This paper argues that schema theory and discourse analysis demonstrate that flow charts, grids, and tree diagrams are the most effective models of how the mind organizes ideas in information sets. It shows how each of these frameworks can be used as the central device in an integrated model of language learning. (15 references) (MDM)

Examines the nature of editorial independence in the "Boston Evening Post" of prerevolutionary Boston, and the content of its weekly editions. Demonstrates that a serious and wide-ranging public debate was carried on in the newspapers in prewar Boston. Suggests that the debate's character changed over time as pivotal events and issues…

Examines the effects on six children's literacy play and intellectual development of coaching their teenage mothers to use selected cues in playful literacy explorations. Finds increases in the use of interfactional cues following intervention, with scores declining to different degrees during transfer and maintenance phases. Finds that children's…

Investigates the reading comprehension skills of 34 college students, particularly the roles of basic reading processes and prior knowledge in understanding expository texts. Indicates that word identification and propositional encoding measures were related to individual differences in reading comprehension ability. (HB)

Investigates the pragmatic input of parents and the ways it contributes to preschoolers' acquisition of pragmatic competence (the appropriate use of language in social situations). Analyzes audiotapes of five families' interactions over a one-year period. Discusses results of research and offers insight into preschoolers' growth in pragmatic…

The influence of social context on pragmatic skills of 16 adults with mild to moderate mental retardation was examined using videotaped conversations. Data analysis revealed that the subjects were proficient in judging topic maintenance presentations in a simplified but not a complex context. (DB)

The use of continuous discourse tracking to evaluate sensory prostheses for the hearing impaired was assessed in terms of the strategies used by the talker and responses elicited from the listener. Listeners showed small but significant differences in response patterns. Much larger differences were observed in the pattern of correction strategies…

Semiotics can be a useful tool for analysis in language learning situations. This is particularly true for delineating student comprehension and the familiarity/strangeness aspects of discourse or texts. Use of semiotics can help differentiate the problems facing learners of French as a native language from those facing learners of French as a…

Procedures are discussed for collecting the conversational samples needed to conduct a topic assessment in the communication of adults with mild to moderate mental retardation. A framework for analyzing topic initiations, topic maintenance, and topic changes or disruptions is explained via transcripts illustrating various types of topic…

Refusals among speakers of English and Arabic are studied in three samples: native English speakers in the United States and Egypt; Arab students of English in both countries; and Arabic speakers in Egypt. Pragmatically unsuccessful strategies are analyzed from data gathered by a discourse-completion task. (18 references) (Author/LB)

This study of the pragmatic characteristics of conversations between mothers and their 30 preschool children with developmental delays found significant differences between naturally occurring and researcher-introduced semistructured situations in the proportions of conversational turns taken and the pragmatic functions of mothers' and children's…

Uses Kenneth Burke's writings on the negative in language to account for the rhetorical appeal of the Reagans'"just say no" rhetoric. Argues that this strategy advocates private solutions to public problems, reasserts the authority of the government to define both problems and solutions, and undermines the vitality of the public sphere.…

Explores the kinds of persuasion used by preschool children in two role-playing tasks. Finds that children role played effectively and persistently, with Bargains and Guarantees the most frequently used strategies. Finds that the choice of strategies changed with age (more Positive Sanction, less Assertion) and with sex (boys used more Norm…

Argues that fragmentation of American culture has resulted in communication role reversal, making interpretation the primary task of speakers and writers and text construction the primary task of audiences. Suggests audiences must be provided with dense, truncated fragments which cue them to produce a finished discourse in their minds. (KEH)

Law students were asked to simulate, in writing, the thinking of a lawyer advising a client. Scripts produced by students and teachers revealed a pattern of repeated syllogisms, or an algorithm, contained within the macrostructure of situation-problem-solution. Variation depended upon the issues discussed or type of law studied. (28 references)…