Reports an investigation of the most appropriate tutorial setting for the generation of natural urban child language for experience stories. Concludes that the condition that tapped the most profuse linguistic performance for student-created reading material among Black sixth grade students was tutoring by a White adult professional teacher. (FL)

Five educational leaders--Millie Almy, Carolyn Burke, Jean Berko Gleason, Donald M. Murray, and Neil Postman--offer reflections on significant developments of the 1970s in the areas of reading and writing, their hopes for the 1980s, and references that constitute required reading for elementary language arts teachers. (ET)

Reviews research on the language learner and immersion-type bilingual education programs. It is noted that formal foreign language teaching may be needed in these programs for primary school children. It is suggested that research is needed and that a combination of functional and formal approaches be used. (Author/AMH)

Cites the case of Hebrew learning in Israel to show that, contrary to popular belief, the complexity of grapho-phonetic relationships is a minor or nonexistent factor in learning difficulties. (FL)

A communicativity index (Index I) is described that measures the potential communication function performed by a given language in a designated communication situation. Significant sociolinguistic contrasts between the language situations of West Malaysia and Singapore are revealed by applying this index. (PMJ)

Lakota Indians use five speaking styles--formal and informal Lakota and three types of nonstandard English. Choice of style is determined by the social context and the individuals. Since the styles are used to meet specific linguistic and social needs, they are likely to be maintained simultaneously. (PMJ)

The development of German proficiency by a three-year-old Australian boy living in Germany was monitored for a five-month period. His command of German negation is reported. The study is seen as bearing on issues in first and second language acquisition, such as competence and interference. (JB)

The behavior of 32 mothers during an object-retrieval game was analyzed in terms of the hints and clues they used to direct their children's attention; age-related differences were found in the type of information offered. (Author)

Judgements about the acceptability of anomalous and non-anomalous sentences were elicted from children between the ages of 2;0 and 5;0. The aim was to see how the children's direct experience might affect their recognition of semantic constraints, and how far their experience would generalize. (Author)

Describes an experiment which sought to determine what oral reading strategies were operating in the oral reading of primary French immersion children as compared to those in a traditional English language program. (AM)

Describes the three methods of teaching French in elementary schools in France: the traditional, the Freinet, and the "Plan de renovation pour l'enseignement du francais." A description of a model for the l980s is given. Techniques influenced by sociolinguistics seem most suited to replace traditional methodology. (AMH)

It is proposed that the notion of "address" is neither meaning nor form but that it designates the form which designates meaning. It is therefore in a position underlying both form and meaning. (AMH)

Reports on a classroom-based, longitudinal study of the effect of learner strategy instruction on listening comprehension. The hypothesis that systematic instruction in the use of strategies will result in the improvement of listening comprehension was confirmed. (Author/JL)

Addresses, from a neurobiological perspective, the input-intake distinction commonly made in applied linguistics and the role of selective attention in transforming input to intake. The study places primary emphasis upon a neural structure (the nucleus reticularis thalami) that appears to be essential for selective attention. (79 references)…

Discusses the role connectionism plays in the development of cognitive theories and in the explanation of linguistic phenomena inherent in second language acquisition (SLA). Presents a critical look at some existing connectionist models of language functions with a focus on the need for a general cognitive model of SLA that integrates research in…