Qualitative research is inquiry aimed at describing and clarifying human experience as it appears in people's lives. Researchers using qualitative methods gather data that serve as evidence for their distilled descriptions. Qualitative data are gathered primarily in the form of spoken or written language rather than in the form of numbers.…

We examined the oral and written spelling performance on the Treiman-Bourassa Early Spelling Test (Treiman & Bourassa, 2000a) of 30 children with serious reading and spelling problems and 30 spelling-level-matched younger children who were progressing normally in learning to read and spell. The 2 groups' spellings were equivalent on a composite…

We report an experiment in which subjects named 120 pictures, consisting of series of five pictures drawn from each of 24 semantic categories (and intermixed with 45 fillers). The number of intervening trials (lag) between successive presentations of members of the same category varied from two to eight. Subjects' naming latencies were slowed by…

This article responds to points raised in the article "The paired format in the Cambridge Speaking Tests" by Julie Norton in the 59/4 issue of this Journal on the potential drawbacks of a paired format in oral testing, based on observations about the nature of the discourse produced in this context. This article argues that, although the author…

The Lexicon of British Sign Language (BSL), including, and perhaps especially, the productive lexicon, is highly motivated. Many sign linguists in the last few decades have played down the role of iconicity and other types of motivation in signed language. They have suggested that because sign forms and structures conform to rules of linguistic…

This paper discusses four experiments on Dutch which show that distinctive phonological features differ in their relevance for word recognition. The relevance of a feature for word recognition depends on its phonological stability, that is, the extent to which that feature is generally realized in accordance with its lexical specification in the…

In the Netherlands, as in most other European countries, closed captions for the deaf summarize texts rather than render them verbatim. Caption editors argue that in this way television viewers have enough time to both read the text and watch the program. They also claim that the meaning of the original message is properly conveyed. However, many…

The involvement of syllables in the perception of spoken English has traditionally been regarded as minimal because of ambiguous syllable boundaries and overriding rhythmic segmentation cues. The present experiments test the perceptual separability of syllables and vowels in spoken English using the migration paradigm. Experiments 1 and 2 show…

Developmental dyslexia (DD) and specific language impairment (SLI) are disorders of language that differ in diagnostic criteria and outcome. DD is defined by isolated reading deficits. SLI is defined by poor receptive and expressive oral language skills. Reading deficits, although prevalent, are not necessary for the diagnosis of SLI. An enduring…

Much research has been done in the area of storytelling with young children. Storytelling, as the author speaks of it, means a specific time set aside for the oral composing of texts. For the tellers, it is a chance to think through, discover, plan, and develop the story that they may, eventually, decide to write, alongside a supportive teacher…

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) describes language proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening on a 6-level scale. In this study, English-language experts from across Europe linked CEFR levels to scores on three tests: the TOEFL® iBT test, the TOEIC® assessment, and the TOEIC "Bridge"™ test.…

The purpose of study is to investigate the effective of using a cooperative learning strategy STAD-based program on developing some oral communication skills of second level students, English Department, Faculty of Education, Sana'a University. Based on literature review, related studies and a panel of jury members' point of view, a list of 5 oral…

Until now, much of the research on heritage language (HL) education has focused on the use of oral language or traditional print-based texts by HL speakers who are born and raised in the U.S. In addition, many of the available studies concentrate on beginning-level HL students because few second generation immigrants reach advanced levels of…

Among American Indian Pueblo tribes, community-based language revitalisation initiatives have been established in response to a growing language shift towards English. This has been most prominent among school age children, prompting some tribes to extend tribal language programmes into local public schools. For centuries, the transmission of…

The present study aims to explore the use of assessment in mathematics content courses for future elementary school teachers. Analysis of self assessment data on mathematical understanding and peer assessment data on oral mathematical presentation showed that pre-service teachers had a balanced understanding of procedural knowledge and problem…