Examined morphosyntax in persons with Williams Syndrome (WS). Analyzed receptive language of English-speaking WS persons and grammatical gender assignment of French-speaking WS persons. Found within-domain dissociations in grammatical gender assignment across several sentence elements and difficulties in understanding embedded sentences, which…

Discusses how young children learn the art of communication and negotiation through conversations with their peers. Notes how such verbal explorations help children comfort one another, become assimilated into other children's games, and resolve conflicts. (HTH)

Presents an approach to face-to-face interaction grammar that aims to discover rules of interaction that interlocutors share and suggests that this approach is common to conversational analysis and context analysis. Case studies are presented of interaction structure in parent-child routines during the child's first year. (58 references) (CK)

A study examined the social pretend play and conversational behaviors of three children (ages 4-6) with language impairment in dyadic interactions with peers. In all dyads, social pretend play yielded greater conversational success than other forms of play. Quality of play varied as a function of partner characteristics. (Contains references.)…

Compared gestures of Chinese and American deaf children who had not been exposed to a usable conventional language model with speech of hearing children learning Mandarin or English. Found that deaf children conveyed central elements of motion events in their communications. Deaf American and Chinese children used gestures to express motion in…

Data from 278 children (ages 18-35 months) were used to norm the Language Development Survey (LDS) and the Child Behavioral Checklist. Vocabulary scores increased markedly with age, were higher in girls, and were modestly correlated with socioeconomic level. Correlations between LDS scores and checklist problem scores were low. (Contains…

Discusses how young children, when given a chance in the classroom, display many and varied responses to literature. Shares, through the use of classroom experiences, how language and literature can guide the development of curriculum. (MG)

This paper defines the whole language approach and identifies its strengths and weaknesses. An integrated instructional approach is recommended, balancing meaning and exposure to literature with skills instruction and practice. (Author/JDD)

Fast mapping of novel words for objects was compared in 48 children/adolescents with Down syndrome and 48 mental-age matched children. The groups did not differ in their ability to infer a connection between the novel word and referent, comprehend the novel word after a single exposure, and produce the novel word correctly. (Author/JDD)

This article takes a functional approach to relationships between make-believe play and language development. It is argued that play and early literacy share similarities of function and social context, and therefore both prepare children for similar symbol-using processes. Transformation from oral language to literacy and implications for…

Disadvantaged preschool children (N=57) attending a language-enriched day care program with a parent education component were found to use a greater proportion of high-quality topic manipulation skills than did children without language-enriched day care. No significant differences were found for structural complexity, semantic diversity, and…

Investigates how readers use schemata and purpose in learning vocabulary from context. Examines Sternberg's model of verbal comprehension acquisition as well as the interaction among vocabulary acquisition and components of the reading process. Finds the effects of comprehension ability and purpose are significant, while the effect of schemata is…

This article reviews the literature regarding the seeds of literacy in preschool students. Conclusions indicate that children learn many basic concepts of print communication from daily experience with its use well before any ability to decode writing emerges. Games and other everyday interactions with print are recommended for facilitating…

Discusses development and implementation of a writing workshop that combined prekindergarteners' language development with first graders' writing experiences. (BB)

Assesses verb phrase development in three Trinidadian children in which Standard English and Trinidad Creole coexist. Adverbials were found to be crucial in delineating specific areas of semantic intent. (20 references) (GLR)