Comparison of the fast mapping skills of language-impaired four- and five-year-olds (N=11) and nondisabled peers (N=11) revealed no differences in ability to infer a connection between a novel word and referent, to comprehend a novel word after a single exposure, and to recall nonlinguistic information associated with the referent. (Author/CB)

Language disabled (LD) and average (N=40) six- and eight-year-olds were evaluated on the ability to detect multiple word meanings in ambiguous sentences with and without picture clues and to identify appropriate word meaning by sentence context. LD students did not show average growth in these abilities over the two-year age span. (Author/DB)

Monolingual dictionaries have serious disadvantages in many language teaching situations; bilingual dictionaries are potentially more efficient and more motivating sources of information for language learners. (Author/CB)

Presents a brief theoretical statement on definition and then discusses a study of the development of definition in children aged 5 to 10. The development of definition is characterized as the gradual articulation of a conventional definitional form out of more general forms of ordinary oral discourse. (NCR)

Argues that the process of recording newly encountered vocabulary items in a typical language learning situation can be improved through a computerized system of vocabulary storage based on database management software that improves the discovery and recording of meaning, subsequent retrieval of items for productive use, and memory retention.…

This article argues in favor of a receptive vocabulary component in foreign language courses through consideration of: productive vs. receptive vocabulary knowledge; misconceptions in receptive vocabulary instruction; and classroom-tested approaches and activities for receptive vocabulary development. (CB)

This teaching example shows how to use students' own experiences to help them learn social studies terminology. The example must be told as a story spoken to the class. The teacher's responsibility is to guide and facilitate the students' presentations. (JDH)

Presents the findings of an experiment conducted to determine the efficacy of the suggestopedia method (learning through suggestion, relaxation, and concentration) in teaching English vocabulary to 90 Spanish-dominant third graders. Reports that suggestopedia was found to be more effective than a control method for teaching vocabulary. (DR)

Describes the structured overview, a chart that helps students associate known terms with new terms. Discusses a method of introducing the structured overview. The author then presents two exercises that reinforce learning of vocabulary and the relationship between key concepts: the scrambled overview and label-object matching. More advanced…

Extracts guidelines from research for incorporating vocabulary instruction into the everyday routines of the classroom. (EL)

Students can become competent spellers given a teacher with patience and energy capable of developing an awareness of the way the English writing system works; a good reason for accurate spelling; the willingness to attempt to spell independently; and a multistrategy approach using graphophonics, visual and meaning systems, self-corrective…

Presents a word identification exercise that can be used with students who have no prior knowledge about the teaching of reading. (FL)

Describes one teacher's systematic inquiry into the effectiveness of strategies to increase students' vocabularies. A research-type approach indicated that use of clarity statements and interchanges that encouraged connections to the students' own lives seemed more effective in helping students incorporate their understanding of concepts with…

Describes an exercise to help students break their dependency on the dictionary and to trust themselves to derive the meaning of unfamiliar words from the surrounding context. Students read a sentence containing an unfamiliar word, infer the meaning from the context, then design a new sentence using the word. (HTH)

Discusses (in question/answer format) criteria to use when evaluating language arts software. Also reviews four programs illustrating principles/ideas considered in these criteria. Programs include: "Story Maker" (grades 3 and above); "Suspect Sentences" (Grades 7-12); "M-ss-ng L-nks" (grades 2 and above); and…