Semantic Richness and Word Learning in Children with Hearing Loss who are Developing Spoken Language: A Single Case Design Study

Abstract

Children with hearing loss who are developing spoken language tend to lag behind children with normal hearing in vocabulary knowledge. Thus, researchers must validate instructional practices that lead to improved vocabulary outcomes for children with hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to investigate how semantic richness of instruction interacts with individual child profiles to influence word learning. A single subject adapted alternating treatments design measured the effects of three semantic richness conditions – Semantically Sparse, Semantically Rich, and Semantically Super Rich – on expressive vocabulary learning at the end of the school week. Participants included eight preschool children with hearing loss who were developing spoken language. Each week for 7 weeks teachers taught children new vocabulary words presented in one of three semantic richness conditions; conditions were randomly assigned by week. The probe measure, an expressive naming task, was collected in baseline and intervention conditions. Four participants learned more words in the two semantically rich conditions as compared to the semantically sparse condition. One participant with very low omnibus language performance and limited listening experience learned more words in the Super Rich condition than the other two conditions. The remaining three participants did not demonstrate a functional relation between condition and performance. The functional relations demonstrated indicate that the semantic richness of instruction differentially affects the expressive vocabulary learning of children with hearing loss depending on individual child characteristics.