Data on intentional communication by 15 normal children (ages 11-14 months at outset) were collected at three stages (prelinguistic, one-word, multiword) over the course of a year. All displayed acts for regulating behavior, engaging in social interaction, and referencing joint attention at each stage but with changing proportions. (Author/VW)

Two strategies that children use to figure out new word meanings--attention to linguistic form class and the assumption of lexical contrast--were examined. It was found that very young children use both form class and lexical contrast to interpret new words. (PCB)

Two highly contrasting models of preschool education for mildly handicapped children were compared. Direct Instruction led to greater gains on the Test of Early Language Development and the Basic Language Concepts test. Mediated Learning led to greater gains on the McCarthy Verbal and Memory scales and Mean Length of Utterance measure. (Author/VW)

Comparison of canonical (well-formed syllabic) babbling in 36 prelinguistic retarded children (17 to 62 months of age) with nonretarded children indicated a low correlation between babbling and developmental age suggesting substantial independence between cognitive development and babbling among retarded children. (Author/DB)

Outlines the life and philosophy of noted French child psychologist, Henri Wallon (1879-1962). Reviews the philosophical origins of the Wallonian Approach including the theory of emotions, the development of representational thought, the role of imitation in the formation of representation, and the role of language in the development of thought…

The article reviews the development of action words in the language of young children, provides a rationale and basis for the choice of action forms to include in an early vocabulary, and suggests strategies for facilitating action-word development in language impaired and normal children. (DB)

A study of 240 students in grades 4-10 found that fourth graders performed well on a proverb comprehension task involving contextual information, refuting earlier findings that preadolescents interpret proverbs literally. Performance was found to improve steadily through grade eight and was correlated to performance on a perceptual analogical…

The relationship between language and symbolic gesture was studied in nine children (ages 18-32 months) who were in the lowest 10 percent for language production for their age. Subjects performed like language-matched controls on a lexical production task. On a syntax-related task, they performed like age-matched and significantly better than…

A cross-sectional research study and a longitudinal research study failed to replicate previous research findings that indicated a linear relationship between age and mean length of utterance during the preschool years. Instead, a deceleration in age curves, particularly beyond about 36 months, was observed in each sample. (Author/CB)

The paper examines the contributions of Katrina de Hirsch to the understanding of developmental language disabilities, particularly in the areas of neurophysiological immaturity, the cluttering syndrome, the prediction of reading failure, and normal language development. (Author/DB)

Describes a project in which different kinds of pictures were used to promote children's thinking and language skills. (FL)

The article describes a reading program appropriate for the average deaf children without age-level language abilities. A top-down element features telling stories, reading aloud, creating narratives from the child's experiences, routines with picture books, functional literacy, and environmental print. A bottom-up component stresses letter…

Meta-analysis was used to statistically integrate the findings of 30 studies of language intervention efficacy in mentally retarded preschool children. Results indicated that (1) intervention has positive, immediate gains for retarded children and that (2) significant neurological involvement may impede intervention success. (Author/DB)

A modification of the language experience approach in which meaningful experiences form the basis for evoking language is illustrated with an autistic person. (CL)

Krashen's Monitor Model of second language learning is examined critically in light of other research, and a unified, more comprehensive theory combining theories of first and second language learning is called for. (MSE)