Abstract
Children who rapidly recognize and interpret familiar words typically have accelerated lexical growth, providing indirect evidence that lexical processing efficiency (LPE) is related to word-learning ability. Here we directly tested whether children with better LPE are better able to learn novel words. In Experiment 1, 17- and 30-month-olds were tested on an LPE task and on a simple word-learning task. The 17-month-olds' LPE scores predicted word learning in a regression model, and only those with relatively good LPE showed evidence of learning. The 30-month-olds learned novel words quite well regardless of LPE, but in a more difficult word-learning task (Experiment 2), their LPE predicted word-learning ability. These findings suggest that LPE supports word-learning processes, especially when learning is difficult.
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