Describes the founding of an experimental school in 1936 in Laren, Holland by Maria Montessori, which began to synthesize the cultural materials based on children's capacity for hearing and absorbing language. Discusses young children's responsiveness to learning scientific names for leaf forms. Cites this experience as evidence for her theory of…

Phonetic skills and vocabulary size were investigated in 37 toddlers identified with specific expressive language impairment and 20 comparison toddlers. Results indicate significant differences in numbers of consonant types and tokens, although the most frequently present consonants were consistent across groups. No predictive relationship emerged…

A study investigated "lexical inventions" in the advanced oral French of 39 native Dutch-speakers, 32 of whom had French as a second language (L2) and English as a third language (L3), with the others having L2 English and L3 French. A higher proportion of lexical inventions produced by French L2 speakers derived from non-standard use of…

One Israeli elementary school created and implemented the idea of combining communication studies and English lessons in sixth grade. After each textbook unit, they taught one communications studies topic, choosing several essential words for each subject and teaching them as vocabulary items. The program taught students to be more aware of what…

This study compared four commonly used vocabulary tests to screen or identify preschool children for specific language impairment (SLI). Four- and five-year olds with (N=31) and without (N=31) SLI were compared on the tests. Despite moderate to strong inter-test correlations, no test was a strong identifier of SLI. (Author/DB)

Presents an overview of the components of content-area reading instruction (word identification, vocabulary, and comprehension) and describes instructional strategies that can be used to teach middle and high school students with reading disabilities how to approach content-area reading. Tips for selecting textbooks are also included. (Author/CR)

Investigates the effect of subtitled television programs on Dutch elementary school children's foreign-language acquisition. Findings indicate that of three experimental conditions--English television program with and without subtitles, and a Dutch television program (control)--vocabulary acquisition and English word recognition were highest in…

Describes how teamwork, consistency, and use of sign language helped a child with Down Syndrome and deafness to increase her vocabulary from less than 20 words at the beginning of kindergarten to 228 words by the end of first grade. Six specific teaching strategies are outlined. (DB)

Investigates the effect teachers trained with American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages oral proficiency interview-type training has on student performance, instructional methods, and classroom materials in the secondary foreign-language classroom. Results of teacher interviews and questionnaires supported the hypothesis that trained…

Investigated the relationships among three types of vocabulary knowledge (passive, controlled active, and free active) within the same individuals, taking four variables into consideration: passive vocabulary size, language learning context, second (L2) for foreign (FL), length of residence in L2 context, and, among the Canadians, knowledge of…

Assessed and compared the development of receptive and productive Dutch and Turkish vocabulary of 31 Turkish immigrant preschool children. Using multivariate analysis of variance for repeated measurements, main and interaction effects of group (Turkish, Dutch working class, and Dutch middle class) and time were tested. Results are interpreted…

Five articles highlight specific techniques for use with learners of English as a Second or Foreign Language. These include integrating culture, technology, and writing in ESL; a book club for advanced adult literacy students; teaching students to evaluate Internet material; vocabulary circle talk; and language practice with networked computers.…

Looks at naturalistic samples of adult-to-child speech to determine whether variations in the input are consistent with reported variations in the proportions of nouns and verbs in children's early vocabularies. Naturalistic speech samples from English-, Italian-, and Mandarin-speaking children and their caregivers were examined. (Author/JL)

Provides a series of simple mnemonic exercises for memorizing terminology related to the central nervous system. The exercise chooses a keyword for a set of specific functions ("medal" for "medulla") and then constructs an imaginary situation, expressed in one or two sentences, illustrating some of those functions. (MJP)

Explores vocabulary-learning opportunities in a seventh-grade literature-based reading program. Discusses how this program supported vocabulary teaching and learning both explicitly and implicitly, and shows how varying classroom configurations expanded learners' word knowledge and enhanced their word-learning abilities. (SR)