Argues that the history of punctuation in the English-speaking world offers tangible evidence for the evolving interplay between speech and writing. (Author/VWL)

Investigated the role of context constraints on the course of predictive inferences during reading. Constraints were determined by manipulations of a context sentence that affected the extent to which an event was predictable. (Author/VWL)

Discusses how speech-language pathologists can use photography to encourage more active language expression in children with language and learning disabilities, and describes seven categories for photography use in language learning environments. Each photo project includes suggested language objectives, applications, and advantages. (Author/CR)

Examines whether storybook exposure and the amount of teaching in reading and writing skills reported by middle-class parents were related to oral language skills and written language skills of kindergarten children. Shows that storybook exposure explained statistically significant unique variance in children's oral language skills but not in…

Circumlocution can prevent communication breakdown and is a required function at the Advanced level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Oral Proficiency Scale. To encourage this communicative strategy, researchers conducted a study of two intermediate college French classes: one that encouraged circumlocution and…

Examined whether infants imitate the vocal pitch characteristics of adult caregivers and differentially adjust their vocal pitch or fundamental frequency toward that of their caregivers. Data are presented from a longitudinal case study of an infant recorded over several months, interacting with each parent. The infant did not demonstrate…

The dequeismo phenomenon is occurring more frequently in spoken Spanish in both Spain and in Latin America. Introduction of the preposition "de" before "que" in nominal complements exploits one recourse in Spanish, namely the deictic capacity of prepositional "de" as a marker or introducer of the speaker's…

Discusses the use of focus, or intonational prominence, to create meaning for learners of English. Presents an alternative approach to predicting focus that appeals to functional and meaning regularities that do not depend on extensive written input and are more easily adaptable to normal conversation. (Author/VWL)

Presents first a short article, "Response to the Issue of Ebonics," written by a Pennsylvania high school student. Follows this with an article, "Building Bridges to the 'Language of Wider Communication'" which reflects on ways of using the language children bring to the classroom as a means of building bridges to wider…

Examines the effects of Everyday Life Performance (ELP) (in which students speak in unison with tape recordings of naturally occurring conversations, using transcriptions as memory aids) on English-speaking college students enrolled in Spanish classes. Shows that students who have rehearsed an ELP over a six-week period reduced their errors in…

Explores the hypothesis that children identified as having phonological processing problems may have difficulty processing a different accent. Children with speech difficulties were compared with matched controls on four measures of auditory processing. Children were presented with stimuli in their own accent and in an unfamiliar accent…

An output-centered approach to foreign language instruction is presented that emphasizes a focus on form. Argues that "pushed output" is a crucial element of the language classroom environment that is focused on oral skills development among learners. (Author/VWL)

Addresses the question of whether there are different characteristics and language performance conditions (involving assumed different levels of cognitive demand) associated with different levels of fluency, complexity, or accuracy in test candidate responses. Participants were pre-university students taking English courses. (Author/VWL)

Investigates the role of visual communication in a spoken research genre: the scientific research paper. Analyzes 2,048 visuals projected during 90 papers given at five international conferences in three fields (Geology, medicine, physics), in order to bring out the recurrent features of the visual dimension. (Author/VWL)

Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have associated difficulties in reading decoding and reading comprehension. To date, few research studies have examined the children's written language. The aim of the present study was to (a) evaluate the nature and extent of the children's difficulties with writing and (b) investigate the…