Discussion of techniques for teaching vocabulary in language programs centers on five major areas: (1) "knowing" the word, (2) selection of vocabulary, (3) grading vocabulary for presentation, (4) teaching methods, and (5) vocabulary expansion in advanced levels. Theory of vocabulary instruction is largely supported by writings of Nelson Brooks,…

This paper considers the processes involved as children and adults learn a new language. For the child this can mean learning his native language. One difference between learning a language in a classroom and in a "live" situation is motivation toward communication. The child learning his mother tongue is highly motivated to communicate, as are…

Thirteen papers from the 1971 Auburn University Reading Conference reported on various aspects of individualized reading, including informal diagnosis of reading skills, the role of oral and silent reading, classroom organization, media and materials for teaching reading, affective behavior related to reading, simulation games and their uses in…

The purpose of this study is to test the commonly held assumption that younger children are superior to those who are older in learning to speak a second language with a good accent. Students from the elementary, junior high, and college levels are tested after receiving identical instruction in German phonemes. Post-test results indicate that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of CEMREL's Language and Thinking: New Directions Program, a broadly based early learning program in the teaching of basic language and reasoning skills. The program is a hierarchical skills oriented approach which provides a broadly based set of guidelines for teachers; a wide array…

An attempt to answer questions surrounding the teaching of oral communication to children is presented. In each section, a pattern is followed. First comes the presentation of an example. Second, there is an explanation of the teaching efforts which led up to this oral product. Third, the author adds comments and raises questions to help the…

This handbook describes the origins and activities of a community parent education committee which was formed to encourage the nationwide dissemination of information and services to help parents give their children the experiences necessary for reading readiness. Activities designed to promote positive self-concepts, psychomotor skills, sensory…

In order to compare methods of instructing Spanish-speaking children in oral English, 11 children were randomly assigned to the control group--instruction conducted in English using the Peabody Development Kit (PDK)--while 12 children were assigned to the experimental group--bilingual instruction using the PDK. At the outset, all children were…

The idea of semantic features has taken some force within psychology and a number of research workers have suggested that semantic acquisition is, in some manner, determined by semantic components. This notion has come to be called the "semantic feature hypothesis". An examination of the semantic feature hypothesis was made by testing 80…

Described is the Modified Language Acquisition Program (MLAP) which used trainable mentally retarded trainers to teach basic language skills to severely and profoundly retarded students in a state hospital. Provided are a flow chart and procedural description to guide the use of the MLAP with attendant-supervised retarded trainers and a second…

One of the most important capacities which children employ when learning language is the capacity to generalize. A child who hears an utterance of a verbal expression while perceiving a particular object (or action, aspect, etc.) becomes normally able to apply the expression not only to this object but also to all those objects which, for him, are…

Gestural behavior between mothers and young children was hypothesized to be important in the acquisition of communicative competence. It was presumed that a typology of gestural function could assess non-verbal behavior. Data consisted of sound film samples of feeding and bathing events of three subject pairs. Initially the children ranged in age…

It has been shown that students in North America can learn both a foreign language and subject matter taught in that language at the same time successfully. The immersion model is first examined for the majority group child, then considered for several target groups. (SCC)

Discusses nominal-pronominal reduplication (NPR) in the language of children ages seven and nine in four situations. Younger children produced more NPR; all children produced little NPR talking to their peers and increasing amounts talking to adults. Examples are given and analyzed. (EJS)

This article concludes that language mixes do not constitute a major interference in the acquisition of bilingualism since children appear to be able to differentiate their two linguistic systems from an early age. (Author/NCR)