Vocabulary Outcomes Research Articles

Building vocabulary in two languages: An examination of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners in Head Start

This study examines the English and Spanish vocabulary skills that young Dual Language Learners (DLLs) bring to Head Start, as well as their vocabulary learning over the year. Further, we isolate the unique contributions of various child, family, teacher, and classroom factors to these skills. Participants were drawn from a recent cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey. Results show that, for both Spanish and English vocabulary, child and family factors, especially the prevalence of each language in the household, play a role in initial skills and end-of-year skills. The quality of the language of classroom instruction also predicts Spanish and English vocabulary learning over the year for all children; in English, this relation is significantly greater for children with the lowest initial skills. Findings elucidate potential leverage points for intervention to improve Spanish and English vocabulary outcomes during Head Start for these vulnerable early learners.

Are vocabulary tests measurement invariant between age groups? An item response analysis of three popular tests.

Relatively high vocabulary scores of older adults are generally interpreted as evidence that older adults possess more of a common ability than younger adults. Yet, this interpretation rests on empirical assumptions about the uniformity of item-response functions between groups. In this article, we test item response models of differential responding against datasets containing younger-, middle-aged-, and older-adult responses to three popular vocabulary tests (the Shipley, Ekstrom, and WAIS-R) to determine whether members of different age groups who achieve the same scores have the same probability of responding in the same categories (e.g., correct vs. incorrect) under the same conditions. Contrary to the null hypothesis of measurement invariance, datasets for all three tests exhibit substantial differential responding. Members of different age groups who achieve the same overall scores exhibit differing response probabilities in relation to the same items (differential item functioning) and appear to approach the tests in qualitatively different ways that generalize across items. Specifically, younger adults are more likely than older adults to leave items unanswered for partial credit on the Ekstrom, and to produce 2-point definitions on the WAIS-R. Yet, older adults score higher than younger adults, consistent with most reports of vocabulary outcomes in the cognitive aging literature. In light of these findings, the most generalizable conclusion to be drawn from the cognitive aging literature on vocabulary tests is simply that older adults tend to score higher than younger adults, and not that older adults possess more of a common ability.

(Re)-introduction to French: four education models to revitalise an endangered group in Eastern Canada

This study explores early francization models for a linguistic minority currently struggling to preserve its language. The French Acadians of New Brunswick, Canada, represent 30% of the province's total population, yet their numbers and their linguistic vitality are decreasing. New Brunswick has two public school systems: the English language schools cater for the majority while the French language schools have been created for the minority, with the goal of this separate, homogeneous school system being to preserve the French language. However, for some children who are members of this linguistic minority, the language is no longer spoken at home, and thus, when parents in such situations opt for the French school, their children are immersed. Data were collected from nine schools in order to examine the particular Early Francization Model they operate, and how they manage their mixed intake. Four different models of early francization (sheltered class, mainstream class with pull-out, mainstream class with pull-out plus in-class support and integrated model) for this revitalization effort are described and group interviews were carried out to assess how the schools organise their francization programme. In addition, French language outcomes were measured for students enrolled in the programme in the kindergarten year (five years old). The quantitative data indicate that children who participated in the integrated model fared better in terms of French vocabulary outcomes.

Enhancing preschool children's vocabulary: Effects of teacher talk before, during and after shared reading

This observational study analyzed patterns of teacher extratextual talk as it occurs before, during, and after reading books to children, and the frequency and duration of teacher questioning by type (label, define, associate) on preschoolers’ receptive and expressive vocabulary knowledge. Over the course of 18 weeks, 13 teachers and 100 children participated in ninety 20-min small-group sessions of teacher-guided shared reading instruction. Teachers’ reading instruction was examined through videotaped observations using the Multi-Option Observation System for Experimental Studies (MOOSES™; Tapp, Wehby, & Ellis, 1995). Two findings, in particular, yielded relevant educational and theoretical implications. First, time spent after reading was significantly related to expressive vocabulary. However, question timing did not seem to matter in terms of receptive vocabulary outcomes. Second, duration of teacher association questioning was significantly related to receptive vocabulary outcomes while both frequency and duration of teacher vocabulary-related association-level questioning were related to expressive vocabulary. For receptive vocabulary, both vocabulary- and comprehension-related association-level questioning mattered. These findings complement the body of work demonstrating that engaging children in interactive shared reading that elicits their active participation is related to meaningful gains in children's language and literacy growth. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Talking to Children Matters

