Storytelling by six teachers of the deaf was videotaped under three simulated conditions, as if they were presenting to hearing listeners, to oral deaf listeners, and to users of simultaneous communication. A number of grammatical and lexical characteristics were examined including Type-Token Ratios, a measure of lexical diversity, and Minimal…

Illustrates the advantages of laboratory research into second language acquisition (SLA) by describing two studies of acquisition of second language syntax. The first, conducted in Wales, addresses the question of whether human morphological abilities can be understood in terms of associative processes, and the second presents a bootstrapping…

Investigates the linguistic abilities of a subgroup of grammatical specific language impaired (SLI) children, focusing on the use of referential expressions in a narrative discourse and providing insight into the underlying nature of grammatical SLI. Findings support the hypothesized modular nature of grammatical SLI children's underlying…

Presents a survey of English-as-a-Second-Language students (n=142) for their preferences of writing prompt on essay tests and for other factors relating to their choices such as perceived difficulty of a topic. Findings reveal that these students, while not alert to potentially helpful syntactic clues in prompts, are probably using appropriate…

Uses eight languages in five distinct linguistic areas to examine two hypotheses regarding text generation and analysis and to illustrate their reciprocity relative to narrative discourse. Demonstrates how these hypotheses yield salience schemes and constituent analysis which mutually corroborate and correct each other. (KEH)

Presents an analysis of code switching in the interaction between Japanese as a topic prominent language and English as a subject prominent language, using English sentences uttered by Japanese-English bilingual speakers in North America. A comparison is made with the early English interlanguage of a speaker of Hmong, another topic prominent…

The interaction of rules concerning verb placement and verbal conjugation in the acquisition of German as a foreign language is discussed. A study using constrained written tasks showed that accuracy in verbal conjugation varies by word-order environment and improves in tasks that focus solely on conjunction. Tests are appended. (Contains 49…

Examines the difficulty foreign language learners of Spanish experience in distinguishing between indicative and subjunctive moods after four semesters of study. An analysis of two oral production tasks suggests that, at this intermediate level, they are unlikely to possess enough linguistic foundation to fully benefit from instruction in mood…

Four high school-aged deaf students in a college preparatory American history class at a state residential school were instructed regarding the use of syntactic cohesion (words such as "meanwhile") in their written assignments. Students' average percentage of correct use of the five taught terms increased 27%. Maintenance after six weeks and…

Computer studies courses should incorporate as many computer concepts and programming language experiences as possible. A gradual increase in problem difficulty will help the student to understand various computer concepts, and the programming language's syntax and structure. A sidebar provides two examples of how to establish a learning…

Defines English phrasal verbs (EPVs) and analyzes Italian students problems when studying them. Through contrastive analysis of English and Italian syntax and study of student errors, important insights are offered. (over 100 references) (LET)

This paper discusses five language roots of reading: phonology, syntax, semantics, short-term and long-term memory, and auditory segmenting. Teachers are urged to focus early school experiences toward development of these five skills to reduce the incidence of reading difficulties. Specific teaching suggestions are offered. (Author/DB)

Explores the nature of language from a linguistic viewpoint and describes how mathematics can be seen to be a foreign language by students. Describes how natural language reading strategies provide language-specific problems to mathematics teachers. (MDH)

This study, involving 48 children and adolescents with Down's syndrome, found that chronological age and mean mental age collectively accounted for much of subjects' variability in vocabulary comprehension and syntax comprehension, with total passes on a hearing screening accounting for additional variability. (Author/DB)

This study investigated complimenting behavior in three language varieties, British English, Finnish, and the interlanguage of Finish Learners of English. It found that compliments in Finnish tended to be longer and more syntactic than in English and that Finnish learners of English demonstrated appropriate complimenting behavior in English,…