Discusses research on direct vocabulary instruction. Suggests that instructional practices can be affected by the educator's philosophy toward teaching vocabulary, by the amount of practice afforded for building associations between words and meanings, and by the information provided for promoting "fuller" understanding of word meaning.…

The study found that providing feedback and goals in an accelerating standards condition had a positive effect on the learning of eight retarded children (mean age 9 years) on a five-choice discrimination task requiring vocabulary and perceptual competence. (Author/DB)

Addresses two questions: (1) When do children who are bilingual from birth become aware that they speak two languages? and (2) What are the factors that lead to this awareness? The subjects in the study described here were Italian/German bilingual children living in the Italian region of Alto Adige. (CFM)

There is more to the process of paraphrasing than simple transliteration. A variety of paraphrase types exist, each using a different strategy and requiring a different interpretive approach. (MSE)

A teacher offers suggestions for teaching students to write through examining passages, phrases, or sentences they enjoy reading. Activities include writing letters to book authors; examining characterizations; and using word pictures. A list of well-written books is included. (CB)

Describes a set of criteria for selection of core vocabulary, with examples given from English. Suggests applications for such a vocabulary in grading reading materials and analyzing stylistics. (LMO)

The acquisition of spatial terms in the language development of young children is examined. Two primary theories of word meaning and concept acquisition are reviewed, followed by a summary of current developmental research on spatial terms and factors influencing acquisition. Finally, guidelines for the assessment and teaching of spatial terms are…

Videotapes of four mother-child dyads and diaries kept by the mothers, showed that there was a strong relationship between the children's initial use of words and the most frequently occurring use of these words by the mothers. It was also found that, although the majority of children's first words were context-bound, a significant number were…

Rewriting activities are used by a teacher of the deaf to encourage children to express their ideas clearly, increase their vocabulary, work successfully as a group, and experiment with language. Each class rewrites a poem or short book once a week, does spontaneous oral rewrites, and rewrites each other's work. (VW)

The paper describes the keyword method for vocabulary instruction with learning disabled, mentally retarded, gifted, and typical students. The keyword method, a mnemonic technique using visual imagery, involves recoding, relating, and retrieving. Building fluency, using scientific word parts to understand complex words, and generalizing to…

Discusses teaching vocabulary when students do not know the words nor the concepts they represent. (SRT)

Sixteen vocabulary and self-expression exercises on the word, sentence, and paragraph levels designed to encourage creativity and free expression in writing in French as a second language are described. (MSE)

Enumerates reasons for using quotations as a staple in the English classroom, such as: to lend authority to words, to summarize a concept, to motivate or inspire, or to enhance vocabulary growth. (NKA)

Offers ideas on how to use stamps from foreign countries for second-language instruction. (SRT)

A meta-analysis examines studies concerned with the effects of vocabulary instruction on the learning of word meanings and on comprehension. It is concluded that vocabulary instruction has a significant effect on the comprehension of passages containing taught words, but significant effects are not found with all teaching methods. (Author/LMO)