grade students of both sexes attending New Mexico Schools. Half of the subjects and models were Chicanos and half were Anglos. (BJG)

An experiment was conducted to determine the conditions under which selective imitation of relative clauses could be produced in preschool. Imitation training was more effective than modeling alone, and instructions and reinforcements were effective in an additive manner. Implications for the role of imitation in language development are…

The relationship between the conversational competence of mildly retarded children (two speakers) and acceptance by regular education students was studied. Ninety-four students in grades four through six responded more positively to videotapes of mildly retarded children who managed conversations well and less favorably to those with…