Review of neurolinguistic and psycholinguistic research regarding older (over 40 years of age) second language learners suggests classroom implications for dealing with this population's pronunciation problems and ways to capitalize on their superiority to younger students in terms of higher order linguistic processing. (CB)

Research on learning-disabled secondary school students' academic deficits, response to classroom environment, and response to instructional interventions is integrated with research on metacognition in text learning. A metacognitive orientation is recommended for instructional intervention programs, which should address general comprehension…

Examination of the first 50 words of three blind children revealed that the early vocabulary paralleled that of seeing children in terms of age and speed of acquisition. Differences between the two groups were related to factors which were highly influenced by experience (including visual experience). (Author/CB)

Examined written language tasks in 120 Gujarati-speaking children from grades two through four to assess the development of such skills in a syllabo-alphabetic writing system. Results indicated that the syllabo-alphabetic system of Devanagari proved to follow the models of reading acquisition constructed for alphabetic systems. (MM)

Presents a psycholinguistic analysis of the development of writing skills and reports a developmental study of knowledge effects in writing. A theoretical framework decomposes the requisite knowledge into three main components: (1) generalized, high-level problem-solving plans, (2) content, and (3) discourse. (Author/SED)

Describes the Success in Reading and Writing Program, designed to help students with attention deficit disorders by involving all four language processes. (FL)

Drawing upon the burgeoning research in neurology, as well as stories of real children, this book charts the brain's development, from conception through the critical first 5 years of life. In examining the many factors that play crucial roles in that process, the book explores the evolution of the senses, motor skills, social and emotional…

Twenty-two Cantonese-speaking Chinese students and 16 Spanish-speaking students were tested for short-term memory encoding strategies on word-recognition tests. Chinese speakers were found to encode Chinese ideographs phonologically, but both Chinese and Spanish learners of English were found to encode English words visually. (Author/CFM)

Examines the hypothesis that learners focus their attention on lexical instead of grammatical items when processing input for semantic information. The study measured language processing via reconstruction of propositional content and recognition of verb tense within a passage. Results indicate that lexical cues improved reconstruction of a…

Investigates the effect of competing structures (pragmatics, semantics and morphosyntax) on the development of Arabic subject-verb agreement morphology and marking in Arabic interlanguage among Australian students of Arabic. Findings indicate that linguistic complexity influences the processing strategies employed and determines the order of…

Maccia's epistemology of intelligent natural systems implies that computer systems must develop qualitative intelligence before knowledge representation and natural language understanding can be achieved. Emotion and sensation--capabilities which computers do not currently possess are vital to the growth of the mind (Stanley I. Greenspan).…

Explores the role of sonority in constraining the word identification errors of normal listeners by examining the phonological relationships between response errors and stimulus targets. Findings indicate that sonority and lexical phonostatistics may constrain coda-driven word-search processes. (35 references) (Author/CK)

Argues that grammar correction in second-language writing classes should be abandoned because it is ineffective, harmful, and unhelpful in any interesting sense for theoretical and practical reasons. The article also considers and rejects a number of arguments previously offered in favor of grammar correction. (122 references) (Author/CK)

Examines evidence offered to support the idea of a sensitive period for second language acquisition. Findings indicate that there is insufficient evidence to accept the claim that mastery of a second language is determined wholly, or even primarily, by maturational factors. (34 references) (Author/CK)

Challenges the belief in contemporary English language teaching that students should be exposed to authentic or natural language focused on achieving practical purposes, and draws some lessons from the classroom from the way young children play with language. (15 references) (Author/CK)