scholarly journals Online Learning From Input Versus Offline Memory Evolution in Adult Word Learning: Effects of Neighborhood Density and Phonologically Related Practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1708-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly L. Storkel ◽  
Daniel E. Bontempo ◽  
Natalie S. Pak
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
High Density ◽  
Learning Effects ◽  
Spline Regression ◽  
Density Condition ◽  
New Words ◽  
Naming Test ◽  
Better Than

Purpose In this study, the authors investigated adult word learning to determine how neighborhood density and practice across phonologically related training sets influence online learning from input during training versus offline memory evolution during no-training gaps. Method Sixty-one adults were randomly assigned to learn low- or high-density nonwords. Within each density condition, participants were trained on one set of words and then were trained on a second set of words, consisting of phonological neighbors of the first set. Learning was measured in a picture-naming test. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling and spline regression. Results Steep learning during input was observed, with new words from dense neighborhoods and new words that were neighbors of recently learned words (i.e., second-set words) being learned better than other words. In terms of memory evolution, large and significant forgetting was observed during 1-week gaps in training. Effects of density and practice during memory evolution were opposite of those during input. Specifically, forgetting was greater for high-density and second-set words than for low-density and first-set words. Conclusion High phonological similarity, regardless of source (i.e., known words or recent training), appears to facilitate online learning from input but seems to impede offline memory evolution.

scholarly journals Better to Be Alone than in Bad Company: Cognate Synonyms Impair Word Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Eneko Antón ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
New Words ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Better Than

The effects of cognate synonymy in L2 word learning are explored. Participants learned the names of well-known concrete concepts in a new fictional language following a picture-word association paradigm. Half of the concepts (set A) had two possible translations in the new language (i.e., both words were synonyms): one was a cognate in participants’ L1 and the other one was not. The other half of the concepts (set B) had only one possible translation in the new language, a non-cognate word. After learning the new words, participants’ memory was tested in a picture-word matching task and a translation recognition task. In line with previous findings, our results clearly indicate that cognates are much easier to learn, as we found that the cognate translation was remembered much better than both its non-cognate synonym and the non-cognate from set B. Our results also seem to suggest that non-cognates without cognate synonyms (set B) are better learned than non-cognates with cognate synonyms (set A). This suggests that, at early stages of L2 acquisition, learning a cognate would produce a poorer acquisition of its non-cognate synonym, as compared to a solely learned non-cognate. These results are discussed in the light of different theories and models of bilingual mental lexicon.

scholarly journals Phonological similarity influences word learning in adults learning Spanish as a foreign language

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 490-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
MELISSA K. STAMER ◽  
MICHAEL S. VITEVITCH
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
New Words ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Native English Speaking ◽  
Novel Words

Neighborhood density – the number of words that sound similar to a given word (Luce & Pisoni, 1998) – influences word learning in native English-speaking children and adults (Storkel, 2004; Storkel, Armbruster & Hogan, 2006): novel words with many similar sounding English words (i.e., dense neighborhood) are learned more quickly than novel words with few similar sounding English words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). The present study examined how neighborhood density influences word learning in native English-speaking adults learning Spanish as a foreign language. Students in their third semester of Spanish-language classes learned advanced Spanish words that sounded similar to many known Spanish words (i.e., dense neighborhood) or sounded similar to few known Spanish words (i.e., sparse neighborhood). In three word-learning tasks, performance was better for Spanish words with dense rather than sparse neighborhoods. These results suggest that a similar mechanism may be used to learn new words in a native and a foreign language.

scholarly journals Better to Be Alone Than in Bad Company: Cognate Synonyms Impair Word Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eneko Antón ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
New Words ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Better Than

The effects of cognate synonymy in L2 word learning are explored. Participants learned the names of well-known concrete concepts in a new fictional language following a picture-word association paradigm. Half of the concepts (set A) had two possible translations in the new language (i.e., both words were synonyms): one was a cognate in participants’ L1 and the other one was not. The other half of the concepts (set B) had only one possible translation in the new language, a non-cognate word. After learning the new words, participants’ memory was tested in a picture-word matching task and a translation recognition task. In line with previous findings, our results clearly indicate that cognates are much easier to learn, as we found that the cognate translation was remembered much better than both its non-cognate synonym and the non-cognate from set B. Our results also seem to suggest that non-cognates without cognate synonyms (set B) are better learned than non-cognates with cognate synonyms (set A). This suggests that, at early stages of L2 acquisition, learning a cognate would produce a poorer acquisition of its non-cognate synonym, as compared to a solely learned non-cognate. These results are discussed under the light of different theories and models of bilingual mental lexicon.

scholarly journals The Role of Sleep in Retention of New Words in Habitually and Non-Habitually Napping Children

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1320
Author(s):  
Katherine Esterline ◽  
Rebecca L. Gómez
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Retention Performance ◽  
Novel Object ◽  
New Words ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Better Than

