Children's Vocabulary Research Articles

Picturebooks Increase the Frequency and Diversity of Emotion Vocabulary in Children’s Language Environments: Modeling Potential Benefits to Emotional Literacy, with Pedagogical Resources

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study examines the frequency and diversity of emotion vocabulary in children’s picturebooks, as well as its deviation from typical spoken language environments. We analyzed a corpus of 2146 transcripts of individuals reading picturebooks aloud on social media platforms, using an emotion-specific vocabulary list, and two emotion-related word lists: the Valence Aware Dictionary for Sentiment Reasoning (VADER) List, and the NRC Word-Emotion Lexicon Intensity Lists. Models of daily input assess how regular book reading impacts the diversity and quantity of emotion vocabulary in children’s language environments. The findings reveal that emotion vocabulary in children’s picturebooks is more diverse than found in typical samples of child-directed speech and that regular reading substantially increases exposure to emotion vocabulary in the language environment of children beyond their input from child-directed speech alone. The study underscores the significant role of regular picturebook reading in enriching children’s quantity and quality of emotion vocabulary exposure and the opportunities this may provide for emotional literacy development. Practice or Policy: The findings are supplemented with emotion vocabulary wordlists produced by the study and provided here (https://tinyurl.com/4pvcb8b4). These constitute new resources for supporting children’s emotion vocabulary acquisition during early education and development.

Language Development of Japanese Children Raised in Institutional Care.

Nurturing environments have a critical influence on children's language development. It is unclear to what extent nurturing environments in institutions influence children's language development. The present study investigated the early lexical development in Japanese children raised in institutional care (IC) (N = 86; 10-33 months; 37 boys) and compared their lexical skills to a large sample of age peers being raised in biological family care (BFC) (N = 1897; 937 boys) using vocabulary checklists. Our results present three main findings: (1) Japanese IC children did not exhibit a delay in productive vocabulary compared with BFC children, although their comprehensive vocabulary was delayed; (2) IC children who experienced maltreatment showed poorer vocabulary scores than non-maltreated IC children; (3) both the duration at the institution and the number of books read to them significantly predicted children's vocabulary scores. Our study suggests that the Japanese institutions included in the present study did not show a negative impact, at least on productive vocabulary, and may competently foster children's language development. We discussed the relationship between institutional environments and children's language development.

Complex meanings shape early noun and verb vocabulary structure and learning.

Verbs and nouns vary in many ways-including in how they are used in language and in the timing of their early learning. We compare the distribution of semantic features that comprise early acquired verb and noun meanings and measure their effect on learning. First, couched in prior literature, we use semantic feature data to establish that features pattern on a hierarchy of complexity, with perceptual features being less complex than other features like encyclopaedic features. Second, given overall semantic and syntactic differences between nouns and verbs, we hypothesize that the preference for directly perceptible features observed for nouns will be attenuated for verbs. Building on prior work using semantic features and semantic networks in nouns, we find that compared to early learned nouns (N = 359), early learned verbs (N = 103) have meanings disproportionately built from complex information inaccessible to the senses. Third, we find that 16- to 30-month-old children's early noun and verb vocabularies (N = 3,804) show semantic relationships that differ in their use of this complex information from the beginning of vocabulary development. Last, we find that the complexity of nouns' and verbs' meanings affects their typical order of learning in early vocabulary development. Complexity differs in early noun and verb meanings, affects the semantic structure of children's vocabularies, and shapes the course of word learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Influence of Word Characteristics on Preschoolers' Vocabulary Learning

Purpose: One challenge to the design and delivery of effective vocabulary intervention is the selection of vocabulary targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the relation of word characteristics to vocabulary learning from explicit vocabulary intervention. Method: This study was a secondary analysis of data from two recent efficacy studies of an explicit vocabulary intervention delivered to preschool children ( Story Friends ). Taught vocabulary words were coded for concreteness, imageability, and shape using the perceptual accessibility continuum. Results: Multilevel modeling indicated that perceptual accessibility predicted vocabulary learning. Of the perceptual accessibility components, concreteness and imageability contributed significantly to the model, but shape did not. Higher vocabulary learning was observed for words rated more perceptually accessible. Conclusions: Preschool children's vocabulary learning was predicted by perceptual accessibility characteristics of taught words. Findings contribute to the body of evidence to guide the selection and sequencing of vocabulary targets for effective vocabulary intervention. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27183684

