Defines the approach of textlinguistics to the study of TV messages' comprehension, starting from the basic criterion that comprehension depends on the global semantic structure of the message and on the situational context of the communicants. On this basis the potential of television as a tool for language instruction is discussed. (MES)

Results of a study in which first graders learned ten unfamiliar function words in two different formats indicated that sentence readers learned more about the syntactic and semantic identities of function words, whereas list readers remembered their orthographic identities better and could pronounce the words faster and more accurately in…

Groups of teachers and teacher education majors in Australia at various stages of training are surveyed in terms of their attitudes toward teachers and education, changes in these attitudes, and cross-group comparisons of attitudes. (JMF)

Addresses the issue of vocabulary in the English as a Foreign Language classroom and introduces a technique for interlingual lexico-semantic comparison: the lexigram. This technique is based on restricted word-association data gathered from native speakers of English and Spanish and gives insights into vocabulary development. (Author/PJM)

Discusses the importance of the English passive voice in particular contexts and suggests a program for teaching it. There are three stages: (1) the student is shown the use of the passive and its function, (2) work is done on reading and listening comprehension, and (3) some grammatical markers are shown. (PJM)

After evaluation of 125 words was obtained on 51 separate scales, six more general factors emerged: spelling and sound, imagery and meaning, word frequency, recall, emotionality, and goodness. The claim is that multivariate research is a necessary addition to the study of verbal behavior. (PJM)

Describes and critiques a study conducted with boys eight- to fourteen-years-old to test whether intensionality (defined as supraordination) and maladjustment are related. Concludes that the boys tested may have been too young to have fully developed their supraordination abilities and that boys' ability or preference to make supraordinate…

Analyzes the way the Supreme Court decision in the Bakke case dealt delicately with the meanings of a number of key words, including "quota,""stigma,""equality," and "discrimination." (GT)

Discusses exercises in foreign language teaching in which the learner can, from experience in his own language, conjecture the meaning of foreign words from the context. Shows, with examples, how such exercises can be created using nonsense words. (IFS/WGA)

Reviews research done in the 1970s on the graphic, morphological, syntactic, textual, and semantic levels in foreign language reading and compares it with first language learning research. Speculates on future developments that may result in more efficient teaching programs and test devices in foreign language reading. (FL)

The present study is an attempt to apply a paradigm to the shift of verbal behavior before and after the age of seven in order to see if linguistic contexts affect verbal behavior differentially before seven or after seven. (Author/CFM)

Sentences were constructed in which the terms "before" and "after" were embedded in logically constrained and logically reversible sequences. The preschool children in the study found the constrained sentences easier to comprehend. (Author/CFM)

Discusses the possible contribution of linguistics to the legal field, and cautions about the limitations of this contribution. (AM)

Examines the feasibility of using a time-series design intensively in a school situation. Investigates student attitudes toward a biology class using the operant single-subject design. Despite the developmental nature of this study, it demonstrates that the five-item semantic differential is a valid and easily used instrument. (Author/MA)

Examines the theoretical framework of psychologist Lev Vygotsky with regard to communication tools, cognition, and socio-cultural effects on these tools. Reports the results of several studies of students' word meanings of division by adapting Luria's instruments for alternative assessments. Discusses the implications of socio-cultural diversity,…