This study explored effects of training six mothers to use focused stimulation to teach specific target words to their toddlers with Down syndrome. Following treatment, trained mothers used the focused stimulation technique more often than mothers in the control group. Concomitantly, their children used target words more often, as reported by…

A "shop-around" activity for German classroom communicative practice is described. The exercise is a reasoning-gap activity in which the students seek out specific items or use a shopping list to search for and/or acquire using play money. Preparatory exercises, follow-up activities, and variations of the activity for different…

Explores the use of teacher-facilitated peer dialogues as a tool for supporting independent word learning strategies of struggling middle school learners. Hopes to create a context in which students would not only grapple with word meanings but also develop a stronger metacognitive awareness of their own efforts. (SG)

This study assessed the influence of a 10-week parent-child intervention group on the vocabulary development of 10 late-talking toddlers. Results demonstrated the efficacy of the focused stimulation approach in increasing overall and target vocabulary acquisition. Parents reported satisfaction with the program in terms of the child's vocabulary…

Examines code switching in bilingual infants from a developmental perspective, using micro-focus of conversation analysis. Early switching data from two bilingual children is analyzed in terms of pragmatic choices and constraints. Some adult-like socially-determined switching was observed at an early age, but most early switches were explained by…

Selectively reviews influences on young children's word learning. Analyzes difficulties with the "constraint" concept in examining word learning. Concludes that the effect of so-called constraints cannot be separated from a wide range of cognitive and contextual influences on children's inferences about novel word meanings. Offers…

Discusses how defining key terms in context helps students understand and retain concepts. Considers how implementing small-group discussion dramatically changed the classroom dynamics and involved more students in the discovery process. Finds that in small peer groups, students are more inclined to ask questions and help each other clarify their…

Describes using the book "The Professor and the Madman" (which tells the story of how the "Oxford English Dictionary" came into being) in a college or developmental reading class. Notes it motivates students to take greater interest in language and work on expanding their vocabularies, thus promoting vocabulary development and…

Discusses materials that foster engagement in the learning process for students, teachers, and parents. Looks at three sets of materials helpful for vocabulary and comprehension strategy development: (1) guiding teachers and students through the think-along process for developing reading comprehension; (2) building vocabulary and comprehension at…

Describes an instructional framework for teaching and learning new words for new and difficult concepts. Presents current knowledge of preferred practices for vocabulary instruction, outlines the procedures for using this instructional framework, and concludes by providing examples across different content areas. (SD)

We assessed the impact of visual similarity on written word identification by having participants learn new words (e.g. BANARA) that were neighbours of familiar words that previously had no neighbours (e.g. BANANA). Repeated exposure to these new words made it more difficult to semantically categorize the familiar words. There was some evidence of…

Despite the common use of mean length of utterance (MLU) as a diagnostic measure, what it actually reflects in terms of linguistic knowledge is relatively unclear. This study explored the extent to which variance in MLU could be accounted for by a measure of expressive vocabulary and a measure of morphosyntax in a group of 44 typically-developing…

Concordancing in the classroom is fairly a new approach that has emerged with the use of corpora in language learning. In a concordance, language is presented in an authentic context; learners are able to examine a key word in the context of a string of sentences which can exemplify the use of that particular word. This exploratory study examined…

A number of studies have shown that second language learners acquire vocabulary through reading, but only relatively small amounts. However, most of these studies used only short texts, measured only the acquisition of meaning, and did not credit partial learning of words. This case study of a learner of French explores whether an extensive…

This study examined mothers beliefs about literacy development, the association of those beliefs with other aspects of the home literacy environment, and connections between parental literacy beliefs and pre-school aged children's literacy development. Data were collected from 79 mothers and their children over one year, and two profiles of…