This article reviews research on working memory (WM) and its use in second language (L2) acquisition research. Recent developments in the model and issues surrounding the operationalization of the construct itself are presented, followed by a discussion of various methods of measuring WM. These methods include word and digit span tasks, reading,…

Materials for teaching the Lakhota language, developed by the University of Colorado Lakhota Project, are written in a special new orthography. A careful description of and uses for this orthography are presented in this article. (Author/AH)

Phonological awareness (PA) is the ability to analyze spoken language into its component sounds and to manipulate these smaller units. Literature review related to PA shows that a variety of factor groups play a role in PA in Mandarin such as linguistic experience (spoken language, alphabetic literacy, and second language learning), item type,…

Reports that praise and extrinsic reinforcers, such as candy, increased the rate of letter recognition in preschool children and that the increase was partially maintained when the reinforcement was removed. (FL)

In the traditional alphabet, 26 letters represent 40 different and distinct sounds of the spoken English language in transcription. This prevents a one-to-one phoneme-grapheme correspondence since some of the written symbols represent more than one sound. These inconsistencies in the writing system, recognized as the source of difficulty in…

Cites the case of Hebrew learning in Israel to show that, contrary to popular belief, the complexity of grapho-phonetic relationships is a minor or nonexistent factor in learning difficulties. (FL)

This paper reviews recent research on English spelling and the alphabet, and examines the alphabet in terms of symbols, letter-names, and sounds. English is considerably less phonetic than most Western languages, with many symbols having more than one sound. This factor makes spelling difficult for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) or…

IT IS THE AUTHOR'S PURPOSE IN THIS BOOKLET TO HELP TEACHERS AND CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS UNDERSTAND WHY LINGUISTICS IS SO IMPORTANT AND TO UNDERSTAND ITS APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM. THE READER IS ALSO INTRODUCED TO THE HISTORY, TECHNICAL VOCABULARY, AND PRESENT STATUS OF RESEARCH AND THEORY IN LINGUISTICS AND ENCOURAGED TO CONTINUE SELF-STUDY IN…

Twenty English-Japanese bilingual subjects were given the following reading tasks: timed, silent reading of passages in English and Japanese followed by comprehension tests and recognition of tachistoscopic presentations of twenty words in each language. The amount of reading the subjects had done in English and Japanese was assessed in an…