This study attempted to investigate the effects of two forms of text-based glosses, namely dynamic and non-dynamic glosses, on vocabulary learning of EFL learners. To this end, two experimental groups and one control group, each comprising 25 participants, took part in the study. The DIALANG test was employed as a homogenizing tool to ensure the…

According to the cross-situational learning account, infants aggregate statistical information from multiple parent naming events to resolve ambiguous word-referent mappings within individual naming events. While previous experimental studies have shown that infant and adult learners can build correct mappings based on statistical regularities…

Purpose: Cross-situational statistical learning is one mechanism by which typically developing toddlers map words to referents. Yet, this type of statistical learning has been found less efficient in children with developmental language disorder (DLD). The purpose of this article is to evaluate cross-situational statistical learning in very young…

As adults, we represent and think about number, space, and time in at least two ways: our intuitive--but imprecise--perceptual representations, and the slowly learned--but precise--number words. With development, these representational formats interface, allowing us to use precise number words to estimate imprecise perceptual experiences. We test…

Numerous studies have examined the positive and negative effects of various types of interactions that occur while children view electronic book (e-book) stories. However, the effects of the different types of interactions have not been compared, and more importantly, the optimal amount and reoccurrence of these interactions on children has not…

Picturebooks can play an important function in the development of language by promoting language acquisition and enriching the overall language development of the child. Reading picturebooks to children builds a number of developmental domains and fosters significant learning outcomes for future achievements. In this study, children's ability to…

The fast pace and relative ease at which individuals with typical language acquire and use words belie the complexity and vulnerability of lexical representation development (i.e., word learning) and lexical-semantic processing. Lexical-semantic processing impairments are common in both developmental and acquired communication disorders and, even…

In this study, I examined preschool storybook apps for the affordances they may provide for young children's vocabulary development. Specifically, I sought to understand (a) the degree to which storybook apps introduce new words, (b) the types of words children can learn, and (c) the degree to which digital enhancements align with new words in the…

Although identifying the referents of single words is often cited as a key challenge for getting word learning off the ground, it overlooks the fact that young learners consistently encounter words in the context of other words. How does this company help or hinder word learning? Prior investigations into early word learning from children's…

Previous research suggests that statistical learning enhances memory for self-related information at the individual level and that individuals exhibit better memory for partner-related items than they do for irrelevant items in joint contexts (i.e., the joint memory effect, JME). However, whether statistical learning improves memory for…

Choosing which words to teach is a key consideration for language teachers and materials writers. Some studies have shown that teaching words in semantically related clusters can make learning more difficult. However, others argue it is the physical similarity of the referents of words that causes confusion. Importantly, studies have employed…

This longitudinal study investigated parents' different pretend play behaviors (substitution, animation, and role enactment) to their infants during free play and the bidirectional links with infants' vocabulary development at 14 months (Time-1: N = 34, M[subscript age] = 14.23 months) and 20 months (Time-2: N = 34, M[subscript age] = 20.33…

Vocabulary knowledge plays a critical role in supporting text comprehension and broader learning across the school day. While school offers opportunities to build vocabulary knowledge, studies have shown that very little time is devoted to vocabulary instruction at the elementary level. This may be, in part, because educators commonly report being…

This paper is part 4 in a series of workshops that examine the properties of some simple models of vocabulary networks. This Workshop explores how the overall activity level of a vocabulary network can be altered by changing the connections in the network (i.e., by implementing relinking events). The Workshop is linked to an online practice room…

The speech register that adults especially caregivers use when interacting with infants and toddlers, that is, infant-directed speech (IDS) or baby talk, has been reported to facilitate language development throughout the early years. However, the neural mechanisms as well as why IDS results in such a developmental faciliatory effect remain to be…