Psycholinguistic Studies: Strategies for Acquiring Arabic Vocabulary in Preschool Children

The purpose of this study is to find out the strategy of acquiring Arabic vocabulary in preschool children. The method used in this study is a qualitative method, with a library research approach. The data collection technique used is in the form of documentation techniques. Data analysis techniques with a descriptive-analytical approach. by using the content analysis method. The data sources in this study are references and guidelines related to the problem being researched as literature data. The results of this study show that there are seven strategies that can be applied to acquire Arabic vocabulary in preschool children, including: First, contextual learning strategies. Second, image-based vocabulary acquisition strategies. Third, vocabulary acquisition strategies by singing and rhyme. Fourth, vocabulary acquisition strategies with illustrated stories. Fifth, vocabulary acquisition strategies are based on language games. Sixth, vocabulary acquisition strategies with creative activities, and Seventh, vocabulary acquisition strategies with social interaction. Hopefully, this research can help future research and these strategies can be applied in learning for the acquisition of Arabic vocabulary in preschool children.

Chinese mothers use idioms in shared book reading: A predictor for children's Chinese vocabulary growth?

Idioms play an important role in language; however, little research has examined idioms in children's natural language settings. This study explored idioms usage in maternal talk during mother-child shared book reading and its relation to children's vocabulary development. Thirty-three Chinese children in Norway (aged 3;0-5;5) and their mothers participated. We observed shared reading at the onset of the study and assessed children's receptive and expressive vocabulary in Chinese three times across one year. Results demonstrated that mothers used an average of 1.8 idioms and explained one-third of the idioms. Maternal idiom usage was correlated with their talk amount and lexical diversity. Individual growth modeling revealed that the number of idioms mothers used predicted the growth of children's receptive vocabulary in Chinese. We speculate that idiom usage could be an effective and understudied marker of parental linguistic sophistication. This study underscores the importance of idiom exposure in children's language environment.

The Effects of ‘Dialogic Reading’ on the Development of Mental State Vocabulary in Children with ASD

Objectives: Children with Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties in understanding thoughts, intentions, and beliefs of others, which are related to the development of theory of mind. The purpose of this study was to facilitate the production of mental state vocabulary related to theory of mind in these children through ‘Dialogic book-reading’ intervention and to verify the intervention and generalization effects.Methods: A “PEER” strategy was conducted with children with ASD. The pattern of mental state vocabulary production was analyzed through a picture task, and generalization effects were examined using a parent-report checklist.Methods: A “PEER” strategy was conducted with children with ASD. The pattern of mental state vocabulary production was analyzed through a picture task, and generalization effects were examined using a parent-report checklist.Conclusion: This study provides evidence for the intervention and generalization effects of the interactive book reading strategy on the production of mental state vocabulary in children with ASD, highlighting the significance of using this strategy in clinical settings for training theory of mind in children with ASD.

Effects of EEG-Neurofeedback in children with Down syndrome

Background. Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder characterized by varying degrees of mental retardation and neurological complications. Children with DS often experience difficulties with attention, concentration, learning, memory, speech, language, behavior, and physical balance. Methods. This study included 11 children with DS and 10 children with ADHD, aged 6 to 10 years who received treatment at the private clinic “Neyromed Servis” in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Cognitive functions were analyzed by using Electroencephalography-neurofeedback (EEG-NFB) and the Forbrain headsets. The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and Schulte table were used to assess the effectiveness of non-drug treatment. Results. The utilization of Forbrain headsets enhanced children’s attentiveness as listeners and improved the quality of their voice and speaking. Positive changes in EEG parameters were also registered: theta wave amplitude and theta-tobeta ratio in the frontal lobes decreased significantly. Conclusion. EEG-NFB treatment significantly improved cognitive function, particularly attention, without any side effects in observed children. Moreover, impulsivity as well as hyperactivity decreased gradually. Additionally, after using of the Forbrain method, vocabulary in children improved by 20-40% across all groups.

DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE WITH DIDACTIC GAMES TO ENHANCE VOCABULARY IN YOUNG STUDENTS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

The article investigates the development of a website that includes interactive didactic games designed to improve the vocabulary of primary schoolchildren with intellectual disabilities. It describes the importance of developing vocabulary in children with intellectual disabilities and shows how the game approach can be an effective tool for teaching and developing speech in this category of children. The process of developing a website with didactic games is considered, which includes the selection of appropriate software, interface design, development of interactive tasks and games, as well as testing and improvement of the website. In particular, the article discusses methods and approaches to creating games aimed at developing lexical skills, expanding vocabulary and improving communication skills in children with intellectual disabilities. The advantages of using interactive didactic games in the educational process of junior schoolchildren with intellectual disabilities are highlighted. They stimulate children's interest in learning words and expanding their vocabulary, develop cognitive and speech skills, improve memory and concentration, and increase motivation and enjoyment of learning. A game-based approach can keep children interested, motivated, and effective, helping them to develop their language skills and achieve greater academic success. The website was created on the wix platform. The collection of didactic games was developed on the LearningApps platform. There are various types of tasks, for example quizzes, puzzles, crosswords, matching exercises, etc. Images for didactic games were generated by playground.ai artificial intelligence, which opens up new opportunities for creating visually appealing games and tasks. The importance of developing website with interactive didactic games for the development of vocabulary of younger students with intellectual disabilities is emphasized, they can become an effective tool for teaching and developing speech in children of this category, contributing to their success in learning and overall development.

The role of dyadic combinations of infants' behaviors and caregivers' verbal and multimodal responses in predicting vocabulary outcomes.

There is robust evidence that infants' gestures and vocalisations and caregivers' contingent responses predict later child vocabulary. Recent studies suggest that dyadic combinations of infants' behaviors and caregivers' responses are more robust predictors of children's vocabularies than these behaviors separately. Previous studies have not yet systematically compared different types of dyadic combinations. This study aimed to compare the predictive value of (a) frequencies of infants' behaviors (vocalisations, points, and shows+gives) regardless of caregivers' responses, (b) frequencies of infants' behaviors that elicited verbal responses, (c) frequencies of infants' behaviors that elicited multimodal responses, and (d) frequencies of infants' behaviors that did not elicit any responses from caregivers. We examined 114 caregiver-infant dyads at 9-11months and children's concurrent and longitudinal vocabulary outcomes at 2-4years. We found that infants' points elicited a large proportion of verbal responses from caregivers which were related to children's later receptive vocabularies. We also found that only shows+gives that elicited caregivers' responses related to infants' concurrent gesture repertoires. In contrast, infants' behaviors that did not elicit responses negatively related to child vocabulary. The results highlight the importance of examining dyadic combinations of infants' behaviors and caregivers' responses during interactions when examining relations to children's vocabulary development.

Bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘home’ and ‘school’ words revisited: evidence from Polish-English bilinguals

ABSTRACT Bilingual children's total vocabulary in each of their languages is often smaller than that of monolinguals. In their seminal study, Bialystok et al. (2010. ‘Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children.’ Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 13 (4): 525–531) divided children's vocabulary into ‘home’ and ‘school’ words and found no differences in bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘school’ words compared to monolinguals. In Study 1, we asked 292 parents and teachers to categorize words into ‘home’ or ‘school’ contexts, and in Study 2, we analyzed the vocabulary of 220 Polish-English bilingual and monolingual (English and Polish) children aged 4.5–7. The results show that bilinguals knew fewer ‘home’ and ‘school’ words than monolinguals in each language. However, bilinguals were likely to be exposed to these words either at home or at school, whereas monolinguals would hear them in both contexts. For a small subset of English words that bilinguals heard in both contexts, bilinguals showed similar performance to monolinguals. Our results provide evidence for exposure effects in vocabulary acquisition.

