Models of monolingual literacy propose that reading acquisition builds upon children's semantic, phonological, and orthographic knowledge. The relationships between these components vary cross-linguistically, yet it is generally unknown how these differences impact bilingual children's literacy. A comparison between Spanish-English bilingual and…

Shows that the complexity level of metaphor interpretation in English is related much more strongly to age and developmental mental capacity than it is to proficiency in English. It is argued that exposure to relevant metaphors can help the second language learner to understand underlying concepts of the target culture. (53 references) (Author/CK)

This book argues that elementary school teachers should study language, because knowledge of language is the foundation for teaching children to read explicitly and systematically. The book is written in nontechnical, accessible language and seeks to help the reader to understand the organization of written and spoken English, discover the…

Distinguishes among three aspects of idiomatic meaning: the general meaning, more specific aspects, and connotative aspects. The results of an informal experimental study indicate that the cognitive semantic view can facilitate the learning of idioms for nonnative speakers. (45 references) (Author/CK)