Discusses the deviation of early Welsh literature from standard literary form and looks at the change process from the earlier literature in its oral form to written form. It is suggested that some forms and features apparent in the early literature, which suffered extinction because of a movement toward standardization, still survive in some…

Two experiments explored the tongue-twister paradigm, which involves reciting a word string several times over at a fast rate, using a task variation that minimizes articulatory and mnemonic load. The task was found to elicit good rates of "pure" articulatory errors. Two features had a significant error-reducing effect: repeated…

Examined phonological processes in spoken-word production, applying a form-preparation model to the question of whether phonological features could be preplanned to facilitate word production. Results are explained in terms of the WEAVER model of word-form encoding, which follows a serial encoding of segments with a parallel activation of…

Presents comparative think-aloud protocols of beginning level language learners listening to an oral test. Argues that successful listeners use more metacognitive strategies and use these strategies to interact at a deeper level with a text to construct meaning. Outlines an instructional model for developing metastrategic awareness. (Author/VWL)

Suggests that performance tests as currently represented in the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)-Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) may not adequately address the basic concerns brought about by the perceived shortcomings of academic second language programs. Supports this argument with a critical analysis of the ACTFL…

Investigates the lexical forms of speech sound production of a child learning Norwegian and English bilingually from birth. Data for lexical analysis are words attested by the MacArthur Development Inventory for Infants and diary data when the child was 1;2 to 1;8 years of age. (Author/VWL)

Reviews research that addresses how grammar can best be taught in terms of four theoretically motivated instructional options: (1) structured input; (2) explicit instruction; (3) production practice; (4) negative feedback. (Author/JL)

Voice onset time (VOT) was measured in the production of /t/ in the initial position of 60 English words spoken by native English (NE) speakers and native Spanish (NS) speakers who began learning English before the age of 21 years. Subjects rated words for familiarity, age of acquisition, imageability, and relatedness to words in the Spanish…

Examines how language corpora can inform the pedagogic process and asks who is to be the voice of authority with regard to spoken grammar. (Author/VWL)

In three studies, 2-year-old children communicated to a parent which two out-of-reach objects contained a sticker. Across trials, the objects were positioned in different configurations so that it possible or impossible for a child's pointing gesture to unambiguously specify one object. Results are discussed. (Author/VWL)

Verbal/vocal interactions of three Japanese mother-child dyads were examined in toddlers to determine whether mothers provide information that may facilitate the elaboration of child lexical forms during the transition from the prelinguistic to the linguistic period. Mothers were found to reproduce only the child's word like utterances, both well-…

Discusses research on classroom instructed second language learning, focusing solely on spoken language. Examines the structure of repair in form and accuracy contexts in the second language classroom and on the preference organization association within the structure of repair in such contexts. (Author/VWL)

Presents a qualitative analysis of one aspect of interviewer-candidate interaction, i.e., the types of linguistic and interfactional support that the native speaker interlocutor provides to the nonnative speaker candidate in a one-on-one interview. Results indicate there are eight types of interlocutor support, a positive finding. (63 references)…

A cross-dialectal comprehension test was conducted at Ohio University and three of its branch campuses. Results indicated that vowel changes occurring in Southern Ohio were generally interpreted by respondents in terms of their own vowel systems, and that limited exposure to the local dialect by outsiders led to recognition only of the more…

Cross-speaker variability in the use of prosodic features in intonation was investigated through analysis of adult speakers of English from London, England, using a new prosodic test battery (PEPS). PEPS is designed to elicit information about how speakers use prosodic features to realize different types of linguistic and communicative functions…