Voicing discrimination as a diagnostic marker of developmental language disorder

This study examines how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) discriminate voiced and voiceless consonants and their processing speed. It also explores the contribution of factors like age, nonverbal intelligence, vocabulary, morphosyntactic skills, and sentence repetition in explaining speech perception abilities. Fourteen Cypriot Greek children with DLD and 14 peers with typical development (TD) aged 7; 10–10; 4 were recruited. Children were divided into four groups based on age and condition: young-DLD, young-TD, old-DLD, and old-TD. All children participated in an AX task, which measured their ability to discriminate sounds and their processing speed. They also completed a nonverbal intelligence test and a DVIQ test, which provided measures of various language abilities. The results demonstrated that the young-DLD group exhibited lower performance in discriminating consonants compared to the young-TD group, while such differences were not observed between the old-DLD and old-TD groups. Furthermore, while no significant differences in processing time were found between the DLD and TD groups, both young DLD and TD groups displayed longer processing times compared to their older counterparts. Age was the best-contributing factor to speech perception abilities in children with DLD in contrast to morphosyntax and vocabulary for children with TD. These findings highlight the role of voicing discrimination as a diagnostic marker of DLD as opposed to reaction time. Moreover, they underscore the crucial role of age in detecting DLD. The language developmental trajectories of children with TD appear distinct from those with DLD, as evidenced by variations in contributing factors between the two groups. These disparities can be attributed to the diverse nature of the DLD population, the therapies they receive, the compensatory strategies they employ, and the potential impact of other contributing factors.

The "what" and "when" of language input to children: Linguistic and temporal predictors of vocabulary in 3-year-olds.

The quantity, quality, and complexity of language input are important for children's language development. This study examined how the detailed timing of this input relates to children's vocabulary at 3 years of age in 64 mother-child dyads (male = 28; female = 36; White = 69%, Black = 31%). Acoustical analysis of turn taking in mother-child dialogue found that more consistently timed maternal responses (lower response latency variability) were associated (r = .42, p < .001) with higher vocabulary (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, third edition) scores. In mothers with consistently timed responses, the complexity (mean length of utterance) of their child-directed speech significantly predicted (r = .53, p = .002) their children's vocabulary. This suggests that predictably timed contingent maternal responses provide an important learning cue that supports language development beyond the content of language input itself. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Shared characteristics of intervention techniques for oral vocabulary and speech comprehensibility in preschool children with co-occurring features of developmental language disorder and speech sound disorder: a systematic review with narrative synthesis

ObjectivesTo descriptively compare and contrast intervention techniques for preschool children with features of developmental language disorder (outcome: oral vocabulary) and speech sound disorder (outcome: speech comprehensibility) and analyse them in...

How Turkish supplementary schools in the UK boost vocabulary in bilingual children (ages 4–8)

ABSTRACT This study investigates the heritage language development of Turkish-English bilingual children in the UK, focusing on the effects of Turkish supplementary schools and home language environments. A mixed-methods approach was used to compare 4–8-year-old children attending Turkish supplementary schools with those who do not, using vocabulary and narrative tasks and questionnaires. Participants included children from Turkish supplementary schools (attendees, n = 19) and Turkish communities (non-attendees, n = 22) in Doncaster, London, Manchester, Nottingham and York, along with their parents (n = 39). Data were collected in two phases. Initial results indicated that attendees underperformed in Turkish vocabulary production and comprehension, as well as narrative skills, compared to non-attendees, although their English proficiency was comparable. Cross-sectional analysis showed significant lexical growth for both groups from time 1 (t1) to time 2 (t2). Despite these gains, attendees continued to lag in Turkish language knowledge. Attendance at supplementary schools did not significantly affect English vocabulary knowledge. The underperformance of attendees in Turkish language tasks is attributed to greater Turkish exposure and use at home among non-attendees. These findings highlight the critical role of home language practice in bilingual development, suggesting that future studies should consider home language use in their assessments.

