ERIC Number: EJ1369727
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1363-755X
EISSN: EISSN-1467-7687
Available Date: N/A
Looking Is Not Enough: Multimodal Attention Supports the Real-Time Learning of New Words
Schroer, Sara E.; Yu, Chen
Developmental Science, v26 n2 e13290 Mar 2023
Most research on early language learning focuses on the objects that infants see and the words they hear in their daily lives, although growing evidence suggests that motor development is also closely tied to language development. To study the real-time behaviors required for learning new words during free-flowing toy play, we measured infants' visual attention and manual actions on to-be-learned toys. Parents and 12-to-26-month-old infants wore wireless head-mounted eye trackers, allowing them to move freely around a home-like lab environment. After the play session, infants were tested on their knowledge of object-label mappings. We found that how often parents named objects during play did not predict learning, but instead, it was infants' attention during and around a labeling utterance that predicted whether an object-label mapping was learned. More specifically, we found that infant visual attention alone did not predict word learning. Instead, coordinated, multimodal attention--when infants' hands and eyes were attending to the same object--predicted word learning. Our results implicate a causal pathway through which infants' bodily actions play a critical role in early word learning.
Descriptors: Attention Control, Language Acquisition, Play, Toys, Infants, Motor Development, Multisensory Learning
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS); National Science Foundation (NSF)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01HD074601; R01HD093792; T32HD007475; DGE1610403
Author Affiliations: N/A