Reviews published research on the question of whether recipients of utterances pay attention to gesture and whether they alter their understandings of utterances in light of this. Examines both experimental and observational studies. (51 references) (MDM)

Presents a quantitative study of children's noun plural overregularizations on recent comparisons of connectionist and symbolic models of language. The speech of 10 English-speaking children aged 1;3 to 5;2 were analyzed. Results pose challenges to connectionist models, but are consistent with the blocking-and-retrieval-failure model in which…

This article explores the effect of raters' background on assessments made in an occupation-specific oral language test, the Japanese Language Test for Tour Guides. Assessments of 51 test candidates made by 33 assessors were compared in order to determine what effect background has on assessments made on both linguistic and "real-world"…

Presents a critical review of the published accounts of the "Genie Case," involving psycholinguistic research conducted by Susan Curtiss and others in the 1970s with an adolescent with extremely limited language ability. The review maintains that serious discrepancies still remain in the accounts of the subject's language abilities. (21…

Argues that second language teaching that aims to foster speaking skills and natural spoken interaction should be based upon the grammar of spoken language, not on grammars that mainly reflect written norms. Using evidence from a mini-corpus of conversational English, it is shown that popular pedagogical grammars are deficient in conversational…

English-as-a-Second-Language learners are not always aware of the interference of native culture rhetorical patterns in writing Western academic exposition. Ways to integrate many of those patterns into the discourse norms of academic writing, even when the patterns are oral-based, are described. (55 references) (Author/LB)

Investigated the effects of three types of block, housekeeping, and changing thematic play centers on young children's language production. Although results indicated that language production and vocabulary varied according to the type of center, children produced more oral language and used more diverse vocabulary in the block center. (Author/BB)

Presenting an account of the general workings and functions of English intonation and accentuation, the discussion notes the prominent role of accent placement. An attempted overall framework for interpreting intonation and accent in English takes account of the discourse dimension to render the subject accessible to both teacher and learner.…

The CAI system described offers instantaneous visual presentation of such features of speech prosody as intonation, rhythm, and stress. A TV screen shows both the model sentence (as the student hears it) and the student's own imitation thereof. The system allows for text management, computer-generated sound, and visualized intonation contours. (10…

Varying definitions of formulas, or apparently nonproductive utterances in children's speech, are compared, and criteria for formula recognition are reviewed. A preference rule system is proposed, which distinguishes conditions for formula recognition. Formulas found in the data of one child acquiring Irish are examined. (29 references) (KM)

Reports results of variety of validity analyses involving American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Interview as it was administered to 59 learners of English and 60 learners of French. Concludes that ACTFL guidelines can be useful as an assessment tool and offer advantages that warrant serious consideration in the…

This study explores the role that gesture plays in the earliest stages of language learning. A description is provided of how one-word speakers use gesture in combination in combination with speech in their spontaneous communications and interpret gesture presented in combination with speech in an experimental situation. (JL)

Describes the phonological and phonetic features of English as spoken in Pakistan and shows such distinctive patterns as anglicized, acrolectal, mesolectal, and basilectal varieties of Pakistani English. (45 references) (CB)

Examination of the perceptibility of carryover coarticulatory perturbations occurring at syllabic vowels in Mandarin Chinese suggests that, in connected speech, a portion of fundamental frequency at intertonemic onset is perturbed, including initial voiced consonants and vowels, and that the perturbations result from preservative as well as…

An empirical study of the speech act of definition in science lectures found that definitions signposted the logical/discourse structure of the lecture, helped to maintain comprehension as discourse progressed, and were often clustered together in discourse. (14 references) (Author/CB)