Standardized Vocabulary Tests Research Articles

The link between early iconic gesture comprehension and receptive language

AbstractChildren comprehend iconic gestures relatively later than deictic gestures. Previous research with English‐learning children indicated that they could comprehend iconic gestures at 26 months, a pattern whose extension to other languages is not yet known. The present study examined Turkish‐learning children's iconic gesture comprehension and its relation to their receptive vocabulary knowledge. Turkish‐learning children between the ages of 22‐ and 30‐month‐olds (N = 92, M = 25.6 months, SD = 1.6; 51 girls) completed a gesture comprehension task in which they were asked to choose the correct picture that matched the experimenter's speech and iconic gestures. They were also administered a standardized receptive vocabulary test. Children's performance in the gesture comprehension task increased with age, which was also related to their receptive vocabulary knowledge. When children were categorized into younger and older age groups based on the median age (i.e., 26 months—the age at which iconic gesture comprehension was present for English‐learning children), only the older group performed at chance level in the task. At the same time, receptive vocabulary was positively related to gesture comprehension for younger but not older children. These findings suggest a shift in iconic gesture comprehension at around 26 months and indicate a possible link between receptive vocabulary knowledge and iconic gesture comprehension, particularly for children younger than 26 months.

Grammatical gender in spoken word recognition in school-age Spanish monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual children.

This study examined grammatical gender processing in school-aged children with varying levels of cumulative English exposure. Children participated in a visual world paradigm with a four-picture display where they heard a gendered article followed by a target noun and were in the context where all images were the same gender (same gender), where all of the distractor images were the opposite gender than the target noun (different gender), and where all of the distractor images were the opposite gender, but there was a mismatch in the gendered article and target noun pair. We investigated 51 children (aged 5;0-10;0) who were exposed to Spanish since infancy but varied in their amount of cumulative English exposure. In addition to the visual word paradigm, all children completed an article-noun naming task, a grammaticality judgment task, and standardized vocabulary tests. Parents reported on their child's cumulative English language exposure and current English language use. To investigate the time course of lexical facilitation effects, looks to the target were analyzed with a cluster-based permutation test. The results revealed that all children used gender in a facilitatory way (during the noun region), and comprehension was significantly inhibited when the article-noun pairing was ungrammatical rather than grammatical. Compared to children with less cumulative English exposure, children with more cumulative English exposure looked at the target noun significantly less often overall, and compared to younger children, older children looked at the target noun significantly more often overall. Additionally, children with lower cumulative English exposure looked at target nouns more in the different-gender condition than the same-gender condition for masculine items more than feminine items.

Retrieval Practice and Word Learning by Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Does Expanding Retrieval Provide Additional Benefit?

The word learning of preschool-age children with developmental language disorder (DLD) is improved when spaced retrieval practice is incorporated into the learning sessions. In this preregistered study, we compared two types of spacing-an expanding retrieval practice schedule and an equally spaced schedule-to determine if one of these approaches yields better word learning outcomes for the children. Fourteen children with DLD aged 4-5 years and 14 same-age children with typical language development (TD) learned eight novel nouns over two sessions. Spacing for half of the novel words was expanded gradually during learning; for the remaining novel words, greater spacing remained at the same level throughout learning. Immediately after the second session and 1 week later, the children's recall of the words was tested. The children with TD recalled more novel words than the children with DLD, although this difference could be accounted for by differences in the children's standardized receptive vocabulary test scores. The two groups were similar in their ability to retain the words over 1 week. Initially, the shorter spacing in the expanding schedule resulted in greater retrieval success than the corresponding (longer spaced) retrieval trials in the equally spaced schedule. These early shorter spaced trials also seemed to benefit retrieval of the trials with greater spacing that immediately followed. However, as the learning period progressed, the accuracy levels for the two conditions converged and were likewise similar during final testing. We need a greater understanding of how and when short spacing can be helpful to children's word learning, with the recognition that early gains might give a misleading picture of the benefits that short spacing can provide to longer term retention. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25537696.

