Data from 48 infants revealed (1) that infants aged 1;2-2;3 failed to establish a stable word-object link even in follow-in labeling and (2) that only infants aged 1;6-1;7 could identify the correct referent during discrepant labeling. During the period between 1;2-1;7 infants are becoming increasingly adept at acquiring new labels under minimal…

A study with 80 Saudi English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) students found that EFL learners performed better on temporal clauses that occurred initially in the sentence than those that occurred finally. The EFL learners faced problems similar to those of first-language learners. (29 references) (Author/LB)

Some aural activities are described that can help language students with their listening comprehension. They include dictation, a "who am I?" exercise, sketch-drawing, chart completion, a comparison exercise, and a flow diagram. (LB)

The "Word-Spider" approach to vocabulary development can be applied in all curriculum areas for both native and nonnative English speakers. It focuses systematically on seven important areas of word knowledge (sound, family, friends, patterns, situations, ideas, definition). Providing both repetition and a range of experience with a word, it can…

The study found that eight specifically language-impaired children (ages four and five) were more limited than eight normally developing children (ages two and three, matched for mean utterance length) in the use of both subject case marking and verb morphology. A relationship between the two types of usage was found in both groups of children.…

In response to a paper by P. Yoder (EC 220 946) that examined relationships between maternal questions and language-disordered children's later usage of auxiliary and copula verbs, this letter argues that Yoder's results were influenced by the analytical procedures used and that a reanalysis suggests a slightly different set of relationships among…

Examines the development of toddlers' moral and conventional judgments and effects of language development on such judgments. Rudimentary distinctions between familiar moral, social and conventional transgressions are made during the child's third year. (Author/BB)

This article describes available models for structuring language intervention with toddlers who demonstrate a primary deficit in language acquisition. It examines ways in which intervention can change behaviors through facilitation, induction, and maintenance; how to select a service delivery system; effective teaching strategies; and clinical…

Most analyses of linguistic errors set up unidimensional categories of grammatical, lexical, and semantic deviations. A two-dimensional classification system is described that formed the basis of a study of phenomena of foreign-language interaction. Thirteen classes of linguistic deviation emerged in the study. (Contains 37 references.) (Author/LB)

Reviews caregiver communication behaviors that have been described in the child language literature as facilitating language learning and use. Strategies for engaging and sustaining interactions with young children are presented. Accompanying scripts provide examples of early childhood educators interacting with children during play and daily…

Drawing on archival data on the sound systems of five children ages 3 to 4 with normal development and 47 children ages 3 to 6 with phonological delay, one chain shift (interaction of phonological substitution errors) was identified in the speech of six children. Different derivational and constraint-based accounts of the chain shift were…

Assessed semantic priming for category coordinates and function-related words in children with good or poor reading comprehension, matched for decoding skill. Found that both groups showed priming for function-related words, but poor comprehenders showed priming for category coordinates only if the pairs shared high-association strength. Good…

This case study evaluated the usefulness of compact language drills (CLDs) with a 12-year-old deaf child to improve his ability to use four irregular verbs. Results indicated that the daily five-minute drills requiring immediate recall of irregular verb forms significantly improved the child's ability to use the verbs correctly both immediately…

Examined the role of animacy and pronouns as children ages 2 to 3 years acquired transitive construction. Participants learned two nonce verbs, one of which was modeled in several transitive sentence frames and the other in neutral sentence frames. Many children produced transitive sentences with the first verb, but only children near age 3…

Two studies explored the relationship between young children's pragmatic skills and their grammatical development. The studies involved videotaping children with and without autism interacting with their parents at age 1;2 and 2;7. In both studies, pragmatic accomplishments of mutual attention, as well as mother's conversational style, explained…