The author discusses major theories and developments over the last 30 years in three areas of developmental psychology: cognitive development, first language acquisition, and personality. He also comments briefly on methodology in the field. (SJL)

Five- and seven-year-old English and Spanish speaking children were tested on short term memory, perceptual matching, and referential communication tasks to determine the relationship between linguistic coordination and language group. English speakers had significantly lower performance on the communication and perceptual tasks. (Author/APM)

Describes how one school developed six literature-based explorations involving an author of children's books that was intended to develop children's imaginations. (HOD)

Researchers from several disciplines have contributed to the realization that context or social situation varies in regard to a child's language acquisition. Children acquire both linguistic competence, the unconscious understanding of grammatical rules, and communicative competence, the understanding that language is used differently in different…

Asserts that literacy can be seen as a dramatic set. Shows how this conceptualization makes sense of the central concerns of language programs and provides an explicit means for developing literacy. Notes that drama activities provide experiences across many linguistic registers. (RL)

In two experiments, infants 9-17 months of age were probed for recognition of a previously unfamiliar trained name. Responses were videotaped and scored for gaze, gesture, and vocalization. Results demonstrate improvement in receptive language capacity over the age range studied. (RMH)

Discusses research on language development and the conditions that facilitate and inhibit language learning; discusses the basal reader approach to language development and proposes spontaneous talk as an alternative format for teacher/student interaction and language development. (HOD)

The forms and functions of nonverbal gestures accompanying verbal directives in the free play of three children were examined. Results showed that gestures supplement verbal communication and increase in complexity with age, supporting the viewpoint that language develops as a social and cognitive skill. (PMJ)

Outlines music instruction for the elementary child who is deficient in verbal skill due to a disadvantaged or a non-English-speaking home environment. Presents methods for teaching various musical concepts and includes a month-by-month chart detailing the introduction and reinforcement of various techniques. (SJL)

The author presents a rationale for kindergarten English instruction for the five-year-old Spanish-dominant child. To support his view, he cites research on cognitive development and language acquisiton during early childhood and discusses the appropriateness of the kindergarten environment for language learning. (SJL)

Examines the linguistic, pedagogical, and political contexts of English teaching. (HTH)

A study conducted in Northern Ireland discovered differences in cognitive processing between average adult readers and adult literacy students. (MKM)

Children learn language by using it in the habitual and repetitive actions of daily life. The question "How do children extend their spoken language competence to writing?" is explored through examples of stories dictated by seven-year-olds. (JN)

This paper examines the ways music has, historically, been used to treat two problems common to many areas of exceptionality: retarded speech development and impaired hearing. Evidence is presented of nineteenth-century classroom practices, early diagnostic uses of music to determine hearing capacity, and uses of music to develop speech.…

Summarizes results of studies indicating that play training led to significant increases in young children's problem-solving ability, use of language, creative thinking ability, verbal ability, and conservation. (Author/MP)