Effectiveness of Poster Presentation Method for Vocabulary Enhancement of International Information Technology University Students

This paper investigates the impact of employing poster-making activities on the vocabulary proficiency of intermediate-level International Information Technology Students. The study focuses on a sample of four groups, each comprising 15 students, randomly assigned to either the treatment or control condition. The treatment group engages in structured poster-making exercises centered around IT-related terminology, while the control group receives conventional vocabulary instruction through traditional methods. Pre- and post-assessments, consisting of standardized vocabulary tests, will be administered to all four groups to measure vocabulary acquisition. Statistical analysis will be employed to compare the pre- and post-test scores between the treatment and control groups, while controlling for any initial differences in vocabulary proficiency. This article strictly adheres to a quantitative methodology, focusing on objective measurements of vocabulary gains. The study aims to provide empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of poster-making activities as a supplementary tool for vocabulary enhancement in the context of Information Technology education. The findings of this study will contribute to the growing body of literature on innovative language learning strategies tailored to specialized fields like information technology. Additionally, the results will offer practical insights for educators and curriculum developers seeking evidence-based approaches to address the unique language learning needs of students in technical disciplines.

Investigating the Efficacy of Neurolinguistics Programming Techniques in Enhancing Vocabulary Learning of BS English Students

This study aims to explore the effectiveness of Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) techniques in improving vocabulary learning among BS English students at Riphah international University, Pakistan. Employing a mix method research approach, the study adopts a between-subject experimental design with an experimental group n=30 receiving NLP interventions and a control group n=30 without NLP intervention. The participants are native Urdu speakers learning English as a foreign language. The NLP techniques applied include word anchoring, reframing, mind mapping, modeling, and language pattern mirroring. Data collection involves pretest and posttest evaluations of vocabulary skills using a standardized vocabulary test. The purpose of this study is to clarify the possible advantages of NLP methods for improving vocabulary learning in the context of Riphah International University's BS English students. A pretest was used to ensure that both groups were homogeneous and functioning at the same level. The control group's pre-test resulted in mean, mode, and SD. This demonstrated that the two groups are on same level. Visual representations of the Vocabulary results include charts and statistical analysis. A posttest was created following a four-week NLP training session that included the use of mind mapping, anchoring, metamodeling, mirroring, matching, framing, and pattern disruption. The Experimental group performed better this time, which led to some somewhat unexpected findings. Because NLP operates at the fundamental level of the brain and inspires students to take responsibility for their performance, the results demonstrated how NLP approaches impacted the performance of the BS English students. This result indicates students were empowered by NLP techniques to gain self-assurance, discover untapped mental ability, become more aware of their hidden talents, and do well on the vocabulary exam.

Exploring the Utility of Narrative Comprehension and Production Tasks to Identify Vocabulary Delay Using Eye-Tracker

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to identify group differences in various aspects of narrative tasks performance (comprehension, production, and eye-tracking variables) and finally to explore whether narrative tasks can be used to detect vocabulary delay.Methods: Children in the 1st and 2nd grades (TD= 101, VD= 22) of elementary school participated in this study. All children participated in story comprehension and production tasks, and eye-tracking variables were extracted from two reading conditions (‘listening+reading’, and ‘reading’) in the story comprehension task.Results: There was a significant difference between the two groups in the ‘listening+reading’ condition in the story comprehension task, the ‘construction’ condition in the story production task, and the ‘total fixation duration (TFD)’ in the eye-tracking variables. We examined the ability of the story performances to discriminate vocabulary delays, and found that a total of 79.6% of the original cases based on the standardized vocabulary test could be correctly classified by the story performance variables. The ROC curve also showed that 84.6% of the children could be validly identified by a combination of narrative comprehension scores in the ‘listening+reading’ condition, narrative production scores in the ‘structure’ condition, and TFD in the ‘listening+reading’ condition of comprehension task.Conclusion: The significance of this study is that it explored the possibility of using narrative tasks as a useful tool for identifying micro-level vocabulary delays.

Insights into L2 connected speech segmentation: A gating experiment with listeners of different English proficiency levels

The relative contribution of bottom-up (i.e. acoustic-phonetic) and top-down (i.e. contextual) cues for successful L2 online segmentation is still a matter of debate. This study used the gating paradigm to investigate the segmentation processes of adult L2 English listeners with different proficiency levels, by looking at the type of cues they exploit and how they revise their hypotheses as connected speech is progressively revealed. Twenty-one French and Tunisian undergraduates were selected from a larger pool (n=226) and identified as skilled (n=11) and unskilled (n=10) listeners based on their scores on standardized English listening and vocabulary tests. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and qualitative analysis were performed on the obtained data. Overall, this study provides supporting L2 evidence for the hierarchical nature of the multiple speech segmentation cues (Mattys et al., 2005). The results indicated an early effect of context on segmentation that was independent of L2 proficiency when the context is constraining. In non-constraining contexts, successful segmentation is delayed for both groups with L2 unskilled listeners needing far more bottom-up information to process input and revise their segmentation hypotheses. We conclude that, in online L2 speech segmentation, what distinguishes proficient from non-proficient listeners is their efficient processing of bottom-up cues. Pedagogical implications are provided hoping to help L2 English teachers (and materials developers) focus on bottom-up training to improve their learners’ real-time comprehension competence.

