Presents a study designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of Incidental Teaching (IT) procedures which are meant to facilitate child initiated language in the nursery classroom. States that IT strategies work well in multi-ethnic classes and that careful rearrangement of the classroom environment encourages student initiated conversation. (GEA)

Investigates monolingual Spanish-speaking children's acquisition of Spanish orthographic structure. Results indicate that the students' decoding skills and their later reading achievement are not significantly related. (Author/CB)

Points out that sound assessment programs should (1) be a part of instruction, (2) use varied methods and instruments, (3) focus on a broad range of skills and knowledge, (4) occur continuously, (5) occur in a variety of contexts, and (6) be appropriate for age and level of development. Offers examples of practices based on these points. (FL)

Classroom teachers can help children with speech and language impairments to use their language more effectively and with greater variety through activities encouraging and promoting student leadership, social interaction, dramatic play, and nonverbal adaptation. (CB)

In a large-scale field experiment aimed at improving spelling instruction in Dutch schools, the effectiveness of a newly developed algorithmic teaching method was compared with the conventionally and commonly used analogy approach. The analogy group showed comparatively little progress in learning results. (Seventy-five test items are appended).…

Discusses research results that demonstrate that nonlinguistic symbolic deficits of language-impaired children may actually reflect resource allocation constraints and cross-modality deficits. Discusses implications of studies that contrast symbolic action development in normally developing children with that in children with specific language…

Examines the nonverbal communication competence of 18- to 48-month-old Down Syndrome children. Results indicate that Downs children display strengths and weaknesses in nonverbal communication skills. Further, results suggest a deficit in expressive language is associated with a deficit in nonverbal requesting skill that had developed earlier among…

Suggests that parents who understand how written language development resembles oral language development are more willing to accept whole language instruction. Offers teachers suggestions on how to convince parents of this similarity. (ARH)

Maintains that there is a discrepancy between the ways children acquire language and the ways they have been taught reading skills in school, referred to as "The 180 degrees Syndrome." Attempts to promote more language-conscious reading instruction by describing five examples of the syndrome and suggests remedies to alleviate its symptoms.

Based on a 1983 presentation, this article characterizes the nature of play and delineates its fundamental functions. Relates an experiment showing how free play aided problem solving more than structured lessons in young children. Concludes with suggestions for facilitating play to aid intellectual growth. (JDH)

Technical (e.g., the need for more audiologists) and educational (e.g., the need for personnel preparation) considerations are examined in terms of maximizing the use of residual hearing with hearing impaired students. Historical and current approaches to auditory training are discussed, as is the role of prosody in spoken language comprehension,…

Measurement of voice onset time productions associated with three bilabial, three alveolar, and two velar stops in 3- to 7-year-olds and adults indicated that, by five years of age, children have acquired all voicing contrasts; however, not all sounds are produced in an adult-like manner. (Author/CB)

Presents observations of three children's styles of symbolic language focusing on how each leaned to different degrees on drawing and talking to create their imaginary worlds and thus faced different challenges in rendering those worlds in print. (SRT)

Contains citations for journal articles, books, dissertations, and materials in the ERIC system on the subjects of writing, language, literature, and teacher education. (SRT)

Discusses research supporting the connections between (1) early reading proficiency and listening to literature at a young age and (2) the nature of children's interactions with books before they read and later reading achievement. Indicates that story telling in the classroom represents a critical link between literature and literacy. (JD)