Despite the common intuition that labeling may be the best way to teach a new word to a child, systematic testing is needed of the prediction that children learn words better from labeling utterances than from directive utterances. Two experiments compared toddlers' label learning in the context of hearing words used in directive versus labeling…

In two experiments we examined how children's nonword pronunciations are influenced by learning words. In Experiment 1, children pronounced nonwords before and after learning words sharing orthographic rimes with the nonwords. These rimes varied in spelling-to-sound consistency and regularity. Children's nonword pronunciations were more sensitive…

Revised version of a paper presented at the TESOL Convention, March 1971, New Orleans, La. (VM)

This paper considers language development among children and discusses the influence of the learning environment in the acquisition of language use as distinct from language structure. The results of the five studies reported here suggest that the child is aided by what he is encouraged to say, not simply by what he hears, and that adults seem to…

This article discusses preschool education and the research conducted in that field on various relevant topics in an effort to establish recommendations and programs. Cognitive development is the main issue and is seen as a product of maturation as well as of a broad base of experience which results from interaction between the mind and the…

This study investigates which teaching style-Chinese bilingual or English as a second language--leads to greater oral English maturity and how useful the Chinese language is in helping a non-English-speaking Chinese person learn oral English. In the English-as-a-second-language method, the student's native language is used sparingly to avoid…

The all-Spanish version of the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS)/Mini-Corps Outdoor Activities set contains twenty education and recreational activities which provide a variety of outdoor biological experiences and incorporate language skills into outdoor education. Prepared especially for use by migrant children aged 10-15 in a…

Prepared specifically for use in one-week outdoor summer camp programs for migrant children aged 10-15, the twenty bilingual (Spanish and English) educational and recreational activities in the Outdoor Biology Instructional Strategies (OBIS)/Mini-Corps package have been revised to develop language skills as well as an awareness of the outdoor…