Discusses the teaching of German at advanced levels in English universities. Material from the serious press is used, including news articles, editorials and discussions. Reasons given include increasing vocabulary and deepening the students' understanding of German-speaking countries, their societies, economics and culture. (Text is in German.)…

The etymological dictionary is a useful tool for language students; this article presents three series of homework problems whose solutions are to be found in a German etymological dictionary. Regular assignment of such problems will teach students both vocabulary skills and knowledge and curiosity about the German language. (CHK)

Concludes that teaching a set of words to students before they write an essay in which the words might be used can improve the quality of their essays. (FL)

Vocabulary development exercises for students who are able to communicate relatively well but need vocabulary enrichment are described. (MSE)

A technique is described for developing specialized French vocabulary in the field of economics using a brief daily radio program discussing general economics concepts. A transcript of one program is presented. (MSE)

The keyword and context methods of learning new vocabulary were compared using university students as subjects. The keyword method was substantially better for recall of definitions when provided, but it was not significantly better on the free recall task. (LMO)

Discusses research on direct vocabulary instruction. Suggests that instructional practices can be affected by the educator's philosophy toward teaching vocabulary, by the amount of practice afforded for building associations between words and meanings, and by the information provided for promoting "fuller" understanding of word meaning.…

The study found that providing feedback and goals in an accelerating standards condition had a positive effect on the learning of eight retarded children (mean age 9 years) on a five-choice discrimination task requiring vocabulary and perceptual competence. (Author/DB)

Addresses two questions: (1) When do children who are bilingual from birth become aware that they speak two languages? and (2) What are the factors that lead to this awareness? The subjects in the study described here were Italian/German bilingual children living in the Italian region of Alto Adige. (CFM)

There is more to the process of paraphrasing than simple transliteration. A variety of paraphrase types exist, each using a different strategy and requiring a different interpretive approach. (MSE)

A teacher offers suggestions for teaching students to write through examining passages, phrases, or sentences they enjoy reading. Activities include writing letters to book authors; examining characterizations; and using word pictures. A list of well-written books is included. (CB)

Describes a set of criteria for selection of core vocabulary, with examples given from English. Suggests applications for such a vocabulary in grading reading materials and analyzing stylistics. (LMO)

The acquisition of spatial terms in the language development of young children is examined. Two primary theories of word meaning and concept acquisition are reviewed, followed by a summary of current developmental research on spatial terms and factors influencing acquisition. Finally, guidelines for the assessment and teaching of spatial terms are…

Videotapes of four mother-child dyads and diaries kept by the mothers, showed that there was a strong relationship between the children's initial use of words and the most frequently occurring use of these words by the mothers. It was also found that, although the majority of children's first words were context-bound, a significant number were…

Rewriting activities are used by a teacher of the deaf to encourage children to express their ideas clearly, increase their vocabulary, work successfully as a group, and experiment with language. Each class rewrites a poem or short book once a week, does spontaneous oral rewrites, and rewrites each other's work. (VW)