The underlying mechanism of search asymmetry is still unknown. Many computational models postulate top-down selection of target-defining features as a crucial factor. This feature selection account implies, and other theories implicitly assume, that predefined target identity is necessary for search asymmetry. The authors tested the validity of…

This paper questions the assumption that corpora are authentic, with particular reference to their application in language pedagogy. The author argues that, because of the form the corpus takes, authentic source texts forfeit a crucial criterion for authenticity, namely context, in the transition from source to electronic data. Other authentic…

The present experiments examined the effects of injecting glucose into the dorsal hippocampus or dorsolateral striatum on learning rates and on strategy selection in rats trained on a T-maze that can be solved by using either a hippocampus-sensitive place or striatum-sensitive response strategy. Percentage strategy selection on a probe trial…

Negative priming refers to slowed down reactions when the distractor on one trial becomes the target on the next. Following two popular accounts, the effect might be due either to inhibitory processes associated with the frontal cortex, or to an ambiguity in the retrieval of episodic information. We used event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to…

In this article two studies on the use of diagrams in computer-supported collaborative learning are compared. Focus is on the way argumentative diagrams can be used during collaborative learning tasks, more specifically how diagrams support argumentative interaction between students when they discuss ill-defined topics. The main goal is to…

To determine the role of configural changes on the development of face encoding and memory, we investigated face recognition in an n-back repetition task with upright, inverted and contrast-reversed unfamiliar faces in adults and children (8-16 years). Repetitions occurred immediately (0-lag) or after one intervening face (1-lag). Face recognition…

Two experiments showed that French native speakers rely on sublexical and lexical cues to allocate gender during word recognition. Sublexical cues were based on whether the word ending was typical for a particular gender rather than neutral with regard to gender. Lexical cues were based on whether the associated definite article was informative…

Using Korean, we investigated how syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic factors influence the representation of a sentence, in particular, the relative accessibility of different components of a sentence representation. In six experiments, participants performed a probe recognition task after reading each of a series of sentences. We manipulated the…

The Assessment of Basic Learning Abilities test (ABLA) is a useful tool for choosing appropriate training tasks for persons with developmental disabilities. This test assesses the ease or difficulty with which persons are able to learn six hierarchically positioned discrimination tasks. A visual-visual nonidentity matching prototype task was…

Presents an investigation of the relationships among selected aspects of normal language development, emerging metalinguistic skills, and concepts about print in three-year-old children. Forty-three normally developing children were given 4 tests of language development: 12 metalinguistic tasks measuring phonological awareness, word awareness, and…

This study examined word identification skills between two groups of college students with different first language (L1) backgrounds (Chinese and Korean) learning to read English as a second language (ESL). Word identification skills were tested in a naming experiment and an auditory category judgment task. Both groups of ESL learners demonstrated…

In the Singlish-"Good" English debate, the use of Singlish (SCE) is viewed as an obstacle to the development of students' literacy skills in standard English (SSE) and so the practice of classroom codeswitching between the two varieties is strongly discouraged. Yet the presence of the vernacular in the classroom continues to be robust.…

Background: Social understanding is often thought to be relatively "protected" in children with Down's syndrome (DS) and to underlie the outgoing personality characteristically attributed to them. This paper draws together findings from our studies of behaviours during object concept testing, generally considered a theoretically "pure" measure of…

This study examined development of pragmatic comprehension ability across time. Twenty native speakers and 92 Japanese college students of English completed a computerized listening task measuring ability to comprehend two types of implied meaning in dialogues: indirect refusals (k = 24) and indirect opinions (k = 24). The participants'…

In general terms automaticity could be defined as the subconscious condition wherein "we perform a complex series of tasks very quickly and efficiently, without having to think about the various components and subcomponents of action involved" (DeKeyser 2001: 125). For language learning, Segalowitz (2003) characterised automaticity as a…