Infants differ substantially in their rates of language growth, and slow growth predicts later academic difficulties. In this study, we explored how the amount of speech directed to infants in Spanish-speaking families low in socioeconomic status influenced the development of children’s skill in real-time language processing and vocabulary learning. All-day recordings of parent-infant interactions at home revealed striking variability among families in how much speech caregivers addressed to their child. Infants who experienced more child-directed speech became more efficient in processing familiar words in real time and had larger expressive vocabularies by the age of 24 months, although speech simply overheard by the child was unrelated to vocabulary outcomes. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of child-directed speech on expressive vocabulary was explained by infants’ language-processing efficiency, which suggests that richer language experience strengthens processing skills that facilitate language growth.

How Vocabulary Interventions Affect Young Children at Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analytic review examines how word-learning interventions affect young children, at risk for reading difficulties, on vocabulary outcomes. We quantitatively reviewed 51 studies with 138 effect sizes (N = 7,403) to assess the association between vocabulary training and word learning. Using a random-effects model, we found a mean effect size of nearly 1 standard deviation indicating a strong training effect overall. Moderator analyses indicated that children from low-socioeconomic-status (SES) families experienced significantly lower word-learning gains than those from middle- and upper-SES families who had one or more risk factor (e.g., English Language Learner, language delays). This was true regardless of the total number of risk factors present. However, risk factors in addition to poverty did compound this SES disadvantage. Further, multivariate meta-regression analyses indicated that the sole risk factor associated with lower effect sizes was poverty controlling for all other risk factors. Subgroup moderator analyses indicated a number of instructional and pedagogical factors associated with greater effect sizes. Taken together, these results highlight the importance of creating interventions powerful enough to accelerate children's vocabulary development if we are to narrow the reading achievement gap.

Relative language exposure, processing efficiency and vocabulary in Spanish-English bilingual toddlers.

Research with monolingual children has shown that early efficiency in real-time word recognition predicts later language and cognitive outcomes. In parallel research with young bilingual children, processing ability and vocabulary size are closely related within each language, although not across the two languages. For children in dual-language environments, one source of variation in patterns of language learning is differences in the degree to which they are exposed to each of their languages. In a longitudinal study of Spanish/English bilingual children observed at 30 and 36 months, we asked whether the relative amount of exposure to Spanish vs. English in daily interactions predicts children's relative efficiency in real-time language processing in each language. Moreover, to what extent does early exposure and speed of lexical comprehension predict later expressive and receptive vocabulary outcomes in Spanish vs. English? Results suggest that processing skill and language experience each promote vocabulary development, but also that experience with a particular language provides opportunities for practice in real-time comprehension in that language, sharpening processing skills that are critical for learning.

Infant word segmentation and childhood vocabulary development: a longitudinal analysis: Infant word segmentation and vocabulary outcomes

Infant word segmentation and childhood vocabulary development: a longitudinal analysis: Infant word segmentation and vocabulary outcomes

Head Start Teachers’ Vocabulary Instruction and Language Complexity During Storybook Reading: Predicting Vocabulary Outcomes of Students in Linguistically Diverse Classrooms

Research Findings: Vocabulary instruction strategies used by Head Start teachers during storybook reading were examined to quantify the level of language complexity found in these storybook reading interactions. The study also examined the relationship between vocabulary instruction strategies and complexity of language during storybook reading and outcomes in student vocabulary while considering whether teachers’ strategies and language complexity affect children differently based on children's initial vocabulary level or dual language learner status. Participants were 23 Head Start teachers and 210 children (ages 36–59 months, 42.9% dual language learners). Hierarchical linear regression showed that teachers’ use of uncommon words had a different relationship to student outcomes based on students’ prior vocabulary knowledge. In addition, a student's status as a dual language learner, the teacher's ratio of vocabulary instruction strategies to words instructed, and the amount of code switching by the teacher were all negatively and significantly related to students’ vocabulary outcomes as measured by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–III. Practice or Policy: This study suggests that there is a link between teachers’ vocabulary instruction strategies and complexity of language during storybook reading and outcomes in student vocabulary. Moreover, the influence of these teacher practices on student outcomes may differ based on students’ initial level of vocabulary knowledge.

