Examines the linguistic experimentation of children in three different age groups by means of their use of word games. (HTH)

Examines children's progression in the use of humor in language from taking folktales seriously, to using humor for shock, to using humor to alter social environments. (HTH)

Reports preliminary findings from a study of kindergartners using LOGO in a computer laboratory. The study highlights the oral language that occurs while children produce computer graphics. (HTH)

Examines psychologist David R. Olson's current work on children's language development and its possible educational implications. Stresses the increasing tendency to investigate children's language development in relation to their thinking and learning rather than in isolation and to include literacy development in the oral language development…

Focuses on the narrative function to show how children can build on another speaker's turns in conversation and can build on their own utterances as they speak. Analyzes children's dialogs and narratives to highlight the primacy of the oral language arts as they are enacted in daily conversation and play. (HTH)

Considers register (factors that vary in situational contexts and produce differences in meaning intent and meaning exchange) variance with its accompanying language transactions during written language events involving children and adults. Illustrates register variance with the writing and drawing of a four-year-old and a first-grader. (HTH)

Examines children's attraction to rhythm and rhyme of nursery rhymes and how these factors affect literacy. Discusses the connection between rhyme and reading and spelling acquisition. (HTH)

Provides a historical view of child language research, showing that investigations of child language have come full circle in their approach to gathering data. Discusses implications for teachers in encouraging children's progression to adult-like conversation. (HTH)

Outlines some of the problems children encounter while developing communicative competency. Discusses ways to assess an individual child's communicative abilities and the ways that language development research can help teachers enhance those abilities. (HTH)

Illustrates how children constantly solve communication puzzles in the course of language acquisition and offers suggestions for teachers and parents to assist children in their understanding of language. (HTH)

Examines materials in the ERIC system related to children's early oral language and the transition from home language to the more formal language used in school. Offers activities for a classroom climate that is responsive to children's oral language development needs. (HTH)

Examines notions and examples of instruction that can inhibit language growth, arguing that reading and writing curricula can be designed so that children are provided the freedom to explore language and grow as language learners in much the same way they learned oral language. (HTH)

Describes ERIC resources that present research on children's language usage and development and that suggest activities for the promotion of language development. (ET)

Defines oral language development, discusses findings from adult-child interaction studies, and presents classroom implications. (DD)

Explores children's spoken narratives and the quality and purpose of Sharing Time in the classroom. Considers the quality and effects of teacher responses to students' talk. (HTH)