A validation study of five checklists for assessing two-year-olds' word production revealed that the lists produced comparable mean production scores, reflected age differences, and preserved individual differences in total production and in production of linguistic categories such as nouns, verbs, open class items, and closed class items.…

Discusses complexities inherent in correcting second language students' spoken and written errors. Alternatives to current error correction methods (1) focus on the use of error correction to improve students' language form, (2) involve the real communicative consequences of inaccuracy, (3) suggest strategies for attending to form when listening…

Reports the results of a feasibility study exploring the use of visual information for vowel production training in a foreign language. After 10 minutes of visual articulatory modeling and shaping, a native Spanish speaker improved her ability to produce a tongue position difference between English and Spanish vowels. (57 references) (Author/CB)

Examines the role of microcomputers in promoting oral language development. The potential for computer-assisted instruction is discussed in relation to theory and research in language development, available software is described, and the interaction of children with microcomputers to create a language learning environment is discussed. (22…

This article discusses preinstructional assessment (PIA) for determining appropriate curricula, particularly oral and written language curricula, for exceptional students. Collection and analysis of oral and written language samples for PIA are described. Ongoing monitoring of progress in the domain is discussed as a means to make instruction…

Examines such universal linguistic phenomena as simplification, overgeneralization, transfer, analysis, and convergence, and their corresponding theories regarding creolization, language acquisition, and language loss. A study of the Spanish verb system of Los Angeles bilinguals indicates that the continuous influx of new Spanish-speaking…

In addition to the benefits of the oral proficiency movement, problems are seen, including flaws in the claim that the testing is proficiency based, the potential misuse of competency-based education, and the Oral Proficiency Interview's inability to test nonlinguistic barriers to communication. (Author/MSE)

Longitudinal observation of one- to three-year-olds' (N=2) acquisition of complement phrasal construction in Korean found that, in spite of typological differences between English and Korean, both syntactic and semantic characteristics were shared by children acquiring complement structure in the two languages. (Author/CB)

Observes that rhythm and synchrony are facets of language learning and use that are often overlooked in English instruction. Describes several ways to explore the rhythmic aspects of speaking, reading, and writing. (MM)

Describes a preschool child's gradual acquisition of a play language, Pig Latin, and discusses the abilities and errors that were measured over the course of acquisition. Acquisition improved as the subject developed language abilities involving word identification, first-consonant deletion, suffix creation, and short-term memory for speech units.…

Reviews anthropological studies and demonstrates how the term "literate" has replaced the term "civilized" and how literacy is currently used to distinguish between different social groups in modern, technological societies. Discusses how teachers of English are actually teaching a set of oral and written social practices associated with the…

This examination of the frequency of occurrence of multiple meaning expressions in the oral speech of teachers found that such expressions as indirect requests, idioms, similes, metaphors, and irony were used in about 36 percent of all utterances by two different teachers at each grade level from K-eight. Implications for language-impaired…

The validity of 2 implicational universals regarding constituent order in questions is tested in the English speech of 14 native speakers of Japanese, Turkish, and Korean. The interlanguage evidence is found to be generally supportive of the 2 universals. (31 references). (Author/VWL)

Describes the development of an interactive videodisc package designed to give Japanese-speaking business students extensive exposure to, and practice with, spoken English in realistic situations. Package activities stress a non-coercive, user-centered, low anxiety approach that encourages language learning through exploration and experience…

A validation study of the "semi-direct" Chinese Speaking Test (CST) directly compared college students' performance on the test with their performance on the "live" language proficiency interview. CST provided scoring results largely equivalent to those of the live interview, although examinees perceived CST to be more…