Expressive vocabulary intervention for four 2- to 3-year-old children with cerebral palsy and speech/language difficulties: A single-case A-B study

Purpose To evaluate a parent-delivered expressive vocabulary intervention using focused stimulation for young children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method A single case A-B design was used. Use of expressive target words was evaluated during the baseline (A) and intervention (B) phases. Untrained expressive words were used as control behaviour. Four 2- to 3-year-old boys with CP and their parents participated. All participants had an expressive vocabulary of less than 50 words at study intake. Following training, parents delivered the intervention daily at home for 5 weeks. Generalisation of the intervention was measured with a parent-rated vocabulary checklist. Result Two participants showed clear gains and one participant showed a smaller gain in target words. Two of these three participants did not improve on control words, but one participant increased his use of both target and control words. One participant did not increase his use of either control or target words. All participants improved on parent-reported expressive vocabulary, and for two children, improvements were large. Conclusion Parent-delivered focused stimulation may lead to gains in expressive vocabulary in children with CP and speech and language difficulties. The intervention would be suitable for larger single-case studies with more experimental control.

Associations of Infant Sleep Characteristics with Childhood Cognitive Outcomes.

The objective of this study was to quantify associations of infant 24-hour sleep duration and nighttime sleep consolidation with later child cognition. This study included children from Project Viva, a prospective cohort in Massachusetts with (1) sleep measures in infancy (median age 6.4 months) and (2) child cognition in early childhood (median age 3.2 years) or mid-childhood (median age 7.7 years). Main exposures were parental reports of infant 24-hour sleep duration and nighttime sleep consolidation (% of total daily sleep occurring at nighttime). Cognitive outcomes were (1) early childhood vocabulary and visual-motor abilities and (2) mid-childhood verbal and nonverbal intelligence quotient (IQ), memory, and visual-motor abilities. We examined associations of infant sleep with childhood cognition using linear regression models adjusted for child sex, age, and race or ethnicity; maternal age, education, and parity; and household income. Early and mid-childhood analyses included 1102 and 969 children, respectively. Most mothers reported infant race or ethnicity as White (69%) and were college graduates (71%). The mean infant 24-hour sleep duration was 12.2 ± 2.0 hours, and the mean nighttime sleep consolidation was 76.8% ± 8.8%. Infant 24-hour sleep duration was not associated with any early or mid-childhood outcomes. Higher infant nighttime sleep consolidation was associated with higher mid-childhood verbal intelligence (β: 0.12 points per % nighttime sleep; 95% CI, 0.01-0.22), but not with any early childhood cognitive measures. In this cohort, higher infant nighttime sleep consolidation was associated with higher verbal IQ in mid-childhood. Future studies should investigate causal relationships of infant sleep consolidation with child cognition among diverse populations.

Parental report of vocabulary in 3- to 6-year-old Polish children: Reliable but not valid.

