This study compared early pragmatic skill development in 76 children (ages 1-4) with severe or profound hearing loss enrolled in either a simultaneous communication (SC) or oral communication (OC) approach to language learning. Results indicated some advantages of the SC approach, although overall frequency of communication and breadth of…

Reviews some of the various early childhood program models that include the speech-language pathologist in service delivery, including the McKay Integrated Preschool model, which focuses on developmentally appropriate practices (as outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young Children) and "best practices" (as accepted…

Videotaped social interactions between infants with severe or profound bilateral hearing loss (and using amplification consistently by three to six months of age) and normally hearing peers. Found that severely and profoundly hearing impaired infants can follow a normal pattern of communicative and linguistic development (albeit sometimes delayed)…

Reflects on studies by teacher-researchers that show how attending to children's multiple oral discourses informs teachers' understanding of learning and language development. Discusses the school as a site of discourses in contact, ways of talking, appropriating new discourses, exploring different language genres, explicit practice in discussion,…

A British study of the experiences of bilingual students and monolingual English speakers looked at issues related to awareness of language variation and language learning strategies. It was concluded that the National Curriculum has serious limitations regarding equal opportunities and quality of education for bilingual students. (SK)

A study examined the global language growth rate of 40 children with hearing loss (hearing aid and cochlear implant users) who received intensive auditory-verbal intervention for 1-4 years. Results found these children essentially attained linguistic competency at levels commensurate with peers who had normal hearing. (Contains references.)…

Grammatical morpheme (GM) production was studied in 15-minute spontaneous language samples from 100 4-year-olds. Substantial variability was observed in both the frequency of obligatory contexts and in the percentages of correct usage of GM. For only one morpheme did all 100 participants contain the minimum number of 3 obligatory contexts.…

When 16 children (ages 5-7) with specific language impairment (SLI) and 16 typical children named age-appropriate objects, the SLI cohort made more naming errors. Drawings and definitions of error items were poor. Eleven participants with SLI who participated in a forced-choice recognition task demonstrated significantly lower performance on…

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize vowels after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Average vowel recognition was 68% 6 months after switch-on, and 80% 24 months after switch-on. Vowels y, e, and o were most difficult. (Contains references.)…

A study investigated how 19 Finnish adults who were postlingually severely or profoundly hearing impaired would relearn to recognize consonants after receiving multi-channel cochlear implants. Two years after the switch-on, the mean recognition for consonants was 71%. Consonants with alveolar, palatal, or velar transitions were better recognized.…

Describes a statewide language-development program developed among Maryland's city, county, and regional library systems to help parents prepare their preschoolers for success in school. Discusses child development, the role of libraries, storytelling training, and preschool literacy efforts by the Public Library Association; and lists Web…

Describes Pillow Talk as a ritual in which teachers talk in a relaxed and natural way with individual children in the preschool classroom as naptime begins. Suggests that daily one-to-one interaction with children can yield numerous insights about children's language and emotions and provide effective communication and rich language-learning…

Clarifies features of Smith et al.'s attentional learning account of object naming, arguing that Booth and Waxman's findings address tenets not in the attentional learning account while not addressing one of the central tenets of the attentional learning account. Suggests that the debate about the nature of children's language and cognition would…

Responds to Smith et al.'s work on relations between perceptual, conceptual, and linguistic knowledge in early word learning and discusses treatment of evidence. Asserts that Smith et al.'s commentary fails to engage data presented and their implications. Asserts that learners seamlessly integrate perceptual, linguistic, and conceptual information…

Free play and elicited language samples were obtained monthly for 10 to 12 months from five late talking children. Analysis indicated that three of the children resolved their late onset of speech by 33 to 35 months of age. Both quantitative factors (e.g., limited phonetic inventory) and qualitative factors (e.g., atypical error patterns) were…