Language production, or output, is not simply a product to demonstrate learning but part of the learning process. The output hypothesis, a theoretical model of second-language acquisition, proposes that second-language learners must produce the language they are learning in order to obtain a level of proficiency similar to that of native speakers.…

This article presents a case study of phonological types of internal evaluation in the personal oral narrative of one non-native speaker of English. The purpose was twofold: (1) to study whether laughter and exhaled breath can serve the functions of expressive phonology; i.e., phonological features which provide commentary and point of view for…

A notable difference between signed and spoken languages is the use of nonmanual linguistic signals that co-occur with the production of signs. These nonmanual signals involve primarily the face and upper torso and are an important feature of American Sign Language (ASL). They include grammatical markers that indicate syntactic categories such as…

The effect of capitalizing on orthography in auditory learning of English words was examined in 74 children who spoke Mandarin Chinese as their primary language. To use orthographic information for auditory word learning, children must recode printed words phonologically to assist the reconstruction of the speech single misheard or underspecified,…

While cochlear implantation is an increasingly routine provision for profoundly deaf children in many countries, parents still require information about the procedure and likely outcomes in order to make an informed decision. Other parents can provide them with the insights of those who have undergone the process themselves and observed outcomes…

This pilot study examined the development of complexity and fluency of second language (L2) spoken production among L2 learners who received extensive practice on grammatical chunks as constituent units of discourse. Twenty-two students enrolled in an elementary Japanese course at a U.S. university received classroom instruction on 40 grammatical…

In this study, we examined the influence of child gender and sociocultural (SCL) factors in language production. Subjects were French Parisian children in nine age groups (24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 45 and 48 months). A total of 316 language samples were recorded during a 20-min standardized play session. Measures of grammatical and lexical…

Ecological validity is an important construct in the assessment of young children. The argument is made that using environmentally based assessment practices as well as understanding the child's ecology will help assure that assessments are carried out in an ecologically valid manner. The discussion focuses on play-based assessment,…

Presents major characteristics of comtemporary views on oral and written language development. Critically reviews recent theoretical and research findings on language function and brain and concludes that very little information exists about the relationship between brain development and language development. (CMG)

Analyzed a modern spoken corpus of English (the CANCODE corpus) and found that 2,000 word families made up less than 95% coverage. A second analysis was performed on the CANCODE and the spoken component of the British National Corpus, which found that around 5,000 individual words were required to achieve about a 96 % coverage feature. (Author/VWL)

Focuses on the effects of contextual demands on French-speaking children's spontaneous production of cleft sentences. The study shows that French children frequently produce cleft formulations when they contrast their own belief or knowledge with that of their addressee and when the matter of the disagreement concerns the agent of the action. (CB)

Analysis of a conversation with an Alzheimer's disease sufferer with word-finding problems revealed that social context, speaker characteristics, and awareness of the other speaker's perspective governed such conversational aspects of turn taking and turn giving, which allowed full development of both speakers' personas. (23 references) (CB)

Discusses how listeners compensate for coarticulatory influences of one speech sound on another and examines whether lipread information penetrates this perceptual compensation mechanism. Results of three experiments indicate that biasing of the fricative by lipread information and compensation for coarticulation can be dissociated. (Author/VWL)

The aim of this article is to provide clinicians and researchers a comprehensive overview of the development and functions of gesture in childhood and in select populations with developmental language impairments. Of significance is the growing body of evidence that gesture enhances, not hinders, language development. In both normal and impaired…

Although school- and university-based language programs can help strengthen threatened Indigenous languages, language revitalization at its heart involves reestablishing traditional functions of language use in the context of everyday speaker interactions. The inherent dynamics of Native oral language traditions suggest the limitations of…