Building on Michael Graves's bestseller, "The Vocabulary Book," this new resource offers a comprehensive plan for vocabulary instruction that K-12 teachers can use with English language learners. It is broad enough to include instruction for students who are just beginning to build their English vocabularies, as well as for students…

We longitudinally investigated parental language context and infants' language experiences in relation to Dominican American and Mexican American infants' vocabularies. Mothers provided information on parental language context, comprising measures of parents' language background (i.e., childhood language) and current language use during interviews…

Quantity and quality of caregiver input was examined longitudinally in a sample of 50 parent-child dyads to determine which aspects of input contribute most to children's vocabulary skill across early development. Measures of input gleaned from parent-child interactions at child ages 18, 30, and 42 months were examined in relation to children's…

Are there individual differences in children's prediction of upcoming linguistic input and what do these differences reflect? Using a variant of the preferential looking paradigm (Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, Cauley, & Gordon, 1987), we found that, upon hearing a sentence like, "The boy eats a big cake," 2-year-olds fixate edible objects…

One of the most challenging tasks in increasingly diverse classrooms is helping students develop the "knowledge and language of science to communicate scientific explanations and ideas" (NRC 1996, p. 144). In this article, the authors share one of their favorite methods for incorporating and reinforcing science vocabulary instruction in…

Vocabulary knowledge is important because it is highly correlated with content area learning. Strategies for vocabulary instruction recommend using new words in multiple contexts as key to learning. To date, the term "multiple contexts" emphasizes written contexts, not three-dimensional concrete material contexts. This article describes the…

Differences in literacy growth over the summer versus the school year were examined to isolate how schooling affects children's literacy development from preschool through second grade across four literacy skills. Children (n = 383) were tested individually twice each year for up to 4 years on measures of phonological awareness, decoding, reading…

Learning science vocabulary is an often tedious but important component of many curricula. Frequently, students are expected to learn science vocabulary indirectly, but this method can hinder the success of lower-performing students (Carlisle, Fleming, and Gudbrandsen 2000). We have developed an inquiry-based vocabulary activity wherein students…

This longitudinal quasi-experimental study examines the effects of Word Generation, a middle-school vocabulary intervention, on the learning, maintenance, and consolidation of academic vocabulary for students from English-speaking homes, proficient English speakers from language-minority homes, and limited English-proficiency students. Using…

Speech production is inextricably linked to speech perception, yet they are usually investigated in isolation. In this study, we employed a verbal-repetition task to identify the neural substrates of speech processing with two ends active simultaneously using functional MRI. Subjects verbally repeated auditory stimuli containing an ambiguous vowel…

This article summarizes a research study investigating the effects of asking preschool teachers to use a professional development tool to support their planning, implementation, and reflection of vocabulary-rich storybook reading. Findings suggested that not only could teachers use the tool in their planning and reflection but also that use of the…

This paper tests the predictions of the vocabulary-tuning model of second language (L2) rephonologization in the domain of L2 segmental production. This model proposes a facilitating effect of adults' L2 vocabulary expansion on L2 perception and production and suggests that early improvements in L2 segmental production may be positively associated…

This column explores how literacy practices similarly enacted across disciplines served as a platform for considering collaborative professional development contexts. With current educational policy, content area teachers are expected to include relevant literacy practices within their disciplinary instruction. Based on research across science and…

Purpose: To evaluate the family environments of children with cochlear implants and to examine relationships between family environment and postimplant language development and executive function. Method: Forty-five families of children with cochlear implants completed a self-report family environment questionnaire (Family Environment Scale-Fourth…

This article examines how to promote university students' engagement in learning by means of instructor-initiated English as a foreign language (EFL) writing groups. The research took place in Rwanda and was undertaken as a case study involving 34 second-year undergraduate students, divided into 12 small working groups, and one instructor. The…