A Synthesis of Read-Aloud Interventions on Early Reading Outcomes Among Preschool Through Third Graders at Risk for Reading Difficulties

A synthesis and meta-analysis of the extant research on the effects of storybook read-aloud interventions for children at risk for reading difficulties ages 3 to 8 is provided. A total of 29 studies met criteria for the synthesis, with 18 studies providing sufficient data for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Read-aloud instruction has been examined using dialogic reading; repeated reading of stories; story reading with limited questioning before, during, and/or after reading; computer-assisted story reading; and story reading with extended vocabulary activities. Significant, positive effects on children’s language, phonological awareness, print concepts, comprehension, and vocabulary outcomes were found. Despite the positive effects for read-aloud interventions, only a small amount of outcome variance was accounted for by intervention type.

Effects of Early Auditory Experience on Word Learning and Speech Perception in Deaf Children With Cochlear Implants

That early word learning and speech perception skills have different sensitive periods and that very early implantation may affect later vocabulary outcomes more than speech perception outcomes. Several studies have found that deaf children who receive cochlear implants before 3 years of age tend to have better speech perception outcomes than children implanted later. Recent studies have not found age-at-implantation effects on speech perception or central auditory processing among children implanted younger than 2 years, suggesting that there may be a sensitive period for speech perception skills that closes by around 3 years of age. There has been very little work investigating possible sensitive periods for other language skills, such as the ability to learn words. Recent work suggests the possibility that the development of word-learning skills may have an earlier sensitive period than the development of speech perception skills. Assess speech perception and vocabulary outcomes in children implanted before 13 months of age and in children implanted between 16 and 23 months of age. Children implanted during the first year of life had better vocabulary outcomes than children implanted during the second year of life. However, earlier implanted children did not show better speech perception outcomes than later implanted children. There may be an earlier sensitive period for developing the ability to associate the sound patterns of words to their referents than for developing speech perception and central auditory processing skills.

Structure and Strategies in Children’s Educational Television: The Roles of Program Type and Learning Strategies in Children’s Learning

Educational TV has been consistently linked to children's learning. In this research, educational TV characteristics were identified, coded, and tested for their influence on children's program-specific comprehension and vocabulary outcomes. Study 1 details a content analysis of TV features including a program's macrostructure (i.e., narrative or expository) and learning strategies embedded in the macrostructure that support learning in print-based contexts. In Study 2, regression analyses were used to predict outcomes involving 71 second and third graders (average age=7.63 years). Strategies were categorized as organizing, rehearsing, elaborating, or affective in function. Outcomes were uniformly higher for narrative macrostructures. Strategies used in narratives predicted relatively homogenous relations across outcomes, whereas strategies in expositories predicted quite heterogeneous relations across outcomes.

Vocabulary skills of Spanish—English bilinguals: impact of mother—child language interactions and home language and literacy support

Quantity and quality of home language use as well as home literacy resources are positively related to vocabulary knowledge among children growing up monolingually (De Temple & Snow, 2003; Juel, 1988; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998; Stanovich, 1986). While the presence of interactive features associated with good vocabulary outcomes have been reported in Latino families (Jiménez, Filippini, & Gerber, 2006; Teale, 1986) no prospective studies relating those features to vocabulary outcomes in either Spanish or English have been carried out with Latino children. In particular, it is unclear whether interactions facilitate vocabulary across languages, or only for the language in which they occur. In this study, home factors (immigration history, home language use, home literacy resources) and the interactive language of 50 mother—child dyads sharing a picture-book were analyzed as predictors of the children’s vocabulary outcomes. The children were aged 4—5 and all were attending a Head Start program at the time of the study. Frequency of reading to the child by an adult other than the

Preschool teachers’ literal and inferential questions and children's responses during whole-class shared reading

This study examined the extent to which preschool teachers used literal and inferential questions during classroom-based shared reading. Specific foci included (a) investigating the association among the level of literal or inferential language in the text, teachers’ text-related questions, and children's responses using sequential analysis, and (b) examining the relation between teachers’ inferential questioning and children's vocabulary outcomes. Participants included 25 preschool teachers and 159 four-year-old children. Teachers videotaped their whole-class shared reading of an informational narrative text. Teachers and children's extratextual talk was analyzed and children completed standardized vocabulary assessments in fall and spring of the academic year. When reading this informational narrative text, teachers posed, on average, slightly more inferential questions than literal questions. Significant sequential associations were observed between the level of teachers’ questions and child responses, with inferential questions consistently eliciting inferential child responses. Few characteristics of teachers’ questions were associated with children's vocabulary outcomes. Results suggest that preschool teachers can use inferential questioning to encourage children to participate in conversation at complex, inferential levels; informational texts appear to provide a successful context for this inferential discourse. Implications for teachers and allied professionals are discussed.

