The command-following behavior of holophrastic children was compared to that of telegraphic children. Four holoprastic and four telegraphic children learning English as a first language, and three holophrastic and the telegraphic children learning Spanish as a first language were tested. No significant differences were found among the four groups.…

Discusses the importance of the nonverbal component in second language learning, and describes research on the role of kinesics in language. (AM)

Reports on a study which explored the intonational differences between constant plus variable utterances and variable plus variable utterances, and which sought to use intonation to resolve the lexical additive vs syntactic representation of beginning productions. (AM)

The hypothesis that free recall involves the generation of candidate items followed by a decision process was tested in a situation which compared a standard recall test with a test that involved the overt generation and recognition of candidate items. (SW)

Paired English-learning and Spanish-learning infants were tested for perception of two synthetic speech contrasts differing in voice onset time. Results indicate that Spanish-learning infants discriminated both English and Spanish contrasts, while English-learning infants appeared to have discriminated English contrasts only. (JMB)

Investigates the role of imitation by children in the acquisition of lexical items and factors influencing word acquisition by imitation. Imitation did not appear to facilitate subsequent spontaneous use of lexical items. Results are discussed in terms of conditions which influence imitative behavior in children. (JMB)

Kindergarten, third-grade and fifth-grade children were tested on a same-different auditory discrimination task. Word pairs varied in familiarity as well as summed positional frequency of the letters of the words in each pair. Results support the hypothesis that prereaders with normal language experiences develop sensitivities to…

Establishes a significant correlation between the extent of Creole language interference and performance on a British reading comprehension test. Suggests that Creole affects the efficiency of understanding British English. (Author/RL)

Discusses recent analyses of the adjective in Italian and stresses the importance of the position of the Italian adjective for second language learners of Italian and for Italians learning foreign languages. (CFM)

An analysis was made of the correspondence between intonation and the larger and smaller movements accompanying two-syllable and longer utterances. Synchrony between peaks of intonation and movement pattern was found and is used to argue for a performative basis for early two-word productions. (Author/EJS)

Reports on an experiment, performed on seven children, designed to show that children understand "here" and "there" with the self as reference point before they understand words such as these with reference to other speakers as reference points. (Author/AM)

A conference was held in Montreal in November 1975 which focused on research related to the immersion approach to second language teaching. Background information and purposes of the conference are given. (RM)

Investigates the ability of adults and children to understand aspects of semantic ambiguity. (DD)

Outlines problems encountered in translating the English verb "to affect" into French. (Text is in French.) (CLK)

This paper reports an investigation into the acquisition of indirect object constructions by English children aged 5-10. Sentences having a prepositional "to" phrase containing the indirect object, and following the direct object, were acquired before sentences where the indirect object preceded the direct object. (CHK)