This study investigates the onset at periodic intervals in the age range of about two to five years of various kinds of recurrent and systematic errors in word choice and/or syntactic structure. Acquisitional processes and their implications are outlined. Sections address: (1) the kinds of processes that can be inferred to underlie errors…

Video-analysis was used to investigate the transition from coacting to alternating patterns of infant-mother vocalizations in this longitudinal study of one infant. In addition to investigating the transition and its developmental implications, the relationship between the temporal patterning of kinesic and vocal behaviors was studied. The study…

Current opinion regarding the nature of the young child's representation of two or more languages is that there is one system during the earliest stages of development. This paper explores theoretical and methodological difficulties underlying this issue. Theoretically, it is questioned what is being claimed about the child's cognitive capacities…

A study examined the type of Wh question (those introduced by who, what, when, where, why, or how) and the phrase structure rules required for the verb phrase to determine how they relate to the acquisition and development of the Wh question transformation. Children ranging in age from 2 to 6 years were given three tasks, each containing 36…

Before the white invasion, Native American peoples possessed an extremely rich and varied heritage with highly developed oral literatures, and constant development of new phrases, expressions, and patterns of pronunciation. Examples of Indian people's adeptness with language include: many learned to speak more than two languages fluently;…

In the essays contained in this volume, philosophers, psychologists, linguists, and educators raise questions about the viability of the traditional distinction between the literal and the metaphorical. The essays reflect important parallel developments in the fields represented but also illustrate a convergence of approaches to a common problem…

An oral screening test administered by an adult to a five-year-old child was transcribed and analyzed. The test was chosen as an example of a referential communication task that is also a social communication task. The analysis demonstrates that a participant in communication assumes that the other participants are employing strategies for…

A case study of the period of repetitive babbling in one Dutch infant is reported. Repetitive babbling is seen as a systematic and continuous process, during which the child is applying certain strategies in order to form concepts concerning the possibilities of his or her articulatory apparatus. Strategies identified are: (1) variation…

Comprehension of metaphor was examined in 36 children ranging in age from 55 months to 186 months. The subjects were audiotaped while answering questions about a target sentence that was contextually anomalous. Five pictures were drawn to accompany each story, two relating to the literal meaning of the target sentence, two to the metaphoric…

To examine the relationship between time and in-school learning, the authors review a number of empirical and theoretical studies covering all educational levels. They discuss the methods and interpretations of the empirical studies, the effects of time on learning outcomes and of other variables on time-on-task, and the incidence of diminishing…

The role of the right hemisphere of the brain in learning is examined, and the possibility of using visuals to improve verbal learning in right brain dominant learning disabled students is suggested. Approaches to stimulate oral language production, aid in the recall of written language, and achieve organizational style in writing through…

Elementary school students were required to obtain objects from two adults engaged in conversation with each other. Results differed markedly between older and younger children. For the younger children, (1) there were three times as many statement requests (SRs) as interrogative requests (IRs); (2) almost 50% of requests were need statements; (3)…

Composition can play an important role in helping our society move away from being a "mentally handicapped" left-brained culture because composition is one of the few "bispheral" activities; left and right brain functions seem to alternate during the writing process, supplementing the insights of each other. Currently, however, most teaching of…

Asian students trying to learn to read English can best be assisted by receiving a strong oral language enrichment experience. An important part of language learning and of learning to read is experiential development; therefore, providing opportunities to experience the culture and geography of America can be an important part of teaching…