A PHONOLOGICAL COMPARISON WAS MADE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND SPANISH. THE PRINCIPAL REFERENCE USED FOR ENGLISH ANALYSIS WAS "AN OUTLINE OF ENGLISH STRUCTURE" BY TRAGER AND SMITH. THE PRINCIPAL REFERENCE USED FOR SPANISH ANALYSIS WAS "SPANISH JUNCTURE AND INTONATION" BY STOCKWELL, BOWEN, AND SILVA-FUENZALIDA. THE PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS COMMON TO A…

Language acquisition is a quantifiable system with the sum total of verbal inputs and outputs increasing with the age of the subject. Increases in vocabulary are positively accelerated during developmental years and become negatively accelerated or zero during adult years. Thus, older people have available a larger active and passive vocabulary.…

Reports results of a study in which the investigator attempted to identify dimensions of perceived vocal attributes, assess the specific effects of perceived vocal attributes on credibility evaluations, and compare attributes and dimensions of attributes on their contributions to variance in credibility judgments. (GW)

Subjects of moderate intelligence (IQ 40-55) were found to be significantly more creative that those of lower intelligence (IQ 20-40); the fluency trait was a better measure of creativity than flexibility. (Author)

Comparison of word fluency with seven high-functioning children with autism (ages 11-15) and controls of similar age and vocabulary level found that both groups performed equally well when generating words in response to familiar category cues, but autistic children performed significantly less well than controls when generating miscellaneous…

Discusses two experiments: the first examining multilinguals ability to maintain native language writing quality and fluency in the presence of unattended irrelevant speech while maintaining a concurrent 6-digit memory load; the second in which bilinguals reduced fluency during writing with a six-digit load only. Results are interpreted in terms…

This study confirmed the following: Fowler's (1989) finding that duration is reduced for repeated words that involve Given information; evidence that Given repetitions are restricted to intra-topic discourse; evidence that duration is increased for new repetitions under intra-topic conditions; and evidence for shortening and lengthening are…

Of 171 human resource managers in multicultural corporations, 78.9% indicated the need for employees with second language fluency, especially in Spanish (69.6%). Second language speaking skills were in higher demand than reading or writing. Second language ability is a major consideration in hiring, promotion, and retention. (SK)

In this study we determined whether untrained raters' assessments of fluency in low-proficiency second language speech were related to temporal measures and whether they varied across tasks. We collected speech samples from 20 beginner Mandarin learners of English on picture description, monologue, and dialogue tasks. Temporal measures were made…

This paper focuses on how latent knowledge of an ancestral or heritage language affects subsequent acquisition by adults. The "latent speaker" is defined as an individual raised in an environment where the ancestral language was spoken but who did not become a speaker of that language. The study examines how attitudes, latent knowledge and…

The question whether executive function (EF) deficits in children are associated with conduct problems remains controversial. Although the origins of aggressive behavior are to be found in early childhood, findings from EF studies in preschool children with aggressive behavior are inconsistent. The current study aimed to investigate whether…

Whether a study is qualitative or quantitative, the process of data collection is not as orderly as it may seem when described in published research reports, articles, or books. Data collection may be more challenging when conducting research across national and linguistic borders. In this article, I share and reflect upon the complex and messy…

This study examines the pragmatic strategies that learners utilize to negotiate a resolution when refusing a native speaker of higher status in three asymmetric situations (+Power, +Distance). Following Pomerantz's (1984) analysis of dispreferred responses, this study focuses on refusals to an invitation, a request, and a suggestion. Refusal…

Presents a summary outline of an approach to oral testing used in the past two years with groups of students completing Fernand Marty's "Active French." (Author/PP)