Iconicity--the correspondence between form and meaning--may help young children learn to use new words. Early-learned words are higher in iconicity than later learned words. However, it remains unclear what role iconicity may play in actual language use. Here, we ask whether iconicity relates not just to the age at which words are acquired, but…

We describe three activities that help undergraduates (pre-service teachers) to develop scientific vocabulary on measurable attributes and units of measurement. Measurable attributes are important features in understanding a word problem and solving the problem. These activities help students comprehend word problems better by identifying…

Word learning from linguistic context is essential for vocabulary growth from grade school onward; however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying successful word learning in children. Current methods for studying word learning development require children to identify the meaning of the word after each exposure, a method that interacts…

This longitudinal study assessed three acoustic components of maternal infant-directed speech (IDS) -- pitch, affect, and vowel hyperarticulation -- in relation to infants' age and their expressive vocabulary size. These three individual components were measured in IDS addressed to infants at 7, 9, 11, 15, and 19 months (N = 18). All three…

The high demand on the mobile devices like smart phones and ipads in daily life has given a rise to mobile learning trends in second or foreign language learning. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in vocabulary achievement level of students keeping mobile-based and paper-based vocabulary notebooks in English…

Purpose: The aim of this study is to analyze the changes in temporal synchrony between gesture and speech of multimodal communicative behaviors in the transition from babbling to two-word productions. Method: Ten Spanish-speaking children were observed at 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age in a semistructured play situation. We longitudinally…

Young language learners (YLLs) have a pivotal role in constructing their English language learning by making sense of their own environment. For that reason, assessing and evaluating young learners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom setting require the administration of appropriate and tailor-made measurement tools and techniques. In…

Purpose: In this article, we review the role of retrieval practice on the word learning and retention of children with specific language impairment (SLI). Method: Following a brief review of earlier findings on word learning in children with SLI and the assumptions behind retrieval practice, four experiments are described that compared novel words…

Purpose: This study compared perception of consonants in medial position by preschoolers, with and without speech sound disorder (SSD), with similar vocabulary and language skills. In addition, we investigated the association between speech perception and production skills. Method: Participants were 36 monolingual English-speaking children with…

This study explored the "Beliefs about Vocabulary Learning and Vocabulary Learning Strategies" among Afghan EFL Learners at Shaikh Zayed University, Afghanistan. The aim of the research was to find out the most and least strategies adopted by the learners. A questionnaire developed by Gu (2018), see Appendix, which contains four…

The purpose of this study is to share the design, implementation, and evaluation processes regarding an activity implemented for improving the vocabulary of 4th grade students, and to determine the opinions of the students about the activity. The activity serves to the purpose of learning the new words and phrases meaningfully through active…

This systematic review study synthesizes research findings pertaining to the use of augmented reality (AR) in language learning. Published research from 2014 to 2019 has been explored and specific inclusion and exclusion criteria have been applied resulting in 54 relevant publications. Our findings determined: (a) devices and software employed for…

Having a clear vocabulary profile of Moroccan master students might reveal where these participants stand compared to other countries. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the effect of languages of instruction in Morocco (e.g., Arabic vs. French) on the receptive vocabulary size of EFL Moroccan master students (e.g., departments of letters,…

Using the newspaper as a medium of learning English is a unique way to stimulate students' interest in reading, since students at this age is a student who has dropped their interest in reading. Therefore, the researchers decided to use the newspaper as a medium to build students' vocabulary. Researchers chose participants in the study of class XB…

With the continued failure of large numbers of university students to achieve proficiency in English as a foreign language (EFL), a great deal of research has been devoted to issues such as outdated curriculum design, inadequacies of course materials, poor teacher quality, and learner motivation, among other concerns. However, few studies have…