The study of 813 learning disabled children (ages 6-11) with test-retest data (after three years) on 224 children found the children to suffer a progressive deterioration in verbal ability whereas their nonverbal ability showed an increase in the earlier years, leveling off thereafter. (Author/DB)

Studies the earliest childhood memories of 82 deaf and hearing college students. Results indicate no significant difference in the age of the earliest recollections among the students. The average age of the first memory was between 3 and 4 years. (RJC)

Presents examples of how children acquire language through the principles-and-parameters model, a highly modular system in which different theories interact so that only permissible sequences arise, and highlights research on Spanish syntax and semantics. (136 references) (CB)

The study of four autistic children, aged six-nine, found support for the hypothesis that persistent pronominal errors by autistic children can be explained by failure to observe pronouns in speech addressed to another person, an aspect of language development in normal children. (Author/DB)

Describes how one classroom teacher uses improvisational drama to encourage student creativity and language learning. (MM)

Explores how an anthropological perspective provides a necessary basis for an account of several aspects of the language acquisition process. Discussion focuses on how the patterns of development in phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics appear to be profoundly influenced by the range of adult language structures. (Author/CB)

Advocates the development of oral language along with emergent literacy. Notes that classroom environment is essential to oral language development, and suggests ways to support children's language development, such as providing firsthand experiences with their environment, and focusing on materials and events relevant to their lives. (MM)

Examined effects of social interactions experienced by newborns on later speech ability. Subjects were 20 5-year olds and 20 6-year olds. Children were observed conducting a telephone communication task and also given the British Picture Vocabulary Test. Found that first-borns had larger vocabularies but less-developed conversation skills than…

This study of early word learning focused on the status of object words in early vocabularies. Fourteen children were followed from nine months to two years of age, and monthly vocabulary growth was analyzed. Results indicated that object words represented approximately one-third, on average, of the different words the children learned. (TJQ)

Examined thematic and grammatical role categories accessible to preschool children and how access to these categories changes with age. Results of three experiments with children and adults confirmed the psychological reality of certain semantic categories, and provided evidence suggesting a transition in the prominence of semantic relative to…

Shows ways that stories can be used to generate philosophical discussion and develop the thinking and literacy skills. Charts a theoretical background for research at the Centre for Thinking Skills into Cognitive Enrichment in the Early Years. Draws on project findings to show how stories can be used to generate higher order thinking and language…

This case study examined prosodic use in a normally developing child between the ages of 20 and 46 months. Conversational repairs were elicited to examine prosodic stress. Fundamental frequency, intensity, and duration of syllables were measured. Although the subject could repair stress errors, a clear pattern of the development of acoustic cues…

This longitudinal study found that 37 preschool children with Down's syndrome, compared to children with normal development, exhibited a disturbance in nonverbal requesting, and individual differences in nonverbal requesting were associated with subsequent development of expressive language in these children. Data indicate that acquisition of…

Videotaped four deaf preschoolers and their mothers during free play at home and coded the preschoolers' and mothers' gestures according to handshapes. Found that all children produced gestures characterized by combinations of handshapes and motions, and that children's gestures did not correspond to their mothers' gestures. (BC)

This brief statement supports more research on the linguistic and cognitive abilities of animals, particularly primates, and sees direct applicability of such research to language learning by humans with mental retardation who have not learned to speak. (DB)