Evaluating the Efficacy of a Serious Game in Enhancing Word Reading Speed

Dyslexia is a Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) characterized by subpar reading abilities in terms of accuracy and/or speed. Dyslexia can have a lifelong negative impact on academic and day-to-day life. However, early identification and subsequent training can help dyslexic children overcome their reading difficulties. For instance, tachistoscopic reading, a technique that involves presenting words for a brief period, has been shown to improve reading speed. Technological tools, such as serious games, can also be useful, and governments encourage their use to enhance the management of SLDs. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of a serious game called Tachistoscopio in improving reading speed in children. The game began with a short calibration process, followed by the presentation of a word for a brief duration. The user was then asked to write the word. We tested it on children, carrying out the pictorial system usability scale to assess usability and investigating the effect of class and gender through Mann-Whitney U tests. We determined it had excellent usability and could effectively adapt to users’ abilities, as third graders performed significantly better than second graders (p<0.001). Following the success of this preliminary phase, 36 second-grade children, split into two groups, participated in a training study: 18 children underwent a three-week training phase with the game, while the remaining 18 children served as the control group. Before the training, we assessed all children’s reading abilities using standardized word reading and vocabulary tests. The training involved four 20-item sessions per week. We then collected the reading performance of both groups again and used Mann-Whitney and interval estimates to test for statistically significant difference between the reading speed increments in the two groups. Their confidence intervals did not overlap (training: [0.11; 0.33], control: [-0.10; 0.05]), which suggests a significant difference between them. These findings suggest that Tachistoscopio may be an effective intervention tool for improving reading speed in dyslexic children.

On the Impact of Teacher-Made Vocabulary Tests vs. Standardized Vocabulary Tests on Reading Comprehension Performance of Iraqi Intermediate EFL Learners

This study Investigates the impact of Teacher-Made Vocabulary Tests (TMVT) vs. Standardized Vocabulary Tests (STVT) on Reading Comprehension Performance of Iraqi Intermediate EFL Learners. After analyzing collected data out of treatment, assessment, and instrumentation, the researcher evaluated and interpreted the score obtained by 66 young Iraqi female students in two language schools in Iraq. The interpretation shows how the participants reacted to Teacher-made vocabulary tests as compared to their reactions to Standardized Vocabulary test. The crux of the matter was the degree to which such vocabulary tests affect the EFL learners’ performance in Reading Comprehension tests. The researcher reported that the use of Standardized vocabulary tests DOES play a significantly positive role in promoting the reading comprehension skills of Iraqi EFL college students. She also found that Teacher-made vocabulary tests DO play a significantly positive role in promoting the reading comprehension skills of Iraqi EFL college students. Finally, the researcher found that the t test value of 2.635 indicated a significant difference between the STVT and TMVT. This means that the use of TMVT is more effective than the implementation of STVT in encouraging Iraqi EFL learners to read more successfully.

Auditory pseudoword rhyming effects in bilingual children reflect second language proficiency: An ERP study

This study investigated second language (L2-English) phonological processing in 31 Spanish-English bilingual, 6- to 8-year-old schoolchildren in an event-related potential (ERP) auditory pseudoword rhyming paradigm. In addition, associations between ERP effects and L2 proficiency as measured by standardized tests of receptive language and receptive vocabulary were explored. We found a classic posterior ERP rhyming effect that was more widely distributed in children with higher L2 proficiency in group analyses and was larger for children with better L2 proficiency in correlation analyses. In contrast, the amplitude of an early (75–125 ms) auditory positivity was larger in children with lower L2 proficiency. This pattern suggests differential use of early and late auditory/phonological processing resources in the pseudoword rhyme task associated with L2 proficiency, which is consistent with the predictions of the lexical restructuring model in a bilingual context.

