Describes Saint Pius V School's (Lynn, Massachusetts) program to help children build a language structure on which to arrange the linguistic elements they have already learned and will learn. Teachers use a structured direct phonetic approach to language development and reading based on the Orton-Gillingham Method. Reviews results. (DMM)

Argues that evolution of the phonological systems of natural languages and the typology of distinctive features is based on perceptual discontinuities of the auditory system. It is suggested that neonates rely on these innate sensitivities for acquisition of sound systems and that some phonological variation in early child phonology results from…

Five experiments examined the extent and nature of the referential source errors of 5- to 10-year-old children who listened to stories containing a referential utterance. The results supported five conclusions about children's confusion of different sources of information in referential communication. (SW)

The generalizability of previous research claims about the development of automaticity in the adult learning of alphabet arithmetic programs to the context of adult second-language acquisition are examined. Tests with second-language learners of English suggest a transition from algorithm-based processing to memory-based processing. Sample tests…

This study found that 30 children with reading disability (RD) performed more poorly than 30 children with normal reading achievement on tasks of serial rapid naming, verbal fluency, letter-based word retrieval, and articulatory speed. RD children had significantly longer reaction times and production durations on the serial naming task. Findings…

The grammars of natural languages may be learned by using genetic algorithm systems such as LUST (Linguistics Using Sexual Techniques) that reproduce and mutate grammatical rules and parts-of-speech tags. In document retrieval or filtering systems, applying tags to the list of terms representing a document provides additional information about…

First-language (L1) reading theories are examined from second- language (L2) perspectives to identify significant research voids related to L2 problems. Unique aspects of L2 reading are considered and three distinct areas are discussed: consequences of prior reading experience, effects of cross-linguistic processing, and compensatory devices for…

Five computerized role-playing scenarios accepting unrestricted natural language input were administered to 72 freshman medical students. The scenarios measured and automatically scored responses on five psychological dimensions: social skills, level of frustration, submissiveness, combativeness, and negotiative ability. Tests identified…

Drawing on research on memory and on the effectiveness of pairing first-language dialogue with second-language script, and through analysis of the language processing occurring in the translation process, it is argued that translation may be an effective technique for second language instruction. (12 references) (MSE)

Reviews research that supports the view that readers strip prefixed words of their prefix and lexically assess the words on the basis of their stem. An experiment using real and nonword stems found that nonwords that are considered to be stem morphemes are treated as being more wordlike than those that are not. (36 references) (MDM)

Two experiments assessed the performance of subjects on prefixed nonwords resulting from the incorrect combination of a prefix and a real word in Italian. The results support the view that prefixes may be represented as units of access or representation in the mental lexicon. (41 references) (MDM)

Through analyses of text corpora, sentence completion, and self-paced reading, examined role of structurally defined parsing principles, local information (lexically specific biases), and contextual information (referential pragmatics) in resolving syntactic ambiguities. Subjects were 32 undergraduate native English speakers. Found that local and…

Suggests that the ability to process narrative information is fundamental to understanding human psychological development. Notes that a culture's system of understanding and interpreting the world is carried mostly by stories and texts. Explores how narrative understanding can be modeled in Fuzzy Trace Theory by using the principles of this…

Examined how persuasion relates to structural characteristics of attitudes, including the number and supportiveness of initial beliefs. Found that the tendency for strong arguments to persuade more than weak arguments was more pronounced for message recipients who retrieved more beliefs as compared to those who retrieved fewer beliefs. (RJM)

Explores the neural and hormonal basis of human intellectual function that gives rise to sex differences in the brain. Discusses behavioral, neurological, endocrinological studies, and studies of the effects of hormones on brain functioning that show a relationship between cognitive variations and sex. (MCO)