Children aged three to five were the subjects of two studies of the development of ability to classify diverse objects into superordinate categories. In the first experiment, subjects were asked to designate two of three pictorially represented objects as representative of a given category. The second experiment required subjects to choose from a…

The encoding specificity principle predicts that a change in context between input and test will adversely affect recognition memory. Experiment I tested this with sentences from a prose passage and no context effects were obtained. Experiments II, III, and IV compared context effects for words in random sentences versus connected discourse. In…

A study is reported in which pairs of synonyms, antonyms, coordinates, and super super-subordinates were presented dichotically to university students. After each pair the subject reported what he heard. In one condition the two members of a pair were presented simultaneously, and in another they were presented sequentially. (Author/RM)

Experiments are reported in which semantically interrelating sentences were presented to subjects as discrete items, and inference tests were given to measure the degree to which the similar information had been stored in the same memory system. Results suggest that verbal information is sometimes encoded into an episodic system. (Author/RM)

Advanced second language students' listening needs call for improvement in processing spoken discourse. Psychological data on memory span and linguistic discourse analysis findings are cited in support. A three-phase approach to listening instruction is proposed. (CHK)

Investigates covert linguistic behavior of two groups: above-average and below-average users of language. Found that the below-average group manifested higher levels of subvocal motor activity than the above-average group during simulated tasks, but that during pausing episodes while writing, the remedial group manifested lower levels of subvocal…

The acquisition of textual competence in a language occurs through the acquisition of both lexical competence and knowledge of word order that allows the construction of well-formed sequences. Exercises that help develop vocabulary and word order skills in French as a foreign language are presented. (MSE)

Examines (in two experiments) the effects of schematic and proposition-specific processing on long term story memory. Determines that recall of idea units was an additive function of the idea's importance. Finds that both proposition-specific and schema-related processing are important for long-term retention of narrative prose. (SKC)

Notes the problem in reading instruction of teaching children both one-to-one representational meaning of words and world-meaning of words, a distinction that can alter their perception of truth as found in written works. (JC)

The relationship between sign language rehearsal and written free recall was examined by having deaf college students rehearse the sign language equivalents of printed English words. Studies of both immediate and delayed memory suggested that word recall increased as a function of total rehearsal frequency and frequency of appearance in rehearsal…

When lexical availability was manipulated through discourse support and word frequency for 40 target nouns, measurement of effects on length, complexity, order of mention, and fluency of 4- to 8-year-olds' utterances showed that the number and length of responses containing the target word varied with age, word frequency, and discourse support…

The recommended treatment approach for aphasia involves increasing the efficiency of language processing by manipulating the patient's processing of stimuli. Discussed are assessment, identification of the point of processing breakdown, identification of facilitory stimulus parameters, and treatment through stimulus manipulation. Two case studies…

Spion, an adventure game for intermediate and advanced college German students, requires players to communicate with a fictitious agent in complete, correct German sentences. The spy game was written in PROLOG, runs on an IBM-PC, and is available at no cost for noncommercial purposes. (Author/CB)

Study of equilibration between assimilatory and accommodatory processes in the learning styles of first-year French-speaking students of English as a second language indicated that: students' alternative frameworks should be exposed; intake is penetrable; equilibration leads to learning in the broad sense; and language pedagogy should downtone its…

Investigates the interaction of syntax, semantics, and pragamatics from the perspectives of functional constraints on sentence processing. Findings reveal that native speakers of Italian first become aware of the importance of the concept of word order in a second language before being able to determine the specifics of word order in that…