A variety of classroom games and exercises are described for developing oral and reading skills in French. Included among the games are a giant advent calendar, a reading contest, description and identification games, questions and answers, guessing games, a trivia game, and a spelling exercise. (MSE)

Incidental vocabulary learning from context and 2 factors that might influence it, access to a dictionary and verbal ability, were examined among 112 second-year university students. Results indicate that subjects learned more words while reading for meaning, but high verbal ability students and those using a dictionary learn more. (71 references)…

Presents various learning activities and instructional materials for helping students learn French or Spanish grammar and culture. These materials include flash cards and lists of items to be used on labels. Activities include using the flash cards, writing newspaper ads in the foreign language, and naming the different items in a house. (CK)

Reviews three examples of classroom-tested multimedia technology. The titles reviewed are "Scrabble,""A to Zap!," and "Brain Quest." Reviews include hardware requirements, price, and children's book titles that can be used to expand on the software's use. (ET)

This study compared factors contributing to Quick Incidental Learning of new vocabulary by 50 5-year olds with specific language impairment (SLI) and 2 comparison groups. Although SLI children exhibited a robust representational mapping ability, performance was modulated by a minimum input constraint and apparent problems with storage into…

Cognitive development research can be applied to the learning of a second language, resulting in a view of language learning as the acquisition and development of expertise. From this framework, two processes are viewed from within this framework for learners of English: learning vocabulary and learning discourse and story. (Contains 10…

Examined the relation between phonological memory and foreign language learning by analyzing the correlations between pseudoword repetition performance and English test performance among 41 Finnish primary school pupils. Results found significant correlations between pseudoword repetition and foreign language learning. (18 references) (MDM)

Measures of vocabulary, phonological memory, nonverbal intelligence, and reading were taken from 80 children at ages 4, 5, 6, and 8 years. Comparisons revealed a significant shift in the causal underpinnings of the relationship between phonological memory and vocabulary development before and after age five. (Author/LB)

Investigated whether there were differences in retention of language when both visual and auditory stimuli were employed as opposed to just a visual stimulus. It was found that reading-only resulted in higher scores on tests taken immediately, whereas combined listening and reading resulted in higher tests when tests were delayed. (12 references)…

Examined overregularization of irregular verb forms in children's language learning. Found that overregularization errors are relatively rare; occur at a constant rate; and are not correlated with the proportion of regular verbs in parents' or children's speech. Also found that a period of correct performance precedes the child's first error. (BC)

Development of a course in French for tourism and the hotel industry in Sweden is chronicled, focusing on the process of functional analysis used to determine appropriate language content. A general functional outline of touristic French and an outline of language functions specific to a restaurant situation are presented. (MSE)

Examined the development of principles of control in the grammar of 15 preschool children over a 9-month period, focusing on pronominal reference. The results confirm a developmental sequence that is driven by lexical learning and changing structural analyses. (38 references) (MDM)

Four classroom activities for French instruction are described, including an exercise in contextual grammar, lessons in interpretation of charts and graphs, an exercise in extracting cultural information from text, and practice in calculating in French and applying basic economic concepts. (MSE)

PEECH (Programing for Early Education of Children with Handicaps) is a center-based program combining child-initiated and teacher-directed activities for children with mild to moderate disabilities, ages 3-5. Results of an evaluative study at the demonstration site and replication sites revealed participants' improvement in receptive and…

Twenty-six junior high school students with learning disabilities studied two science units via an activity-based, inquiry-oriented approach or a textbook approach. Students performed higher on immediate and delayed unit tests when they had learned by the inquiry approach, and reported a preference for this approach. Vocabulary acquisition was…