For over 30 years, parental reports have been used to study the vocabulary of children under 4 years of age. Research exploring parental checklists as a measure of vocabulary in older children is very limited. Typically, authors of parental checklists report the reliability of the developed tools but do not explore validity in terms of the agreement between parental assessments and the children's actual word knowledge. We aimed to explore the reliability and validity of a parental checklist for assessing vocabulary in children aged between 3 and 6 years. Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate the agreement between indirect (parental checklist) and direct (picture naming and picture recognition tasks) assessments of children's vocabulary. A group of 94 typically developing monolingual Polish-speaking children aged between 3 and 6 years were first directly tested onsite with picture naming and picture recognition tasks (Cross-Linguistic Lexical Tasks). Subsequently, the participants' parents completed an online checklist containing the same set of 128 items and marked all the words that they had ever heard in their child's spontaneous speech. The parental checklist demonstrated very high internal consistency. The scores of the parental checklist and vocabulary tasks were moderately correlated. We compared the total number of words marked by parents and the number of items correctly identified by children in the picture naming and picture recognition tasks. In picture naming, we found no difference between the children's scores and the number of words selected by parents. However, parents selected significantly fewer words than children correctly recognised in the picture recognition task. When data were analysed at the level of individual items (i.e., whether parents selected exactly the same items that children answered correctly), we found that the level of agreement was low. The level of agreement correlated negatively with the children's vocabulary; that is, the more words a child knew, the lower the agreement between the direct measure and the parental checklist. Parental checklists should be used with caution in children aged between 3 and 6 years, especially if the assessed children have a large vocabulary and if item analysis is planned. Such checklists may be of more use in younger children or in children with limited vocabulary. What is already known on the subject Parental checklists are commonly used to assess the vocabulary of children younger than 4 years of age. Previous research has indicated that parental checklists are reliable in terms of internal consistency and valid in terms of predictive and convergent validity. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study introduces a parental checklist designed for assessing the vocabulary of monolingual Polish-speaking children aged between 3 and 6 years. Statistical analyses reveal that while the parental checklist exhibits high reliability, and the scores on the checklist correlate with direct measures of vocabulary, the agreement between parental reports and direct vocabulary measures (i.e., validity) is notably low, particularly when examining individual test items. What are the clinical implications of this work? These findings underscore the importance of exercising caution when using parental vocabulary checklists with children aged between 3 and 6 years. These checklists can serve as a replacement for direct vocabulary tests only when the general/overall score is needed. However, when specific words are the subject of interest, parental reports may not be a valid measure.

Reading stories in Arabic: the impact of lexico-phonological and diglossic distance level on comprehension and receptive and productive vocabulary among Arab kindergarten children

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of the lexico-phonological diglossic distance of story reading (a scaffolded storybook intervention, informed by Vygotsky’s theory of scaffolding and fading) on Arabic-speaking preschool children’s comprehension and receptive and productive vocabulary.MethodThe participants were 139 Israeli-Palestinian kindergartners: 71 composed an intervention group and 68 composed a comparison group. The intervention group heard stories gradually from the SpA, identical, cognate, and unique word forms, whereas the comparison group heard traditional stories unrelated to their lexico-phonological distances. Story 1 was read in unique spoken Arabic (SpA) form, stories 2 and 3 were read in 58 and 45% identical and cognate word forms, respectively, and story 4 was read in 70% unique word forms.ResultsThe results clearly showed that children’s vocabulary and story understanding was significantly higher after the intervention, especially noticeable in stories that contained a higher proportion of Standard Arabic (StA). Interestingly, the stories told entirely in Spoken Arabic (SpA) were the most effective, yielding the highest scores in both comprehension and vocabulary. Stories that mixed different word forms also performed well, though not as strongly as the SpA stories, while those solely in StA were the least effective.ConclusionThe findings of the study suggest that scaffolded storybook intervention may enhance the receptive vocabulary and comprehension skills of children. This study shows that, in the context of diglossia, stories should be read to children systematically and gradually according to the lexical-phonological distance of words in the stories.

Does entering early childhood education as a toddler benefit language and social development until age seven? A propensity score analysis

Is entering into early childhood education (ECE) at a young age a resource or risk for language and social development? For the German National Education Panel Study – Newborn Cohort (analytical n = 2296), we balanced 23 covariates taken in infancy with inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and modeled relations between ECE entry age (very early entry <24, early entry 24-35, later entry >35 months) and societal language and social development age three to seven. Very early entry predicted larger vocabulary for dual language learners (DLLs) and children of less educated parents until first grade, implying “buffering effects.” Early entry also predicted vocabulary advantages in first grade. Very early and early entry predicted fewer peer problems until first grade. Very early entry predicted more prosocial behavior for monolinguals, but less for DLLs in first grade. Robustness checks suggested several of these advantages emerge only in diverse populations and revealed disadvantages implying “lost resources.”