Examines picture naming latencies for predicted effects of two word retrieval factors: onset complexity and number of syllables. Results comport with evidence from speech errors and metalinguistic tasks and with predictions of the Node Structure theory of language production, but do not support production theories that do not predict special…

Describes some of the inequities and obstacles faced by speakers of creoles termed "nonstandard" or minority dialects in formal education. Outlines proposals for dealing with these problems and describes initiatives that have already been taken--such as developing resources for teachers, running public awareness campaigns and using the students'…

Draws on experience with a transdisciplinary literacy project in writing development at the secondary level to address the sub-field of "writing-literacy," writing as a linguist working across an applied versus theoretical frontier. (Author/VWL)

Arizona State University promotes linguistic and cultural awareness throughout the campus and the community. By involving nearby Hispanic culture, it integrates its programs into the community's social and cultural concerns. Faculty members of all languages may gain a wider audience by teaching courses in film, women's studies, or the culture of…

Examines the effect of knowledge about language on the learning of foreign language skills and grammar. Students (n=252) completed a questionnaire, metalinguistic awareness test, Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, a linguistic creativity test, and English tests. Hypothesized that students' knowledge about language would have a significant effect…

Examines the ways in which teachers' language awareness affects their pedagogical practice. Considers the relationship between teacher language awareness and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Proposes a model in which the second language teacher's language awareness is seen as a sub-component of PCK, forming a bridge between content knowledge…

Investigates to what extent Turkish teacher trainees had learned about pragmalinguistics even though it was found to be under represented in their course of study. A questionnaire was administered to gain information about the awareness of trainees of expressing themselves appropriately in different contexts. (Author/VWL)

The effect of second language experience and vocabulary ability was investigated in a semantic priming experiment with weakly related English word pairs (e.g., "city"-"grass"). Participants made lexical decisions to targets preceded by unrelated or weakly related primes or to nonword targets preceded by words. Reliable priming was found for…

The role of metalinguistic knowledge in learning a foreign/second language is the subject of continuing debate. In this paper we report on a study which explores this issue further with reference to undergraduate students of Chinese as a second/foreign language. The first part of the paper describes the process of developing and validating an…

This article briefly reviews recent research on teaching phonological awareness skills to preschoolers as well as the benefits of different types of bilingual education. A more in-depth analysis of research on cross-language transfer of phonological awareness/metalinguistic skills follows. The major recommendation resulting from this review is…

This study attempts to identify ways in which experiences of living abroad and working in an L2 environment have affected Americans' communicative behaviour in the L1 upon repatriation. This study focuses on language behaviours occurring when participants interacted with people who did not share the L2 language or experience. These residual…

This paper describes an action research project undertaken to look into the effectiveness of tasks designed to raise learner awareness of conversational strategies. The goal was to test whether tasks and direct instruction aimed at promoting learner awareness of conversational language at the discourse-level had any impact on the students'…

Understanding a text requires more than the ability to read individual words: it depends greatly on vocabulary knowledge. This important book brings together leading literacy scholars to synthesize cutting-edge research on vocabulary development and its connections to reading comprehension. The volume also reviews an array of approaches to…

One of a series of semi-annual reports, this publication contains 23 articles which report the status and progress of studies on the nature of speech, instruments for its investigation, and practical applications. Articles are as follows: "Phonological and Articulatory Characteristics of Spoken Language" (Carol A. Fowler);…

This paper addresses whether differences in metalinguistic abilities exist initially in children with oral language processing problems alone, reading problems alone, or both reading and oral language problems and examines whether these selected ability groups respond differently when provided with periodic intervention involving metalinguistic…