Vocabulary Learning in Uninstructed Silent Reading and Story Rewriting

Abstract A current issue in L2 reading research is whether extensive reading promotes vocabulary development. This study examined vocabulary acquisition in uninstructed silent reading of a short story with and without a vocabulary list followed by a story rewriting task. Time constraints of a public school setting prevented an extended period of study required for extensive reading research, but vocabulary learning strategies and outcomes of this study are applicable to extensive reading. This study also explored Hinkel’s (2006) recommendation to modify the goal of extensive reading programs to meet the pedagogical ideal of integrated skills learning, that is, reading and vocabulary learning. Questioning the traditional goal of extensive reading to read relatively quickly for general ideas, Hinkel (2006) also proposes that it should draw learner attention to some aspect of language such as vocabulary. Similarly, Nation (2005) emphasizes need for deliberate vocabulary learning in extensive reading which should form a substantial and obligatory part of language courses (p.15). Due to the assumption that uninstructed sustained silent reading encourages students to read widely, I will refer to research on “extensive reading,” using Hinkel’s (2006) and Day, Omura, and Hiramatsu’s (1991) operational definition of sustained silent reading as extensive reading for pleasure over time.

Lexical acquisition over time in minority first language children learning English as a second language

ABSTRACTThe English second language development of 19 children (mean age at outset = 5 years, 4 months) from various first language backgrounds was examined every 6 months for 2 years, using spontaneous language sampling, parental questionnaires, and a standardized receptive vocabulary test. Results showed that the children's mean mental age equivalency and standard scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition nearly met native-speaker expectations after an average of 34 months of exposure to English, a faster rate of development than has been reported in some other research. Children displayed the phenomenon of general all-purpose verbs through overextension of the semantically flexible verb do, an indicator of having to stretch their lexical resources for the communicative context. Regarding sources of individual differences, older age of second language onset and higher levels of mother's education were associated with faster growth in children's English lexical development, and nonverbal intelligence showed some limited influence on vocabulary outcomes; however, English use in the home had no consistent effects on vocabulary development.

Vocalizations of Infants with Hearing Loss Compared with Infants with Normal Hearing: Part II – Transition to Words

By 24 mo of age, most typically developing infants with normal hearing successfully transition to the production of words that can be understood about 50% of the time. This study compares early phonological development in children with and without hearing loss to gain a clearer understanding of the effects of hearing loss in early-identified children. A secondary goal was to identify measures of early phonetic development that are predictors of later speech production outcomes. The vocalizations and early words of 21 infants with normal hearing and 12 early-identified infants with hearing loss were followed longitudinally over a period of 14 mo (from 10 to 24 mo of age). Thirty-minute mother-child interaction samples were video recorded at 6- to 8-wk intervals in a laboratory playroom setting. Vocalizations produced at 16 and 24 mo were categorized according to communicative intent and recognizable words versus other types. Groups were compared on the structural complexity of words produced at 24 mo of age. Parent report measures of vocabulary development were collected from 10 to 30 mo of age, and Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation scores at 36 mo were used in regression analyses. Both groups increased the purposeful use of voice between 16 and 24 mo of age. However, at 24 mo of age, the toddlers with hearing loss produced significantly fewer words that could be recognized by their mothers. Their samples were dominated by unintelligible communicative attempts at this age. In contrast, the samples from normal hearing children were dominated by words and phrases. At 24 mo of age, toddlers with normal hearing were more advanced than those with hearing loss on seven measures of the structural complexity of words. The children with normal hearing attempted more complex words and productions were more accurate than those of children with hearing loss. At 10 to 16 mo of age, the groups did not differ significantly on parent-report measures of receptive vocabulary. However, the hearing loss group was much slower to develop expressive vocabulary and demonstrated larger individual differences than the normal hearing group. Six children identified as atypical differed from all other children in vowel accuracy and complexity of word attempts. However, both atypical infants and typical infants with hearing loss were significantly less accurate than normal hearing infants in consonant and word production. Early measures of syllable production predicted unique variance in later speech production and vocabulary outcomes. The transition from babble to words in infants with hearing loss appears to be delayed but parallel to that of infants with normal hearing. These delays appear to exert significant influences on expressive vocabulary development. Parents may appreciate knowing that some children with hearing loss may develop early vocabulary at a slower rate than children with normal hearing. Clinicians should monitor landmarks from babble onset through transitions to words. Indicators of atypical development were delayed and/or limited use of syllables with consonants, vowel errors and limited production of recognizable words.

