The present study investigated the brain mechanisms involved during young children's receptive familiarization with new words, and whether the dynamics of these mechanisms are related to the child's productive vocabulary size. To this end, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from 20-month-old children in a pseudoword repetition task.…

We investigated preschoolers' selective learning from models that had previously appeared to be reliable or unreliable. Replicating previous research, children from 4 years selectively learned novel words from reliable over unreliable speakers. Extending previous research, children also selectively learned other kinds of acts--novel games--from…

The paper reports on a study designed to examine the relationship between the thickness of ego boundaries and attainments in FL pronunciation after a clearly structured form-focused practical course of phonetics. The research involved 45 first-year students of the Institute of English Studies in Wroclaw, Poland, who had attended around thirty…

The present study was an attempt to investigate the effects of premodified input, interactionally modified input and modified output on 80 EFL learners' comprehension of new words. The subjects were randomly assigned into four groups of pre modified input, interactionally modified input, modified output and unmodified (control) groups. Each group…

The Mango Suite is a set of three freely downloadable cross-platform authoring programs for flexible network-based CALL exercises. They are Adobe Air applications, so they can be used on Windows, Macintosh, or Linux computers, provided the freely-available Adobe Air has been installed on the computer. The exercises which the programs generate are…

This purpose of this investigation is to explore the cultural challenges faced by Mexican immigrant students through the study of current literature. Four themes emerged as a result of the investigation: dominant pedagogy, educational skills, deficit model, and student identities. The themes are discussed and suggestions are made as to how these…

The incorporation of dialogic reading techniques in adult-child book reading has been effective in improving early literacy skills in children with language delays and those from at-risk populations. There is, however, limited research that examines the potential utility of dialogic reading strategies for children with disabilities such as Autism…

The following study examined the difference in science vocabulary acquisition comparing computer-assisted learning and a traditional study review sheet. Fourth and fifth grade students from a suburban school in central Texas were randomly selected and randomly assigned to either experimental group or control group. Both groups were given a…

In a year-long preparatory English class in a state university in Turkey, students are expected to develop knowledge and skills related to language including grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing ,and speaking. In this context students and teachers are challenged in considering how much accuracy should be emphasized in the learning and…

This study explores the cognitive basis of reading disabilities (RDs) in Spanish-speaking children who are learning English as a second language. Children (N = 393) designated as English language learners (ELLs) or bilingual with and without RDs in Grades 1, 2, and 3 were administered a battery of cognitive (short-term memory, working memory,…

Purpose: The goals of this study were to evaluate the impact of short-term phonological awareness (PA) instruction presented in children's first language (L1; Spanish) on gains in their L1 and second language (L2; English) and to determine whether relationships exist between vocabulary size, verbal working memory, and PA in Spanish-speaking…

Shared book reading is a prominent practice in preschools; however, limited research has examined this practice in classrooms with English language learners (ELLs). This study investigated the shared book reading practices of seven preschool teachers of Spanish-speaking ELLs to describe their vocabulary instructional practices before and after…

This article focuses on vocabulary and writing at university level from the perspectives of 14 English as an additional language students studying at a New Zealand university. The students individually carried out an integrated reading and writing task and then participated in an interview which focused on their language learning background and…

This article is primarily bidirectional in that it is concerned with two cognitive styles of field-dependency/independency on the one hand and breadth of vocabulary knowledge on the other hand. In other words, the present research primarily intends to investigate the nature of the students' vocabulary knowledge in the field of passive and active…

"Literacy Strategies: Variations on a Theme" presents pedagogical variations on Robert Marzano's Six Steps to Better Vocabulary Instruction to enhance the acquisition of TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language] vocabulary words by international student instrumentalists. Strategies to integrate proprioceptive [spatial body awareness]…