The English of two Japanese boys acquiring English in a natural setting was observed over five months. The analysis and comparison of their language to first language acquisition data showed a striking similarity. There was no clear evidence of transfer from the mother tongue. (Author/RM)

Examines one aspect of communicative competence: the recognition of linguistic correlates of sex roles. Acquisition occurred according to 2 patterns: (1) increasing approximation to adult norms, and (2) rule learning and rule differentiation. Timing of these developmental sequences is discussed. (GO)

Art and literacy experiences can be integrated into the classroom to great effect, and in this book, the author demonstrates that. Interpreting and creating pictorial representations is an important step on the road to literacy, as is experimenting with combinations of symbols and text. When teachers value and support children's symbolic…

This topical bibliography and commentary discusses how the principles in first language acquisition can be applied to second language learning and summarizes a variety of techniques employed by teachers towards that end. It discusses first language acquisition, narrative strategies, conversational strategies, and creating contextual experiences.…

This book examines children's acquisition of a first language, the stages they go through, and how they use language as they learn. There are 16 chapters in 4 parts. After chapter 1, "Acquiring Languages: Issues and Questions," Part 1, "Getting Started," offers (2) "In Conversation with Children," (3) "Starting…

This book examines the phonological development and impairment of Chinese-speaking children. It contains a series of studies of phonological acquisition and development of children in specific contexts (Putonghua or Modern Standard Chinese, the language variety promoted by the Chinese government, and normally developing children, children with…

This brief paper presents a summary of a study which examined the developmental progression of categorization and its relationship to language development in 12 adults with severe to profound mental retardation and with less than 100 words of expressive language (including manual signs). Subjects were asked to sort physically eight miniature…

This paper addresses the different characteristics of children with hyperlexia, high functioning autism, and Asperger's Syndrome. It describes the pattern of development of 20 children with the characteristics of hyperlexia (precocious reading development and disordered language acquisition, accompanied with concomitant social and behavioral…

This article provides early elementary school teachers with specific strategies to support the diverse needs of children who are vulnerable for failure in school. Children who are vulnerable include those who have an increased risk for failure because of specific characteristics that have been found to predict problems in school, such as poverty.…

Despite three decades of research on African American English (AAE), educational workshops aimed at improving the academic achievement, particularly the literacy achievement, of African American students still emphasize differences between Standard English and African American English. One result is that teachers may overlook the linguistic…

This report describes how augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) automated language activity monitoring can provide clinicians with the tools they need to collect and analyze language samples from the natural environment of children with disabilities for clinical intervention and outcomes measurements. The Language Activity Monitor (LAM)…

Noting that children's talk makes some of their thinking visible and thereby provides a ready tool for early childhood teachers, this chapter focuses on the process of language acquisition. The chapter provides a historical context for language in early childhood education, discussing the nature of language and its acquisition, the development of…

Discusses the current debate over bi-dialectalism, proposing that we use dialects as a means of teaching language to everyone. (RB)

The assertion that Neurological Organization treatment procedures are potentially harmful is not supported by the data in this study, although negative results of such treatment on the child's linguistic and social behavior and on the functioning of the family unit has been frequently conjectured. (Author/RB)

Presents results from an experiment designed to extend the study of the relationship between the syntactic sophistication of the student and the material being read. (TO)