The purpose of this project was to investigate the effectiveness of a language-focused professional development programme on the knowledge and behaviour of preschool practitioners (sometimes called early years practitioners) in the UK. In Study 1 we determined whether the training received by practitioners is effective in improving their knowledge…

This work reports, from a qualitative research perspective, the development of an English Corner project for a preschool Children's House classroom in central Mexico over the course of a 3-year period. It shows the transition of a language specialist over six consecutive periods of work, from a traditional understanding and practice of teaching…

Purpose: This article describes the iterative development of a home review program designed to augment vocabulary instruction for young children (ages 4 and 5 years) occurring at school through the use of a home review component. Method: A pilot study followed by two experiments used adapted alternating treatment designs to compare the learning of…

Immersion programs have long been considered the gold standard for school-based language revitalization, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to the quantity and quality of the input that they provide to young language learners. Drawing on new data from three such programs (Kaqchikel, Western Subanon, and Maori), each with its own…

"How to give brain and body to the multiple pack that we already are or are becoming: how, in other words, are we to make sensible (auditory, visually and affectively) the time before 'I think' and 'We think' that we cannot plan, control or know, but simply experiment with, which is the 'time of the city' and nothing else?" (Rajchman,…

RMC Research used a case study approach to document implementation of "Imagine Language & Literacy" and a correlational design to examine the relationship between student program usage and student academic achievement outcomes for students in grades K-2. "Imagine Language & Literacy" is a digital education program…

Language difference among speakers of African American English (AAE) has often been considered language deficit, based on a lack of understanding about the AAE variety. Following Labov (1972), Wolfram (1969), Green (2002, 2011), and others, we define AAE as a complex rule-governed linguistic system and briefly discuss language structures that it…

First language learners acquire vocabulary in the context of participation in discourse, and the quantity and richness of that discourse is the best predictor of their progress. Similarly, we argue, engagement in discourse, in particular debate and discussion, is an effective component of classroom instruction for second and foreign language…

How do black students acquire academic literacy skills without being severed from their cultural and historical identit(ies)? In this article, the author presents instances of literacy events in an out-of-school program called Youth Voices that serves to create opportunities for development of a strong sense of historical and cultural identity. An…

Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…

This article discusses how to promote oral language development through science. The authors describe how they incorporate academic "talk strategies" into science lessons in a nonintrusive and meaningful manner. These talk strategies are adapted from the "Avenues" (2007) curriculum for English learners (ELs), which gives examples of cooperative…

Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) students often do not graduate with their same age peers, continue on to college, have satisfying social and emotional relationships, or achieve gainful employment as adults due to their delays in language and communication skills (Antia, Stinson, & Gaustad, 2002; Siegel, 2002a). The purpose of this study is to…

The results of the specific research which led up to the program of instruction are presented in detail in the research program; deaf children as young as 10 years of age were shown to be capable of understanding metaphorical language with regularity. (Author)

The paper presents a program for increasing spontaneous functional speech to autistic like children. The program, applicable to individual and group settings, emphasizes the use of language skills beyond the classroom. (Author/CL)

Three hundred and six 8mm cartridge-type films were produced to provide deaf children instruction in and practice with noun vocabulary, question forms, prepositions, and speechreading. Films were placed in 12 classes. Method of presentation and time spent was determined by individual teachers, most of whom had attended a three-day orientation…