Investigates the relationship of third and fifth graders' awareness of the structure and meanings of derived words and the relationship of these forms of morphological awareness to word reading and reading comprehension. Shows that awareness of structure was significantly related to the ability to define morphologically complex words; some aspects…

Reviews the hypothesis, "phonological bootstrapping," that a purely phonological analysis of the speech signal may allow infants to start acquiring the lexicon and syntax of their native language. Study presents a model of phonological bootstrapping of the lexicon and syntax that helps illustrate the congruence between problems. Article argues…

Presents a distributed connectionist model of the perception of spoken words, employing speech representation that combines lexical and abstract phonological information, with lexical access as a direct mapping on this distributed representation. The article examines the integration of partial cues to phonological identity, showing that the model…

Describes a small-sample study (n=78) that examined vocabulary acquisition by learners of French-as-a-Second-Language in different learning environments. Vocabulary gains made by a group of learners in a multimedia context were assessed against gains made by two control groups, one of which used video support. (Author/JL)

This study examines the processes underlying vocabulary acquisition, i.e., how new words are learned, in children with Williams Syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disorder. A Williams Syndrome group was compared to groups of normal controls in the range 3-9 years in four different experiments testing for constraints on word learning. (Author/JL)

Addresses two broad issues: the current understanding of spelling development and how this understanding fits within a broader model of literacy development; and the implications of the developmental model for spelling instruction and word study. Suggests that it is essential that instruction balance authentic reading and writing with purposeful…

Tracked the acquisition of 11 words over the course of a year for three adult learners with advanced proficiency in English. Four kinds of words were measured for knowledge: spelling, associations, grammatical information, and meaning. (Author/JL)

Language and reading outcomes at age 13 were examined in 22 children who were late talkers as toddlers. Compared to 14 controls, children who were late talkers had significantly poorer vocabulary, grammar, reading/spelling, and verbal memory skills, although they performed in the average range on most language and academic tasks. (Contains…

Focuses on the issue of the optimal on-line glossing format. Two glossing methods are compared. The first provides readers with sentence-level translation equivalents of the second language words. The second method connects the words with their meanings through basic dictionary forms. Examined which of the two methods is most beneficial for text…

Through the use of a question notebook, students can practice grammar and develop their vocabulary. This class activity also helps students to begin to write and express their own curiosity. (Author/CK)

Investigates whether knowing more than one language enhances the learning of lexical items and syntactic constructions in other languages. Multilingual (M1) students outperformed unilinguals in both types of acquisition, suggesting that M1s' heightened metalinguistic skills, enhanced lexical knowledge, and a less conservative learning procedure…

This issue's tips focus on making students self-sufficient, challenge them to be creative and accurate at the same time, give them the opportunity to pose cultural questions anonymously, urge teachers to stop talking and encourage teachers to hold students accountable for their queries. (Author/CK)

Examined three-year-old children's ability to generalize novel words to new instances. Suggested that children's similarity judgments and feature selection in name generalization are guided by nonstrategic attentional processes that are minimally influenced by new conceptual information. Proposed that these findings may explain the extraordinary…

Describes a lesson that is part of a summer enrichment program in Japanese language and culture and is taught by Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) through the Southeast Kansas Education Center. The class is designed for students going into Grades 4, 5, and 6 and runs 2 hours daily for 2 weeks. (Author/VWL)

Provides four techniques for teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. These include a newspaper scramble, a focus on learning styles, learning vocabulary through poetry, and an in-class survey. (Author/VWL)