Speech and Language Abilities of Preschool Children Who Stutter

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine speech and language differences between children who stutter without concomitant linguistic difficulties (CWS) and children who stutter with concomitant linguistic difficulties (CWS/CLD) on standardized tests of phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Method: Subjects were 20 children who stutter without concomitant linguistic difficulties (mean age= 5;1 years) and 21 children who stutter with concomitant linguistic difficulties (mean age= 4;9 years). All children were Greek-speaking. Each child participated initially in a 15-minute conversation with an adult. This conversational interaction was subsequently assessed to provide information pertinent to the child’s frequency and type of the speech dysfluency. Then, each child was administered standardized tests of phonology, vocabulary and grammar. Results: Results indicated that CWS and CWS/CLD did not differ in frequency and type of speech dysfluency. CWS did not show problems in developing phonology, vocabulary and grammar, while CWS/CLD lagged behind in phonology development although their vocabulary and grammar abilities were developing normally. Conclusion: Findings suggest that stuttering may appear in children with different speech and language profiles and for a subgroup of children, may be accompanied by a phonological disorder. Clinicians should take into account different aspects of speech and language when assessing and treating children who stutter and should have in mind the likelihood of comorbidity of stuttering with other developmental disorders in preschool children.

Grammatical skills of Dutch children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome in comparison with children with Developmental Language Disorder: Evidence from spontaneous language and standardized assessment

BackgroundVirtually all children with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) experience language difficulties, next to other physical and psychological problems. However, the grammatical skills of children with 22q11DS are relatively unexplored, particularly in naturalistic settings. The present research filled this gap, including two studies with different age groups in which standardized assessment was complemented with spontaneous language analysis. In both studies, we compared children with 22q11DS to children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), for whom the origin of language difficulties is unknown.MethodsThe first study included 187 preschool children (n = 44 with 22q11DS, n = 65 with DLD, n = 78 typically developing; TD). Standardized assessment consisted of grammar and vocabulary measures in both expressive and receptive modality. Spontaneous language during a play session was analyzed for a matched subsample (n = 27 per group). The second study included 29 school-aged children (n = 14 with 22q11DS, n = 15 with DLD). We administered standardized tests of receptive vocabulary and expressive grammar, and elicited spontaneous language with a conversation and narrative task. In both studies, spontaneous language measures indexed grammatical accuracy and complexity.ResultsSpontaneous language analysis in both studies did not reveal significant differences between the children with 22q11DS and peers with DLD. The preschool study showed that these groups produced less complex and more erroneous utterances than TD children, who also outperformed both groups on the standardized measures, with the largest differences in expressive grammar. The children with 22q11DS scored lower on the receptive language tests than the children with DLD, but no differences emerged on the expressive language tests.DiscussionExpressive grammar is weak in both children with 22q11DS and children with DLD. Skills in this domain did not differ between the groups, despite clear differences in etiology and cognitive capacities. This was found irrespective of age and assessment method, and highlights the view that there are multiple routes to (impaired) grammar development. Future research should investigate if interventions targeting expressive grammar in DLD also benefit children with 22q11DS. Moreover, our findings indicate that the receptive language deficits in children with 22q11DS exceed those observed in DLD, and warrant special attention.

Associations between early efficiency in language processing and language and cognitive outcomes in children born full term and preterm: similarities and differences

ABSTRACT Associations between children’s early language processing efficiency and later verbal and non-verbal outcomes shed light on the extent to which early information processing skills support later learning across different domains of function. Examining whether the strengths of associations are similar in typically developing and at-risk populations provides an additional lens into the varying routes to learning that children may take across development. In this follow-up study, children born full-term (FT, n = 49) and preterm (PT, n = 45, ≤32 weeks gestational age, birth weight <1800 g) were assessed in the Looking While Listening (LWL) task at 18 months (corrected for degree of prematurity in PT group). This eye-tracking task assesses efficiency of real-time spoken language comprehension as accuracy and speed (RT) of processing. At 4 ½ years, children were assessed on standardized tests of receptive vocabulary, expressive language, and non-verbal IQ. Language processing efficiency was associated with both language outcomes (r 2-change: 7.0–19.7%, p < 0.01), after covariates. Birth group did not moderate these effects, suggesting similar mechanisms of learning in these domains for PT and FT children. However, birth group moderated the association between speed and non-verbal IQ (r 2-change: 4.5%, p < 0.05), such that an association was found in the PT but not the FT group. This finding suggests that information processing skills reflected in efficiency of real-time language processing may be recruited to support learning in a broader range of verbal and non-verbal domains in the PT compared to the FT group.

