摘要:

This article reports the results of an experimental investigation of the effects of a systematic, story‐reading‐aloud program on some language variables in 222 preschool and first‐grade children. They were randomly assigned to 3 groups: 2 experimental and 1 control. The program was carried out by the parents, at home, for the children in the Home‐Based Experimental group and by the teacher, at school, for the School‐Based Experimental children. I assessed the effects of the programs both on language comprehension (the understanding of syntactic structures and story comprehension) and on expressive language (syntactic structures and sentence repetition). Results indicated that both preschool and first‐grade children significantly increased their language comprehension and expression when listening to stories read aloud, either at home or at school. The program is discussed in terms of its usefulness in language stimulation and as an instrument for prevention of language d

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01234.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

We asked 40 English speakers and 40 Japanese speakers of English as a second language (ESL) to select a singular form or plural form of a noun in a certain linguistic context (e.g.,a bag of apple or apples) involving containers and food. The size of container (small vs. large) and food (small vs. large) was controlled. The size of the small containers was comparable to that of tablespoons, and the size of the large containers was comparable to that of 4‐quart pans. The size of small food items was comparable to that of strawberries, and the size of the large food items was comparable to that of apples. Both English speakers and Japanese ESL speakers selected the singular noun form more often than the plural noun form when a small container was paired with a large food item (e.g.,a table‐spoon of apple). Men selected the singular noun form more often than women in all contexts. These results suggest a strong influence of nonlinguistic factors on the use of linguistic rules even among ESL speak

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01235.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article considers the validity of applying common assessment instruments and scales to assess the language skills of Australian school‐age language learners from different LI backgrounds. I used data gathered from standardized national tests of reading and listening proficiency in 3 heritage languages: Italian, Greek, and Chinese. The tests, known as the Australian Language Certificates (ALC), are administered annually to a large population of language learners at Year 8 or Year 9. I applied Mann Whitney and Mantel‐Haeszel procedures to data from the 1993 administration to investigate score differences and differential item functioning (DIF) between those with and without a home background in each of the 3 target languages. Content analyses of DIF items attempted to identify possible sources of group difference.Findings reveal a strong relationship between home exposure to the language and level of performance on the listening and, to a lesser extent, the reading component of the tests. There is also evidence of differential item functioning, although this effect is stronger for Chinese and Italian than for Greek. The content analysis suggests that the DIF effect may be due to “true” differences in language ability, rather than to test bias. Nevertheless, the use of common instruments and reporting procedures for L1 and L2 learners may be inappropriate and demotivating and, in the later years of schooling, could lead to serious misuse of test

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01236.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This article expands on Juffs&Harrington's (1995) investigation of the parsing performance onwh‐movement sentences by Chinese‐speaking learners of English. We compare the difficulty L2 learners have in parsing subjectwh‐traces in embedded finite and nonfinite clauses with the problems they have in parsing Garden Path (GP) sentences. Using the moving window technique (Just, Carpenter,&Woolley, 1982), 25 Chinese‐speaking learners of English supplied word‐by‐word reading times and grammaticality judgments on a range ofwh‐extraction structures and GP sentences in English. Analysis of the error and accurate judgment data and the word‐by‐word reading profiles supports the hypothesis that L2 learners of English may have a parsing, rather than a competence, deficit in judging grammat

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01237.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The paper argues that grammar correction in L2 writing classes should be abandoned, for the following reasons: (a) Substantial research shows it to be ineffective and none shows it to be helpful in any interesting sense; (b) for both theoretical and practical reasons, one can expect it to be ineffective; and (c) it has harmful effects. I also consider and reject a number of arguments previously offered in favor of grammar correction.

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01238.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0023-8333    

DOI:10.1111/j.1467-1770.1996.tb01239.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1996

数据来源: WILEY