This report summarizes research on experienced programmers' comprehension of computer programs that was carried out over a three-year contract period (1982-85). Following an extensive review of the programming skill literature, an analysis of programs based on the multiple abstractions (points-of-view) that characterize program text and design was…

The notion that a set of restricted-generalized abilities underlies both reading and writing is explored in this essay. Following a definition of schooled language competence (SLC), the first section asserts that knowledge and problem solving are insufficient and nonlinguistic approaches to language competence. The second section focuses on…

Noting that the idea of linguistic case has evolved from an account of noun affixes (surface case) to an account of how syntactic relations between noun phrases and sentences map into deep relations between objects and events (deep case), this paper examines the notion of deep case as it applies to natural language understanding. Following a…

Literacy implies the ability to read and write, but for educated persons it also involves special skills that are fundamentally cognitive or intellectual. This ability to think critically should be taught in college composition classes, since studies have indicated that over half of the undergraduates in the United States are at the concrete…

The first of three articles on the ways in which people formulate their observations, this paper considers the basic assumptions of both syntactic and paradigmatic models of cognition and their applications in natural (i.e., human) and artificial (i.e., computer) information processing. The analysis begins with background information on the nature…

A study examined the efficacy of the keyword method of vocabulary instruction by comparing it with five methods designed to increase semantic processing of the definitions of the vocabulary words. Subjects in all five experiments were college students. In the first three experiments, recall of the definitions from the vocabulary words was the…

Intensive peer review is a method of teaching expository writing developed two years ago by A. N. Doane and now used extensively in freshman expository writing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Students meet regularly in groups of four three times a week over the course of the term to share and critique each other's writing. The instructor…

Some of the problems of acquisition of pragmatic competence in speech experience by language learners are examined, and the implications of selected literature in sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, and social psychology for enhancing pragmatic competence through second language instruction are discussed. Of special concern are the development…

This paper describes and illustrates a simulation model for the processing of grammatical elements in a sentence, focusing on one aspect of sentence comprehension: the assignment of the constituent elements of a sentence to the correct thematic case roles. The model addresses questions about sentence processing from a perspective very different…

Most studies of eye movement behavior during reading have dealt with the processes involved with local aspects of text, such as visual or graphic characteristics or individual word features. To determine if a global level of processing (pertaining to the whole text or to large sections of it) would affect eye movement patterns differently, a study…

Seventy good readers and 70 poor readers who were students at a community college participated in a study that examined the role of adversative connectives in helping students integrate information across sentence boundaries. Three functions of adversative connectives were examined: contrast or conflict, parallel points, and foregrounding…

A study of young children's assignment of nouns to gender categories and general mastery of the Icelandic gender system is reported. An examination of what is involved in the induction of formal categories such as gender introduces the proposal of a "principle of localness." This principle states that the closer in proximity a closed…

A study investigated language patterning, as an indication of synthetic mental activity, in comparison groups of normal pre-middle-aged adults (30-42 years), normal elderly adults (75-93), and elderly adults (71-91) with Alzheimer's dementia. Semiotic theory was used as the conceptual context. Linguistic measures included the Token Test, the…

A study investigated the effects of verbalizing comprehension strategies on reading achievement, self-efficacy, and ability attributions of 26 children in grades four and five. The subjects, who had reading comprehension deficiencies, received instruction practice and opportunities. Within each grade, half of the subjects verbalized strategies…

Recognizing that language itself is not an isolated entity but part of a larger social, cultural, and cognitive context, the papers in this book investigate the relationships among all aspects of language--reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Literacy is dealt with as the development of language in young children. Issues related to this…