This article challenges the assumption that actors, action, spatial scenes, and temporal events are primitives out of which narratives are formed. Then, a number of empirical investigations are presented of how children of different ages and languages differentiate between language forms and functions in their construction of actors, actions,…

The work of two theorists are compared by focusing on a limited number of central issues for a language-based theory of learning (LTL), including long-term goals and a genetic approach; language and social activity; appropriating culture; thinking in school; sociosemantic variation; enculturation; and intellectual consequences. The combined…

Offers an interview with noted linguist Noam Chomsky, who shares his thoughts about language, language development, and reading. (SR)

Four studies assessed whether children, before and after experiencing word naming explosion, differed in their ability to learn a new word after limited exposure. Both 13- and 18-month olds showed comprehension of the new word, even after a 24-hour delay, suggesting that, well before the productive naming explosion, children can quickly learn a…

An experimental elicitation task with children between the ages of 20 and 27 months shows that children learning Thai numeral classifiers begin with purely distributional information: specifically (1) that classifiers must appear in the postnumeral position, and (2) that classifiers comprise a conventional, closed set of words. (35 references) (JL)

Examines three perspectives on native and second language learning, attempting to integrate ideas from psychology, sociolinguistics, and linguistics into contemporary developments in language pedagogy and syllabus design, and giving special attention to such areas as socialization, self-regulation, and the role of school language programs. (95…

Two experiments examined young children's sensitivity to linguistic contexts in which particular function morphemes occur. Results showed that children who did not produce articles in spontaneous speech were able to distinguish between sentences, verbally presented in picture identification tasks, that contained grammatical articles and those that…

A language-in-context model is presented that integrates linguistic analysis of higher levels of organization in writing with analysis of student use of grammatical resources. Procedures for assessing student writing that are based on this model and used for diagnostic purposes are illustrated with texts by seven year olds. (23 references)…

The concept of input to the language learner is examined with reference to some current theorizing about language processing and the idea of modular systems of knowledge. It is argued that exposure to a second language engages the learner in a whole battery of different processing mechanisms. (21 references) (Author/LB)

The FG syndrome is characterized by unusual facies; sudden infant death; developmental delay; and abnormalities of the cardiac, gastrointestinal, and central nervous systems. Serial evaluations of one case with isolated agenesis of the corpus callosum found consistent patterns over time in specific language impairments in syntactic and…

This article reflects on the use of stories as learning tools for children unable to speak and shows how stories provide a medium for imagination and playfulness. Language has the power to liberate and enhance the lives of children limited in their physical independence. Stories can aid such children in being understood and in developing language…

Examined the effect of linguistic contrast in children's learning of color names. A novel color term for a stimulus color that was contrasted with a child's label helped five-year olds learn the new term. When the contrast was presented more than once, three- and four-year olds performed much like the five-year olds. (BC)

Argues that to improve the parameter model as a theory of language acquisition it has to be constrained in several ways. Results on the acquisition of subject-verb agreement, verb placement, empty subjects, and negation in German child language are presented. (55 references) (JL)

A common problem in adult second-language learning, the disparity between child and adult second-language learning referred to as the Adult Language Learning Paradox, is examined within the Parallel Distributed Processing model framework. (24 references) (JL)

Discusses how a child's language development is facilitated through the child's active involvement in a variety of play, talk, and reading time experiences. States that the natural processes of child development encompassing space, movement, vision, audition, and sensory integration form the backdrop for knowing the world and for the evolution of…