A study compared learning disabled (LD) adolescents with oral expressive problems to non-learning-disabled (NLD) adolescents on a formal operations task, with emphasis on a comparison between non-verbal performance and verbal explanations of the task. This paper reports part of the study, a comparison of two high school freshman subjects. The task…

The relation between reading and writing is important because tacit and possibly unwarranted assumptions underlie the theories and pedagogies which govern these processes. These assumptions are challenged by the claims that: (1) reading and writing are related in neurolinguistically specifiable ways; (2) they do not seem to be simple inverses of…

Correlational studies establishing the validity of language skill tests have traditionally described how well the tests have converged, that is, yielded equivalent results. Convergent and discriminant validation is a logical extension of these traditional procedures. However, since it requires evidence of discriminant as well as convergent…

It is suggested that the literature on communicative competence, replete with various formulations, mirrors the diversity of language outlined by Martin Joos in his essay "The Five Clocks." Three concepts of communicative competence are reviewed, in historical perspective. The first, promoted by Norm Chomsky, distinguished linguistic…

This article examines a variety of options for conducting investigations of the effects of interventionist form-focused instruction (FFI). Constructs related to three key areas of form-focussed instruction are presented; (1) the type of instruction, (2) the target of the instruction, and (3) the definition and measurement of "language…

Modern linguistic knowledge can provide a base for sound initial reading instruction. (JH)

Computer simulation studies of the proposed model are presented. Processes demonstrated are (1) verbally directed recall of visual experience; (2) understanding of verbal information; (3) aspects of learning and forgetting; (4) the dependence of recognition and understanding in context; and (5) elementary concepts of sentence production. (Author)

Suggests that an arbitrary placement of young children in bilingual programs without adequate prior assessment to detect actual language needs and competencies may be less productive than immediate English instruction. (RB)

Refers to "fine points" of Spanish usage. (SK)

Since Berlin and Kay's proposal in 1969 of two universals concerning the meanings of basic color words, three kinds of information have become available to help in understanding the encoding sequence, that is, the temporal order in which the basic color categories are accorded lexical status. McDaniel (1972, 1974, forthcoming) demonstrates that…

This paper reviews the theory of linguistic relativity, tracing the historical roots, as well as contemporary formulations of the notion that languages shape thought and percetpion in different ways. Implications are then considered for intercultural communication and communication research. A bibliography is appended. (AA)

Confirms that listeners rely on communicators' levels of linguistic nonimmediacy (the degree of verbal indirectness with which communicators refer to themselves) for impression formation. (RB)

Two experiments examine the extent to which the representation of a sentence depends upon the overall nature of a subject's task, in this case, memorization of a sentence and providing a continuation for a sentence. (AM)

This article reports on a study to determine the role of intonation in language acquisition. Related studies are mentioned. Research methods for the study are outlined and two case studies are reviewed. Conclusions show that adult-child interaction influences not only the child's use of intonation but also his acquisition of syntax. (Text is in…