Measures of oral language, verbal associative learning, and nonverbal IQ were collected from a mixed unilingual and bilingual random sample of 66 third- and fifth-grade pupils in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Correlational techniques were employed to determine whether, and to what extent, relationships existed between verbal associative learning skill and several measures of oral language. The Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test and the Verbal Paired-Associates Test were administered. At both grade levels significant zero order correlations were found between the associative learning measure and the following language measures: mean length of response, mean of the five longest responses, standard deviation of response length, number of different words, and structural complexity score. Standard deviation of response length, the language measure most highly correlated with associative learning, was also significantly correlated with the IQ measure; however, these two measures correlated significantly when IQ was held constant. It was concluded that there is a relationship between oral language development and verbal associative learning. Tables and references are included. (Author/CM)