Journal of Education

Alson, Allan

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800201pmid: N/A

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800202pmid: N/A

Branigan, George; Stokes, William

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800203pmid: N/A

Chomsky, Carol

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800204pmid: N/A

This paper, which was an address to the NCTE Elementary Language Arts Conference in Boston in 1975, discusses two kinds of linguistic innovation in children. Language acquisition is an innovative process, in which children create their own sentences and their own rules for making sentences. Evidence of the creative nature of language learning is presented for both preschoolers and children of elementary school age. The role of reading (and listening to books read aloud) in language development is cited, and it is sugested that exposure to the relatively complex language of written materials provides an effective stimulus to language learning. Invented spelling systems, created by children who write before they know how to read, are another form of linguistic innovation. Four and five year olds who do not yet read can use letters of the alphabet to write words exactly the way they sound. This interesting ability is discussed, with a consideration of its relation to learning how to read later on.

Menyuk, Paula

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800205pmid: N/A

This paper presents evidence that meta-linguistic abilities are evident during the early periods of language development. We argue that children's abilities to detect, correct, and explain deviations from fully grammatical forms develop over time. Further, these abilities are evident in all linguistic domains, i.e., phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. We also explore the conditions under which these abilities may continue to develop or become suppressed. Finally, we suggest educational approaches which will enhance the continued development of these abilities.

Macnamara, John

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800206pmid: N/A

The thesis of the following paper is that the process of learning a second language, if it produces successful results, is the same as that of learning a first language. The paper reviews various objections that have been raised against this thesis, and it discusses the considerable body of research which explores it. It examines the appropriateness of the research data for throwing light on the validity of the thesis. It concludes with some practical guidelines for language teachers drawn from observations of babies learning their mother tongue.

Betancourt, Raul

doi: 10.1177/002205747615800207pmid: N/A

Mexican-American third and fourth graders (n = 162) were administered a language proficiency test (Moreno Test of Oral Proficiency) and vocabulary test (Peabody Picture Vocabulary) in English and Spanish on two occasions. Males scored significantly higher on Spanish proficiency contrary to general research findings. The sample was further divided into high and low Spanish-ability groups and analyzed with parallel results. However, female scores on Spanish proficiency were even lower for the high group than the low. A cultural inhibition hypothesis was proposed based, in part, on Maccoby's integrative hypothesis to account for these results.