Speech discrimination scores for 13 deaf children were obtained in a classroom under: usual listening condition (hearing aid or not), binaural listening situation using auditory trainer/FM receiver with wireless microphone transmitter turned off, and binaural condition with inputs from auditory trainer/FM receiver and wireless microphone/FM…

Paper delivered at an in-service training session for grade 6 French teachers at North York, Ontario, Canada. (DS)

Results of a statistical study of language in 30 infants suggest that two acquisition styles (nominal/pronominal and referential/expressive) are developing in parallel. Only for children heavily emphasizing one strategy can a distinctive style be determined. Results at 20 months were only partially predictive of performance at 28 months. (MSE)

Children aged 1;4-1;6 were asked common "what"-questions in four contexts. Gesture had a significant effect on the nonverbal components of their responses, while linguistic sophistication and type of question affected only vocal responses. It is suggested that gestural information is processed relatively independently of speech at this age. (MSE)

A study investigating mothers' ideas of appropriate speech to children aged 1;6-3;6 looked at the explicitness of action directives given. Results support several theories and the notion that differences in mothers' language use reflect their ideas of what the child can understand. (MSE)

Using a commercially produced listening training program with a sample of 69 first-year postsecondary vocational students, researchers found that the program did not achieve sustained improvement in listening comprehension, interpretation, evaluation, and application. It was concluded that short, intensive training may not be adequate for this…

Discusses use of short-wave radio broadcasts as method for expanding students' appreciation of practical advantages of language learning. Suggests use of news broadcasts and gives guidelines for using broadcasts such as level of aural comprehension in class. (Author/BK)

Discusses objectives, classroom activities, and strategies involved in using radio broadcasts as instructional material. Suggests criteria to choose materials appropriate to the students' level of competence and focuses on the use of multiple choice questionnaires and direct questioning to gradually improve comprehension. (MES)

A comprehension task employing English animate third person pronouns was run on 100 children from three to seven years of age. Results show that comphrehension of forms beyond chance level first appears at age five, with continuing improvement through ages six and seven. Mastery of gender distinction preceded number and case. (Author/PJM)