This study analyzes the use and distribution patterns of the Discourse Marker (DM) "You Know" in interviews with members of a Hispanic folklore dance troupe. The study attempts to demonstrate how the use of this DM expresses identity among Hispanic females and if its use is affected by the ethnic labels each speaker uses. By assessing…

Discusses the ways languages of Europe render the "given"-"new" distinction on the basis of data collected by means of presenting speakers of various languages with the task of reconstructing a route on a map. The article raises questions about the nature of "wh"-pronouns in English and about what is shared by these…

Presents a fully incremental model that accounts for attachment preferences by the linear order of lexical heads in the surface structure and their thematic properties. Discusses the principle of "parameterised head attachment" and a serial variant on the basis of three online experiments on noun phrase and prepositional phrase…

Discusses three studies: (1) the effectiveness of semantic analyses of written narratives of students with hearing losses in determining language ability; (2) written-language characteristics of writers matched by reading abilities alone and matched by reading ability and age; and (3) written-language characteristics of writers with hearing…

Describes study that investigated the difference between computer-assisted instruction (CAI) and traditional lecture instruction in teaching an office technology course. The effects of CAI on student achievement and student attitudes is discussed, hypotheses tested and pretests and posttests are described, and further research needs are suggested.…

Describes the ways in which nonacademic outcomes have been identified as important. Discusses issues related to the measurement of nonacademic outcomes, and offers issues and recommendations relevant for special-services personnel. Argues that for students with disabilities, as well as other special-needs students, nonacademic outcomes are…

This study compared (1) performance on language skills and phonological process measures by 41 kindergarten children with speech/language impairments, and (2) their reading ability in first grade. Children with semantic-syntactic language deficits exhibited more difficulties in reading than did children with articulation impairments. Phonological…

Discusses a new approach to mathematics education that moves away from methods that tell students what to do and toward methods that help students build mental representations of mathematical concepts. Contrasts the previous and emerging views and examines aspects of the new approach. (26 references) (MDH)

Describes a study that investigated semantic relationships between citing and cited documents for a sample of document pairs in three journals in library and information science. Highlights include comparisons of Library of Congress classification numbers and subject descriptors; implications for collection development and relevance; and…

This case study uses six interviews with administrators and three speeches to trace the definition of the term "at risk" in Arizona educational policy, where the definition process was used as an opportunity to enhance the prestige and power of the State Department of Education. (SLD)

Gabonese students who speak French as a second language and are educated through French, learn English using textbooks designed for students in France. Article discusses pedagogical issues, goals that Gabonese students have in learning English, and the linguistic and sociolinguistic context in which learning of English takes place. Materials used…

Presents a classification scheme for reading-related exercises advocated in English-as-a-Foreign-Language textbooks. The scheme proposes a hierarchy of the degree and type of mental processing required by various vocabulary exercises. The categories of classification are selective attention, recognition, manipulation, interpretation and…

This article presents the Triune Assessment-Intervention Model (TAIM), which uses the constructs of sensemaking and dynamic literacy as its conceptual framework. The model assesses use of semantics/syntax, phonology/orthography, organization, and scripts/schemas rule systems though analysis of oral and literate discourse events, communication, and…

Tested the hypothesis that individual differences in immediate-verbal-memory span predict success in second-language vocabulary acquisition. In the two-session study, adult subjects learned 56 English-Finnish translations. Tested one week later, subjects were less likely to remember those words they had difficulty learning, even though they had…

The pragmatic function of conveying given and new information is one of the most important universal communicative functions that language serves. This study investigates how Mandarin-speaking children and adults utilize surface cues of word order, marked grammatical structure, and emphatic stress to determine whether information is given or new…