Presents key features of the Reggio Emilia approach and its adaptation to early childhood curriculum in the United States. Discusses using projects as a teaching strategy for diverse students to encourage language and conceptual development. Gives prominence to visual languages. Describes project activities involving student teachers and children.…

The acquisition of English vocabulary and syntax was compared over three years for three matched groups of profoundly hearing impaired students using either cochlear implants, tactile aids, or hearing aids. All children received auditory-oral instruction. The cochlear implant group exhibited faster acquisition of all language and communication…

Curriculum design principles developed by the National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators (NCITE) are recommended to evaluate and enhance basal reading programs for learning-disabled students. These principles provide a framework for fortifying instruction in ways that mediate difficulties that students encounter in phonological awareness,…

Sampled the speech of American, French, and Swedish mothers to their one-year olds, to analyze distribution of phonetic parameters of adult speech, as well as children's own early words. Found that variability is greater in child words than in adult speech, and mother-child dyads showed no evidence of specific maternal influence on phonetics of…

This article focuses on competencies needed for children's transitions from preschool special education programs to the primary grades, with a focus on literacy-rich classroom environments. The competencies concern: readiness to maximize academic achievement, social skills, and appropriate responsiveness to various instructional styles and new…

Forty-seven children (ages 6 to 14) with mild mental retardation, of whom 27 also had an articulation disorder, were evaluated to identify distinguishing characteristics. Task performance results successfully discriminated 89.3 percent of the children with articulation disorders and 80 percent of the children with normal articulation. Fine motor…

Examines children's variation in rate, style, and sequence of grammatical development, within and across natural languages. Using a sample of English and Italian infants, concludes that while there are structural differences between English and Italian that could affect the order in which nouns and verbs are acquired, no differences were observed…

A project called "Show-Me Bedtime Reading" explored the effects of regular one-to-one evening reading and signing sessions on the development of expressive and receptive language skills of students with deafness. Test scores indicated the positive influence of individualized reading on the development of English competence. Learning strategies…

Illustrates the comprehension-monitoring process used by first (L1) and second (L2) language readers of English as they read expository prose and compares the comprehension-monitoring strategies of L1 and L2 readers with respect to two problems: locating a referent and defining a vocabulary item. (59 references) (GLR)

In a study of whether second-language (L2) acquisition is the mirror image of L2 attrition, 2 Turkish girls aged 7 and 9 were observed for 15-20 months to determine their language attrition upon returning to Turkey after living in Germany. Findings were compared with those of a Turkish boy whose L2 acquisition had previously been studied in…

Offers insights into the traditional Navajo way of life, with particular emphasis on aspects of culture and language that have implications for teaching Navajo and other Native American students. (LB)

Comparison of 29 children prenatally exposed to drugs and 20 children without such exposure in preschool special education programs in New York City found the groups differed in mood, attachment, aggression, attention, movement level, organization and level of play, language usage, anger, and unoccupied behavior. Great variability was found in the…

The Hanen Program for Early Childhood Educators provides caregivers in child care centers with on-site training in facilitating children's social, language, and literacy development. The program is conducted by a speech-language pathologist and consists of seven group training sessions and six individual videotaping sessions with feedback. A case…

Reviews more than three decades of empirical research pertaining to the hypothesized influence of parent-preschooler reading experiences on the development of language and literacy skills. Discusses implications of the findings for theory and research on literacy acquisition, for educational practice, and for parental guidance. (TJQ)

Argues there is reason for more optimism concerning the effects of reading to preschoolers than suggested by the Scarborough and Dobrich review in this issue (PS522390). Discusses methodological problems in many studies; cites studies indicating direct and indirect links between reading to preschoolers and reading achievement, suggesting that…