This study examined how inferences about epistemic competence and generalized labeling errors influence children's selective word learning. Three- to 4-year-olds (N = 128) learned words from informants who asked questions about objects, mentioning either correct or incorrect labels. Such questions do not convey stark differences in informants'…

We examined full-term and preterm infants' perception of frequent and infrequent phonotactic pairings involving sibilants and liquids. Infants were tested on their preference for syllables with onsets involving /s/ or /?/ followed by /l/ or /r/ using the Headturn Preference Procedure. Full-term infants preferred the frequent to the infrequent…

In today's increasingly linguistically diverse classrooms, all science teachers require expertise in supporting students' language development simultaneous to content-based classroom instruction. Current science-oriented K-12 teaching frameworks and standards promote a vision of learning and doing science that entails engaging students in…

It is widely accepted that associative recognition can be supported by familiarity through integrating more than two stimuli into a unit, but there are still three unsolved questions: (1) how unitization affects recollection-based associative recognition; (2) whether it is necessary to match the level of unitization (LOU) between original and…

A group of words, labeled the core vocabulary, can be expected to be prominent across all texts. Scholarship made possible by digital databases of words and new analytic systems has shown that approximately 2,500 morphological families account for most of the words in texts--an average of 91.5% of all words in the Common Core State Standards…

This study investigated the relation between Dual Language Learners' (N = 90) vocabulary and grammar comprehension and word learning processes in preschool (aged 3-through-5 years). Of interest was whether: (a) performance in Spanish correlated with performance in English within each domain; and (b) comprehension predicted novel word learning…

Background: Vocabulary development is closely associated with morphological knowledge, yet work is needed to understand the mechanisms underpinning this relationship. One possibility is that because morphological relationships entail systematic mappings between word form (phonology and orthography) and word meaning (semantics and grammar),…

Purpose: Word learning difficulties have been documented in multiple studies involving children with dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD; see also specific language impairment). However, no previous studies have directly contrasted word learning in these two frequently co-occurring disorders. We examined word learning in second-grade…

The oral language proficiency of students in early education is crucial as teachers draw on this as a resource when developing literacy. There is a need to better understand what this oral language resource consists of at school entry, particularly the diversity amongst children so as to address inequalities. This article reports a study on a key…

This research investigates selectivity in word learning for bilingual infants. Previous work demonstrated that bilingual infants show greater openness to non-native language sounds in object labels than monolinguals (Hay et al., 2015; Singh, 2018). It remains unclear whether bilingual openness extends to nonspeech sounds. We presented 14- and…

Texts are an often-ignored element in studies of interactive read-alouds in early childhood settings. In this article, the author addresses this research gap by examining 60 preschool books for the vocabulary affordances they provide for young children. There were five types of books in the study: narrative, informational, interactive, alphabet,…

This study aims to investigate the acquisition of vocabulary recognition and vocabulary production in the short- and long-term via listening and reading comprehension activities using Voice® software. Sixty participants were invited to read or listen to two passages in different sessions, that is, three sessions in listening inputs and one session…

Most teachers are concerned about the teaching of vocabulary. However, it is much more effective to focus on the ways in which vocabulary can be learned. This article looks at the jobs of the teacher, which include, in order of importance, (1) designing a balanced course, (2) organizing classroom work and homework, (3) training the learners in how…

This meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of an additional gloss mode in single versus dual and dual versus triple glossing on second language (L2) learners' word learning. In total, 22 studies, providing 26 independent effect sizes, were coded, and 11 moderator variables including quality of data sample, learner variables, gloss features,…

For children with complex communication needs in the early stages of language development, access to appropriate vocabulary provides a means for social interaction and participation, and the foundation for the acquisition of grammar and other language related skills. While numerous resources are available to support decision making for speakers of…