Examined in a longitudinal study of children were correspondences and correlations between early language development on the one hand, and the manipulation of objects and play development on the other. There were developmental correspondences between the onset of five language landmarks (the emergence of first word, referential word, demonstrative…

An alternative to the standard "rule based" account of a child's acquisition of the past tense in English is presented in this paper. While the rule based assumption suggests that children typically pass through a three-phase acquisition process in which they first learn past tense by rote, then learn the past tense rule and overregularize, and…

The goal of this study is to find salient conditions and categories of conditions that seem to be important factors in parents' control over their children's early linguistic environment. Five families in a small academic community in the U.S. Midwest were identified. One parent was a native speaker of English (L1) and the other, a native speaker…

In this course text on second language acquisition, the latest research of Halle and Chomsky, Lenneberg, Hatch, Larsen-Freeman, Dulay and Burt, and Krashen is presented. The text covers such topics as the effects of environment, age, and personality on second language acquisition; the role of the first language; and error analysis. Enough has been…

The final report describes the syntactic, semantic, and tutorial components of the Interactive Language Instruction Assistance for the Deaf (ILIAD) system and the steps that have been taken to implement ILIAD on a microcomputer. It is explained that the ILIAD design allows for highly interactive tutorials in which the deaf learner specifies the…

Two experiments investigated the linear and nonlinear processes involved in a visual search of letter displays. The displays used in the experiments were well-illuminated 6 x 6 degree or 10 x 10 degree fields containing from 2 to 23 capital As, Bs, or Cs located randomly over the displays. The task of the subjects was to decide as rapidly as…

To gain additional information about how young children actually develop and use literacy before entering school, four young children were studied indepth by means of family questionnaires, reading age tests, diagnostic subskill tests, and miscue analysis. Five months later, the children were again tested to see if reading age had increased and if…

Two studies of the innovative semantic distinctions and innovative uses before the acquisition of conventional number classifiers by young Japanese children (aged 5-7 years) are discussed. The findings suggest that lexical acquisition is an intricate process which often requires more than simple mappings of forms onto categories, and that…

Many classics in children's literature have metaphoric structures that enhance the structure of the plot. Metaphor is not an added frill to creative writing, nor is it the private province of poets. It is a necessary part of everyday language. One viewpoint on metaphor can be found in studies on child language acquisition. Children do use…

The effectiveness of training mothers to use four incidental language teaching procedures with their language-delayed preschoolers was evaluated. Six mothers were trained to use the following techniques: first, the Model Procedure, which provides the response for the child to imitate; second, the Mand-Model Procedure, which elicits information the…

The problem of English language-processing by 30 prelingually deaf high school students is examined from a contextualist perspective. The influence of language mode (print or sign) and syntax--English or American Sign Language (ASL) on recall, preference, and comprehension was approached through the processing of meaningful and coherent passages…

The manual describes the SKI*HI Model, a comprehensive approach to identification and home intervention treatment of hearing impaired children and their families. The model features home programing in four basic areas: the home hearing aid program (nine lessons which facilitate the proper fit and acceptance of amplification by the child), home…

The author reviews studies in which operant training techniques were used to develop and remediate the speech and language skills of vocal imitation, functional speech, generative speech, and generalized speech usage in autistic, severely retarded, echolalic, and other nonverbal Ss. (LC)