This paper responds to calls for studies that investigate multiple types of word knowledge and the processes of word learning. Focusing on a single word, this three-month diary study describes the micro-development of an adult male's Japanese L2 lexical knowledge. In contrast to most L2 vocabulary acquisition studies, this study posits a dynamic…

Hannula and Lehtinen (2001, 2005) defined spontaneous focusing on numerosity (SFON) as the tendency to notice the relatively abstract attribute of number despite the presence of other attributes. According to nativists, an innate concept of one to three directs young children's attention to these "intuitive numbers" in everyday situations--even…

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effectiveness of reading plus vocabulary-enhancement activities (RV) and narrow reading (NR)--repeated reading thematically related articles--on vocabulary acquisition and retention among English as a foreign language (EFL) secondary school students. Twenty-five third-year male…

Researchers have suggested that there is a noun bias in children's early vocabularies brought about by features of adults' child-directed utterances, which may vary across languages (E. V. Bates et al., 1994; D. Gentner, 1982). In the present study, the authors explored noun bias in 60 Filipino-English bilingual children whose 2 languages differed…

Very young children learn by exploring their surroundings, mostly by playing, during which they construct mental representations of the world. In fact, prior to Piaget's formal operational stage, children need concrete, hands-on experiences rather than abstract concepts to support more natural learning, developing, and thinking. In terms of…

Extending its use beyond the traditional role in reading and general proficiency assessment, this study examined the effects of the rational cloze procedure (RCP) as a stimulus in integrated reading, writing, and vocabulary instruction and teacher-student interaction. Participants were 39 secondary school multi-grade, multi-L1 low intermediate ESL…

This paper is based on a study on speaking fluency performed by six low level students using retelling technique. The aim of the study is to find out the effect of retelling on the students' speaking fluency and to know the strategies used by those students while retelling a story. The data were the speaking transcripts which were analyzed to see…

Merging the literatures of how to enhance young children's vocabulary development and how to improve learning through play, this study tested two vocabulary teaching protocols on at-risk preschool children: Explicit Instructional Vocabulary Protocol (EIVP) and shortened EIVP and a play session (EIVP + Play). From a group of 118 lowest-performing…

Fluent reading enables readers to focus on gaining meaning from what is read. This crucial facet of reading is often neglected instruction in elementary and is nearly non-existent in middle and high school instruction (Allington, 1983; Rasinski, Padak, McKeon, Wilfong, Friedauer, & Heim, 2005). At the elementary level, fluency instruction focuses…

"Teach Like a Champion" offers effective teaching techniques to help teachers, especially those in their first few years, become champions in the classroom. These powerful techniques are concrete, specific, and are easy to put into action the very next day. Training activities at the end of each chapter help the reader further their…

This brief reviews previous research related to the development of science knowledge and academic language in English language learners as well as the role of English language proficiency, learning in a second language, and first language knowledge in science learning. It also describes two successful CREATE interventions that build academic and…

In this study, we examined the developmental pathways from children's family environment to school readiness within a low-income sample (N = 1,046), with a specific focus on the role of sustained attention. Six distinct factors of the family environment representing maternal parenting behaviors, the physical home environment, and maternal mental…

In this paper, we present a design research study in Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL) that emphasizes learner created content and contextualized meaning making. In learning Chinese idioms, students proactively used smartphones on a 1:1 basis to capture photos of the real-life contexts pertaining to the idioms, and to construct sentences…

This paper reports the findings of a case study investigating the taxonomy of question-types in Hong Kong EFL classrooms, their appropriate application by teachers, and the resulting effectiveness in helping students understand the correct lesson objectives. Triangulation was conducted in data collection using classroom observations, teacher…

This study examined relations among early family risk, children's behavioral regulation at 54 months and kindergarten, and academic achievement in first grade using data on 1298 children from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Family risk was indexed by ethnic…