Four similarities between reading and writing and their corresponding instructional significance are examined in this literature review. Each of the four reviewed topics is prefaced by general instructional suggestions based on research cited in the review. Topics and suggestions are as follows: (1) linguistic--whenever possible, the processes of…

This monograph presents language factors related to bilingualism, to assist educators to distinguish normal phenomena due to bilingualism from symptoms of a handicapping condition. The first section, called "The Nature of Bilingualism," discusses the diversity of bilingual students and their dynamic use of two languages, focusing on simultaneous…

The West Virginia University Child Development Laboratory has successfully used microcomputers as a complement to their language experience approach to teaching three- and four-year-old children. The computer acts as a motivational tool, and gives children the opportunity to produce perfectly typed pictures or letters. The first encounter a child…

One of the tasks for the British National Curriculum Council has been to identify steps toward proficiency in the English language and, on that basis, issue descriptions of appropriate progress for students at each level and stage. There is a danger that teachers may view these steps as a linear sequence of accomplishments, each to be achieved in…

A study was conducted to: (1) gather data which would permit researchers to describe the teaching behaviors and language characteristics of parents during literacy events with their children; (2) analyze these data for positive or negative influences of parents' oral language on their children's participation in the reading/writing activities; and…

The paper examines issues in early intervention with deaf blind infants. Considered are the effects of definitions of deaf-blindness on service provision and on the training of preservice students in this area. Appropriate programs entail intervention methods that address the usage of residual vision and audition as well as the development of…

The six major sections of this notebook focus on developing the abilities of preschool and kindergarten children in the areas of large and fine motor, social, auditory, visual, language, and mathematics skills. Each section contains several activities parents can do at home in brief and enjoyable practice periods to assist children's development.…

Encouraging the appreciation and assessment of children's language and communication, from birth to the age of eight, is the focus of this volume. Following an introduction, chapter 2 elaborates on the interactionist framework, citing recent studies related to the acquisition of oral language and literacy, while the next two chapters describe…

A comprehensive bibliography on linguistic input in the home, clinic, and/or classroom is presented. Three general categories of materials are included: language spoken to normal children, cross-cultural studies, and language spoken to special populations. Linguistic input is a term that refers to the special language register that parents use to…

Language acquisition theory and classroom applications are discussed, with a focus on the role of speaking and grammar in the early stages of English acquisition in the English-speaking elementary school setting (kindergarten and first grade). Three stages of natural language acquisition are: (1) the comprehension stage…

Viewing literacy as the ability to make use of all available possibilities of written language, the essays in this collection deal with a broad range of literacy related topics and issues. Titles of the 13 essays, written over a 10-year period, are as follows: (1) "The Politics of Ignorance"; (2) "Twelve Easy Ways to Make Learning to Read…

A group of studies of children's understanding of narratives, the degree to which knowledge available in the child's first language is used in understanding second-language input, and the relationship between knowledge use in two languages as children become bilingual and acquire age-appropriate literacy skills are discussed. The subjects were…

The reflections and theses on preschool children's literacy development presented in this book are the result of an experimental project carried out in Buenos Aires from 1974 to 1976. Chapter 1 discusses the educational situation in Latin America, traditional methods of reading instruction, contemporary psycholinguistics, the pertinence of…

The Australian term "fair dinkum" (meaning genuine, true, or real) in the title emphasizes the book's intention of providing thoughts and reflections on how to enhance the art and science of English teaching. Focusing on literacy, the book deals with action research or teaching theories that may suggest other strategies and further field…

It is an undeniable fact that storytelling makes a remarkable contribution to the domains of child development at an early age since it is stated that storytelling is the original form of teaching. Firstly, the contributions and effects of storytelling techniques to the cultural, cognitive, linguistic, socio-emotional and psychological domains of…