Exploring the validity and reliability of online assessment for conversational, narrative, and expository discourse measures in school-aged children

The COVID-19 pandemic has created novel challenges in the assessment of children's speech and language. Collecting valid data is crucial for researchers and clinicians, yet the evidence on how data collection procedures can validly be adapted to an online format is sparse. The urgent need for online assessments has highlighted possible the barriers such as testing reliability and validity that clinicians face during implementation. The present study describes the adapted procedures for on-line assessments and compares the outcomes for monolingual and bilingual children of online and in-person testing using conversational, narrative and expository discourse samples and a standardized vocabulary test. A sample of 127 (103 in-person, 24 online) English monolinguals and 78 (53 in-person, 25 online) simultaneous French-English bilinguals aged 7–12 years were studied. Discourse samples were analyzed for productivity, proficiency, and syntactic complexity. MANOVAs were used to compare on-line and in-person testing contexts and age in two monolingual and bilingual school-age children. No differences across testing contexts were found for receptive vocabulary or narrative discourse. However, some modality differences were found for conversational and expository. The results from the study contribute to understanding how clinical assessment can be adapted for online format in school-aged children.

The Influence of Children’s Temperament, Phonological Working Memory, Mother Related Factors, and Language Environment on Vocabulary Development in Korean Monolingual and English-Korean Bilingual Children

Objectives: This study investigated the influence of internal and external factors on vocabulary development in Korean monolingual and English-Korean bilingual children, and examined predictors of their vocabulary skills.Methods: A total of 45 children aged from 3-6 years participated in this study, including Korean monolingual children (N= 30), and English-Korean bilingual children (N= 15). Children completed standardized vocabulary tests to measure vocabulary skills. To examine internal and external factors, a nonword repetition (NWR) task was administered, and participants’ mothers completed the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire-Very Short Form, the Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short Form (PSI-4-SF), the Parental Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, and the Language Environment Questionnaire.Results: For monolingual children, internal factors were significantly correlated with Korean vocabulary skills, and effortful control was the only predictor. For bilingual children, there was a significant correlation between internal factors and Korean vocabulary skills. Effortful control and Korean NWR were predictors of Korean receptive vocabulary skills, and Korean NWR predicted Korean expressive vocabulary skills. Their English vocabulary skills were significantly associated with internal and external factors. Quantity of mother’s English input and English NWR were predictors of English receptive vocabulary skills, and quantity of mother’s English input, English NWR and quality of Korean input were predictors of English expressive vocabulary skills.Conclusion: The results suggest that when examining vocabulary skills, we should consider the influence of effortful control for monolingual children and the influence of mothers’ language use at home for bilingual children. Furthermore, NWR should be applied as a clinical tool when assessing bilingual children.

Early plurilingual foreign language teaching in mixed classrooms: Linguistic and metalinguistic predictors of foreign language development among majority-language and minority-language students in EFL classes

In a pre-posttest control group study, we test how plurilingual foreign language teaching affects foreign-language development in 258 primary-school students learning English in Germany. We compare general proficiency development in a group of students experiencing plurilingual teaching versus a group having regular, target-language-only teaching over a six-month period. Further, we assess whether and how proficiency in previously-acquired languages and phonological awareness affect learning gains in the plurilingual group. At the group level, the findings show that plurilingual instruction does not yield systematic differences compared to regular English instruction. Majority-language and minority-language students show comparable learning gains in standardized tests of receptive and productive vocabulary and receptive grammar in English. Regression analyses identify phonological awareness as a predictor of learning gains in the context of plurilingual foreign language learning. Further interactions with language background suggest that both proficiency in previously-acquired languages and metalinguistic skills modulate early foreign language learning and should be addressed in the classroom.

Vocabulary and reading speed in the majority language are affected by maternal language proficiency and language exposure at home: a study of language minority bilingual children in Italy

ABSTRACT Environmental sources of variance in the Italian vocabulary and reading skills of bilingual primary school children from immigrant families (or language minority bilingual children (LMBC)) in Italy were investigated, and the LMBC’s skill levels were compared to those of their monolingual classmates. A total of 140 children from the first, third, and fifth grades were administered standardized tests of receptive vocabulary, word reading, and nonword reading skills. LMBC’s exposure to Italian at home and their mothers’ Italian proficiency were reported by mothers. Immigrant mothers’ Italian proficiency was a significant predictor of vocabulary and word reading speed but not of word accuracy or nonword reading. High levels of Italian exposure at home in combination with low levels of maternal Italian proficiency was a negative predictor of vocabulary; high exposure to Italian at home was positively associated with word reading speed and negatively associated with nonword reading speed. LMBC had lower vocabulary scores but did not differ from monolingual children in measures of reading skill. The findings underscore the importance of the quality of language exposure for language development and replicate findings that bilingual children show decoding skills on a par with monolingual children despite smaller vocabularies.

