This paper explores the questions of how and why children learn names for things. The acquisition of reference is set within a broader discussion of linguistic representation, which defines language as a system functioning in a three-way relationship among the individual language user, the world of experience, and the social community. It is…

This book is intended primarily for parents who are interested in helping their children develop a positive attitude toward reading. Chapters include "Helping Your Child Learn about Reading,""Helping Your Child Enjoy Reading,""Developing the Reading Vocabulary,""When Your Child Reads to You,""Understanding What Is Read,""Reading in the Real…

Games and self-checking devices created by teachers to meet the immediate needs of their students can become part of the continuing program of informal diagnosis, small-group remediation, and individual instruction. The reading games outlined in this document have been divided into three basic formats--card games, board games, and self-checking…

A method of teaching academic vocabulary to the intermediate to advanced EFL graduate students is discussed. Academic vocabulary includes non-technical vocabulary used in the research process, analysis and evaluation. Criteria for selecting academic vocabulary items are explained. Selected items and sample exercises for each area are given. (SCC)

Advocates the use of Hoerspiele (radio plays) in intermediate German college courses to facilitate the transition from spoken vocabulary to reading vocabulary. A statistical comparison is given between the vocabularies of spoken language, Hoerspiele, modern short stories and newspapers, showing that Hoerspiele have more words in common with spoken…

An outline of a method of teaching negative expressions, use of a short home film of an event familiar to students, suggestions for use of authentic documents in the language class, and examples illustrating the use of classified ads are treated in this "A comme" section. (Text is in French.) (AMH)

Five ideas for class activities at different levels and for various audiences are described. They include a card game, exercises on French wines, a personalities game, and study of a Baudelaire poem. (MSE)

Reports three studies indicating that context has little effect on high school students' ability to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. (HTH)

A program for teaching relational vocabulary in classroom settings has three receptive steps for identifying the target word and three expressive steps for using the target word. These methods focus on the systematic modification of both example presentation (including non-defining characteristics and situational distractions) and response…

Outlines an approach to teaching literature that provides a preliminary sensitization to an assigned literary work by having students invent a story using given elements. This approach involves learners in individual taping of the invented story, thematic vocabulary research, and a class exercise in reconstructing the text by asking questions…

Suggests that picture nouns are useful in teaching reading, writing, oral vocabulary, and thinking skills to all children, including handicapped students and those who speak another language. (JC)

Addresses three questions: (1) What is involved in understanding a word or concept? (2) How do we presently measure word knowledge? (3) What are some alternative formats which teachers could utilize with their students? Suggests techniques such as paired word questions, categorizing, analogies, and sentence writing as ways to evaluate vocabulary…

Comparison of two computer-assisted instructional vocabulary programs used with 25 learning disabled high school students indicated that the program utilizing smaller teaching sets and cumulative review exercises was more effective in helping students achieve mastery than the program using a large teaching set and no cumulative reviews. (Author/DB)

Describes ten practical ideas for classroom teaching at the elementary level, including "roulette" writing, story map raps, and theme cubes. (MM)

Discusses the importance of being able to describe the subjective properties of music. States that educators must develop an aesthetic vocabulary to allow articulation of musical properties. Provides examples of descriptive vocabulary taken from representative music selections. (GEA)