Daytime napping contributes to retention of new word learning in children. Importantly, children transition out of regular napping between ages 3–5 years, and the impact of this transition on memory is unclear. Here, we examined the performance of both non-habitually napping children (nap 0–3 days per week, n = 28) and habitually napping children (nap 4–7 days per week, n = 30) on a word learning task after a delay including either sleep or wakefulness. Children ages 3.5–4.5 years old experienced a brief exposure to two novel labels and their referents during training, a scenario that replicates learning experiences children encounter every day. After a 4-h delay, children were tested on the object-label associations. Using mixed effects logistic regression, we compared retention performance. Non-habitual nappers and habitual nappers displayed a different pattern of retention such that non-habitually napping children did equally well on a test of retention regardless of whether they napped or stayed awake during the delay. In contrast, habitually napping children needed a nap after learning to retain the novel object-label associations 4 h later. As a group, habitual nappers who remained awake after learning performed no better than chance on the retention test. As children transition out of naps, they may be less susceptible to interference and are better able to retain newly learned words across a delay including wakefulness.

scholarly journals Whole Object Assumption and Mutual Exclusivity Assumption in 3-4-Year-Old Cebuano Preschoolers: A Qualitative Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daylinda Luz Reluya Laput
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mutual Exclusivity ◽  
Age And Gender ◽  
New Words ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Better Than

The whole object assumption (WOA) and mutual exclusivity (ME) assumption proposed by Markman (1990) are constraints children use in word learning. This small-scale psycholinguistic study investigates the constraints function in 14 preschoolers at ages 3 and 4 using WOA and ME in deciphering part labels. Using quasi-experimental method, children identified objects and animals. Findings show that while WOA is still used by the participants ME overrides. Further findings reveal no evidence of the claim that older participants used ME better than the younger ones. However, gender seems to play an important role in the participants’ performance for boys did much better than girls in the experiments. Thus, the result recommends further future research on the relation between the two constraints on word learning (WOA and ME) and age and gender. However, this study found two limitations: the drawings and the questions used in the study may fail to fully reveal the children’s ability since previous studies offer non-standard materials and procedure used in their experiments; and the study itself, is regarded as small-scale. Therefore, the research findings can hardly be generalized. Nevertheless, the research at least presents how the Cebuano speaking preschoolers learned new words via WOA and ME assumption.

scholarly journals Repeated E-book Reading and Its Contribution to Learning New Words among Kindergartners

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ofra Korat ◽  
Olla Kozlov-Peretz ◽  
Ora Segal-Drori
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Book Reading ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
New Words ◽  
Educational Implications ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Individual Reading ◽  
Better Than

The contribution of repeated e-book reading with and without word explanation support and its effect on receptive and expressive word learning among preschoolers was examined. Seventy-eight kindergartners were randomly divided into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group received two individual reading sessions of an e-book with a dictionary that provided word explanations. The children clicked on hotspots which provided the explanation two more times. The children thus heard the meaning of the word three times in each session, with a total of six times. Not all difficult words received a dictionary explanation. The control group received the regular kindergarten program. The children's receptive word learning, word explanation and production of focal words were tested pre and post intervention. An improvement in all dependent measures was found post-intervention, compared to the control group. The dictionary in the e-book supported not only receptive word learning, but also word explanation. Words that received a dictionary explanation supported word learning better than words which were not included in the dictionary. Furthermore, receiving support six times was more effective than three times. Educational implications are discussed.

The effect of neighborhood density on children's word learning in noise

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Kyung HAN ◽  
Holly STORKEL ◽  
Daniel E. BONTEMPO
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Phonological Similarity ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
High Density ◽  
Adverse Impact ◽  
Long Term Outcomes ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Listening Condition

AbstractMany studies have addressed the effect of neighborhood density (phonological similarity among words) on word learning in quiet listening conditions. We explored how noise influences the effect of neighborhood density on children's word learning. One-hundred-and-two preschoolers learned nonwords varied in neighborhood density in one of four listening conditions: quiet, +15 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), +6 dB SNR, and 0 dB SNR. Results showed that a high-density advantage for children under quiet listening condition was significantly reduced as noise increased. This finding implies an adverse impact of noise on long-term outcomes of word learning.

scholarly journals Does narrator variability facilitate incidental word learning in the classroom?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Tapia ◽  
Eva Rosa ◽  
Francisco Rocabado ◽  
Marta Vergara-Martínez ◽  
Manuel Perea
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Incidental Learning ◽  
Semantic Integration ◽  
Contextual Diversity ◽  
New Words ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Incidental Word Learning ◽  
High Diversity ◽  
Better Than

AbstractRecent studies have revealed that presenting novel words across various contexts (i.e., contextual diversity) helps to consolidate the meaning of these words both in adults and children. This effect has been typically explained in terms of semantic distinctiveness (e.g., Semantic Distinctiveness Model, Jones et al., Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66(2), 115, 2012). However, the relative influence of other, non-semantic, elements of the context is still unclear. In this study, we examined whether incidental learning of new words in children was facilitated when the words were uttered by several individuals rather than when they were uttered by the same individual. In the learning phase, the to-be-learned words were presented through audible fables recorded either by the same voice (low diversity) or by different voices (high diversity). Subsequently, word learning was assessed through two orthographic and semantic integration tasks. Results showed that words uttered by different voices were learned better than those uttered by the same voice. Thus, the benefits of contextual diversity in word learning extend beyond semantic differences among contexts; they also benefit from perceptual differences among contexts.

Prologue to the Forum: Vocabulary Across the School Grades

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne M. Adlof
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Instruction ◽  
Elementary Grades ◽  
Reading Disorders ