Examination of the spoken English development of a hearing child whose deaf parents used American Sign Language (ASL) identified a consistent but not extensive ASL influence on simultaneity of expression, undifferentiated versus differentiated features, bound versus free morpheme mechanisms, and word order. (47 references) (Author/CB)

Eight preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) and 30 nonimpaired children were selected on the basis of specified mean length of utterance (MLU) ranges and compared on word class production. The high-MLU and low-MLU groups of SLI children could not be empirically differentiated based on their word class profiles, whereas the…

Analysis of adult learners' reports on comprehension strategies, comprehension level, confidence, and affective response to two authentic Spanish radio broadcasts found gender differences in comprehension strategy use and perceived confidence level, suggesting the need for instruction about the evaluation of strategy effectiveness and about…

Examination of the effect of second-language experience on the production of second-language vowels found that experienced native-speaking German learners of English did not pronounce similar English vowels more intelligibly than inexperienced learners, but experienced speakers produced a dissimilar English vowel better than inexperienced…

Forty hearing-impaired adults read and retold short stories, in either English or American Sign Language (ASL). Analysis indicated that there was more explicitness in ASL, with more importance placed on specification of instruments involved in an action. No significant story differences were found between subjects' stories and stories of…

Discusses orality as an historical feature of African American language habits. Provides historical evidence of the literate values and habits of African Americans since the early 1800s. Resists the tendency to deny variation in the habits and values of ethnic groups. (HB)

The importance of integrating written with oral language in second-language instruction for children is emphasized, and ways to do so naturally in the first two years of French language teaching are outlined. Specific exercises are described, particularly for the second year. (MSE)

Topics addressed in this review include ethnology and traditional dialect study, philology, linguistic conversion analysis, and interaction within the social sciences. Finland's size affects these research activities and research on spoken interaction is shifting to group projects with a common focus. (Contains 68 references.) (JP)

Word learning by young children is viewed as a problem deriving from the use of forms of discourse texts. Uses of causal and temporal terms in private speech by a child studied longitudinally from 1;9 to 3;0 are analyzed from this perspective. (Contains 38 references.) (JL)

Summarizes six studies, including research on the connection between children's writing and meaning, symbolic play with realistic props, the preschooler's developing sense of theme, the process of engaging children in textbook selection, children's use of stereotyped writing, and effects of computerized picture-word processing on kindergartners'…

A group of 21 adults with moderate intellectual disabilities were administered language assessment, reading, spelling, informal writing, and phonics tests. Most had difficulties with oral language, memory, and psycholinguistic or psychomotor skills. Opportunities to talk with skilled language users about written text were important to developing…

Examines how six major areas of foreign language education in Florida have been significantly affected by the proficiency movement. These areas include oral testing, curricular goals, instructional materials, teaching methods, state and county initiatives, and standards of achievement for teachers and students. (11 references) (GLR)

Summarizes the current state of research in conversation analysis, referring primarily to six different perspectives that have developed from the philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and linguistics disciplines. These include pragmatics; speech act theory; interactional sociolinguistics; ethnomethodology; ethnography of communication; and…

Surveys English accounting, its origin, its development, and its first books (1553-1680) to provide insight into the shift from orality to textuality in English society. (SR)

The IBM SpeechViewer was used in tutorial sessions within a program of training for international teaching assistants (ITAs) to examine the value of computer-based displays of speech in the teaching of pronunciation. ITAs did not improve significantly with SpeechViewer, but both ITAs and instructors indicated great enthusiasm for it as a teaching…