''Rhythm is one of the most pervasive aspects of the human condition; it is in the world around us and in the world within us, in our bodies and our minds, our living and our thinking'' [Auer, P., Couper-Kuhlen, E., & Muller, F. (1999). "Language in time: the rhythm and tempo of spoken interaction." New York: Oxford University…

Using available data from Singapore's national census and economic reports, national exams, international comparison studies and small-scale studies, this paper examines the sociohistorical circumstances that led to the creation of Singapore's bilingual education policy, the results of this policy on recent academic achievement and implications…

The present research investigated whether children's referential choices for verb arguments are motivated by pragmatic features of discourse referents across different developmental stages, not only for children learning null argument languages but also for those learning overt argument languages. In Study 1, the form (null, pronominal, or…

Data on typically developing children suggest a link between social interaction and language learning, a finding of interest both to theories of language and theories of autism. In this study, we examined social and linguistic processing of speech in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing chronologically…

Behavioral data establish a dramatic change in infants' phonetic perception between 6 and 12 months of age. Foreign-language phonetic discrimination significantly declines with increasing age. Using a longitudinal design, we examined the electrophysiological responses of 7- and 11-month-old American infants to native and non-native consonant…

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of phonological priming on the speech reaction time (SRT) of children who do (CWS) and who do not (CWNS) stutter during a picture-naming task. Participants were eighteen 3-5-year-old CWS (M = 50.67 months, SD= 11.83 months), matched in age and gender with 18 CWNS (M = 49.44 months, SD = 10.22…

Recent developments in contrastive rhetoric have looked at a variety of cultural, linguistic, historical, and social factors that influence the complex acts of acquiring and demonstrating second language (L2) writing competencies. These developments, however, focus almost exclusively on writing. The present paper suggests that other communication…

Transacting business with individuals who may speak English fluently but have an accent is common today. Use of translation services such as in transportation facilities, government offices, educational institutions, and manufacturers' instruction manuals is on the increase. Consequently, linguistic diversity issues require relevant academic…

Teachers discovered that the mathematics classroom is an ideal setting for the development of a more precise use of language that leads to better communication. It is found that students are enthusiastically engaged in lively discussions during every phase of the activity, striving to outsmart their partners, by continually correcting each other,…

This article reports the results of a preliminary study that applied a randomized posttest-only design to evaluate the effectiveness of a literacy curriculum that incorporated explicit opportunities for Spanish-speaking Head Start preschool children (N = 76) to develop writing abilities in English. The study also addressed English language…

This is a construct validation study of a second language speaking assessment that reported a language profile based on analytic rating scales and a composite score. The study addressed three key issues: score dependability, convergent/discriminant validity of analytic rating scales and the weighting of analytic ratings in the composite score.…

The globalisation of English and a growing demand for good English-speaking skills in the job market in particular have been placing a greater emphasis on the teaching of English speaking skills in Bangladesh. The private universities emphasise developing English skills. It seems that students of public and private universities have the same level…

Stories of personal experience of supernatural events are a highly-valued form of verbal art for Cherokee speakers. Both the people who tell them and those who listen regard such stories as entertaining and instructional. These stories even reflect some of the tensions that exist between traditional Cherokee culture and modern American social…

For any student, the first semester of graduate school is the most traumatic experience in his or her career as a graduate student. Fortunately, there are some things that can be done to make the transition for these students easier. Getting undergraduate students involved in the classrooms in positions of pedagogical responsibility is the most…

In this study of prominent characteristics of parenting in the United States, France, and Japan, 72 mother-infant dyads were examined. The study focused on three prominent interactive domains of visual and vocal exchange between mother and baby (nurturing, social exchange, and didactic stimulation), examining their frequency of occurrence and…