ABCs and 123s: A large birth cohort study examining the role of the home learning environment in early cognitive development

The aim of this study was to examine the role of different types of home learning activities, such as reading, singing, painting, playing games, and letters and numbers (ABCs and 123 s), in the development of nonverbal reasoning skills in young children. Although much previous research has focused on the role of the home learning environment in the development of language and numeracy skills, few studies have explored other aspects of cognitive development such as nonverbal reasoning. The data were drawn from the Growing Up in Ireland study, a nationally representative longitudinal birth cohort study. We examined whether learning activities were associated with scores on standardized nonverbal reasoning and vocabulary tests of the British Ability Scales in a sample of 9793 3-year-old children. The regression models also controlled for other factors that potentially influence cognitive development such as the parent–child relationship and maternal education. The findings indicate that activities such as reading, games, and painting/drawing have a small but statistically significant association with nonverbal reasoning scores, as well as with vocabulary scores, even after controlling for other factors in the model. Teaching the alphabet or numbers did not make significant contributions to the model. The findings of the study highlight the importance of considering the role of different types of home learning activities, as well as other environmental factors, in different aspects of cognitive development. We consider the implications of the findings for theories of cognitive development and for supporting cognitive development in young children.

Dynamic assessment of multilingual children's word learning

Teachers and clinicians may struggle to provide early identification to support multilingual children's language development. Dynamic assessments are a promising approach to identify and support children's language development. We developed and studied a novel word learning task that is dynamic and language neutral. It makes use of multilingual children's abilities to apply language transfer, fast mapping and socially embedded language to the learning of new words. A total of 26 children attending kindergarten in French participated in this study. Within this group, 13 different home languages were spoken. Children took part in a dynamic assessment task of their word learning that consisted of a test-teach-retest task. Children's scores on this task were compared with their language abilities reported by their parents, amount of language exposure and scores on standardized tests of vocabulary. All tasks were delivered in French. Children had higher accuracy for known words as compared with new words in the task, which may suggest transfer of knowledge from their first language. They also showed increased accuracy in identifying and naming the new words across the three trials, suggesting fast mapping of these new vocabulary items. Finally, the scores on the dynamic task correlated to children's vocabulary scores on the standardized tests, but not parent report of language development, or the amount of exposure to the language of school. This novel dynamic assessment task taps into the process of vocabulary learning, but is less influenced by prior language knowledge. Together, these findings provide insight into early word learning by young multilingual children and proposes a conceptual model for identifying strategies to support second language acquisition. What is already known on the subject Many barriers exist with regards to assessing the language abilities of multilingual children when a clinician aims to assess their language abilities in both languages. An alternative approach is to measure children's language processing abilities. What this paper adds to existing knowledge A novel dynamic and multilingual task was developed and implemented in this study. This task builds on children's word learning abilities that include cross-language transfer, fast-mapping, and socially imbedded learning. This multilingual task was found to tap into vocabulary learning but was not influenced by prior language knowledge. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Applying a task that focuses on language processing abilities is a promising strategy to capture language abilities in multilingual children. In addition, the dynamic nature of this tasks allows a clinician to identify scaffolding strategies that best support children's word learning.

Within- and Cross-Language Relations Between Phonological Memory, Vocabulary, and Grammar in Bilingual Children.

This study investigated within-language and between-language associations between phonological memory, vocabulary, and grammar in French-English (n = 43) and Spanish-English (n = 25) bilingual children at 30, 36, and 48 months. It was predicted that phonological memory would display both within-language and between-language relations to language development and that these relations would be stronger at the youngest age. Bilingual children participated in free-play sessions in both of their languages at each age, from which vocabulary and grammatical information (number of different words and mean length of utterance) was extracted. Vocabulary information was also obtained from parent inventories completed when the children were 30 months and a standardized receptive vocabulary test administered at 36 and 48 months. The children were also administered nonword repetition tests in both of their languages at each age. Mixed logistic regression indicated that phonological memory was associated with vocabulary and grammar within the same language and phonological memory in the other language. In two of the four statistical models, phonological memory exhibited positive between-language relations, and in one model, it exhibited negative between-language relations to language development. Results also indicated that within-language and between-languages effects remained constant, or between-language associations decreased during the age range studied. Overall, the findings provide some support for cross-language associations between phonological memory and lexical and grammatical skills.