Receptive (aural) vocabulary development in children with permanent bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment

The receptive (aural) vocabulary development of children with binaural-aided residual hearing was investigated in a prospective longitudinal analysis (repeated measures). Thirty-three children with sensorineural hearing loss, without major co-morbidities (mean age at the first testing point, 56.2 months, standard deviation 19.0 months) were recruited from the 1994 German Goettinger Hearing Language Register. Their receptive vocabulary was measured using standardised tests (with reference to normal hearing child performance) on three separate test points (mean follow up, 18.7 months, standard deviation 5.0 months). On average, the study group scored below the normal range at the first and second tests and made a significant improvement at the last test. The degree of hearing loss was found to be significantly correlated to vocabulary performance at all time points, with increasing correlation coefficients. At the third test, significant predictive variables for successful receptive vocabulary outcome were found to be: degree of hearing loss (t = 5.43; p < 0.0001); age at diagnosis (t = 2.29; p = 0.03); and nonverbal intelligence (t = 2.82; p = 0.009). If permanent childhood hearing impairment is mild and/or is detected early, and if the child grows up in a monolingual environment, the development of receptive vocabulary within the normal range is possible.

Joint Book Reading in the Second Year and Vocabulary Outcomes

The positive effects of joint book reading (JBR) between parents and children have been widely presumed. However, the impact of JBR has not been widely investigated in toddlers, nor has the extant literature considered the context of JBR reading sessions (e.g., reader, prompt, occasion, who chose the book, etc.). The present study examined the occurrence of JBR in middle-class homes, using two methodologies (i.e., questionnaire and daily journal), and then examined variables derived from these methods with children's vocabulary, as assessed by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Indicants of the frequency of JBR and the variety of titles read were strongly correlated with vocabulary outcomes, especially expressive vocabulary. In addition, JBR was determined to occur in two independent contextual situations: one that occurred as a matter of regular routine, and another that occurred more irregularly and spontaneously; the former was marginally associated with receptive vocabulary, while both factors contributed significantly and independently to the prediction of expressive vocabulary. These findings are in accord with the hypothesis that JBR promotes language skills, and extends them to toddlers.

Estimating the influence of cochlear implantation on language development in children

Research studies reviewed here have identified a wide variety of factors that may influence a child's auditory, speech and language development following cochlear implantation. Intrinsic characteristics of the implanted child, including gender, family socio-economic status, age at onset of hearing loss and pre-implant residual hearing may predispose a child to greater or lesser post-implant benefit. Intervention characteristics that may influence outcome include age of the child when deafness is identified and amplification and habilitation is initiated, the communication mode used with the child and the type of classroom/therapy employed. Characteristics of the implant itself include generation of technology used, the age of the child when implant stimulation is initiated, and the amount of time the child has used the implant. These factors interact in unpredictable ways, so that isolated correlations between predictor variables and outcome scores may be difficult to interpret. Results for two independent samples of orally-educated children tested by different laboratories were compared using multiple regression analysis to illustrate interactions among predictor variables. Four predictor variables accounted for a similar proportion of variance (23% and 24%) in receptive vocabulary (PPVT) outcome scores in each sample. A unique predictor was then added to each analysis. The addition of pre-implant aided threshold not only increased the total variance accounted for to almost 40%, but also increased the effect of implant age as a predictor variable. A different result was observed in the other sample, were the added predictor variable was nonverbal IQ, where the estimated contribution of implant age was reduced. The current analysis suggests that future analyses minimally control for independent contributions of implant age, nonverbal IQ, and pre-implant aided thresholds when examining expected outcomes. Children in both samples who received a cochlear implant sometime between their first and second birthday achieved age-appropriate oral receptive vocabulary levels during preschool.