In an example of the redundancy effect, learning is inhibited when written and spoken text containing the same information is presented simultaneously rather than in written or spoken form alone. The current research was designed to investigate whether the redundancy effect applied to reading comprehension in English as a foreign language (EFL) by…

The traditional spelling curriculum emphasized that pupils learn to spell a specific set of words through memorization. However, major problems existed pertaining to using that method of teaching. Pupils soon forgot the correct spelling of memorized words. Educational psychologists have long advocated that pupils perceive knowledge as being…

Some of the difficulties faced by second language learners who are continuing to acquire English at the same time as they start to read simple extended English texts are illustrated. Specific focus is on the question of how writers of early reading material can best help such learners to understand the relationship between spoken and written…

Resuscitating Charles Darwin's language from historians' emphatic denigration of the written word serves as an example to demonstrate what the English discipline can accomplish in recovering cultural heritage. Michael Ghiselin, an evolutionary anatomist, suggests that scholars must concentrate on the ideas, not the language, Darwin employed. Yet…

The traditional theory of Chinese writing is that it is divorced from the language because as a non-alphabetic system, it cannot represent real speech. Chinese writing, however, is a functional linguistic system in its own right. Writing does not need to be totally dependent on speech, but can be related either to the phonological or the semantic…

Standard English has long been the unquestioned choice of a model for all language instruction, whether in native or non-native speaker countries. Fanned by the recent interest in new varieties of English, especially those in the Third World, there have been increasing claims that it is best in such English-as-a-Second-Language countries to set up…

Argues that educational standards in Saskatchewan, Canada high schools must be raised in the areas of reading and writing. (RB)

Suggests that more attention should be given to semantics if accurate word lists are to be compiled from spoken or written vocabulary. (RB)

It is explained how two streams of modern linguistics--stylistics and text linguistics--can be related to the study of literary texts. It is concluded that a study of the ways in which the sentences of a text are interlinked can reveal certain stylistically relevant characteristics of that text. (Available from: See FL 508 214). (RM)

The relationship between written language, spoken language and the development of reading skills is discussed. (Text is in French.) (PMP)

Difficulties in transcription from the Hebrew to the Roman alphabet are discussed. The resolution of some of the problems in Judeo-Spanish texts using the "aljamiado" writing system are reviewed, including the use of some Hebrew consonants as vowels, representation of Judeo-Spanish sounds non-existent in Hebrew, and phonetic variations…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores researchers' current understanding of English spelling and its acquisition as the basis for spelling instruction methods other than memorization. After defining spelling and the relationship between spoken English and its written system, the digest explores how…

Eleven kindergarten children, nine of whom had been identified at risk, were administered tasks involving word and sentence reading with and without pictures, writing of words and a sentence, print awareness, and book handling skills. Results suggested that children expect words to be a label for pictures, that articles and prepositions are not…

The manual teaches SignFont, a written form of sign language. Following a brief introduction, the first of three major sections describes the SignFont alphabet, structured according to the parts of every sign that is written (handshape, action area, location, movement). The second section discusses in greater detail how the SignFont characters are…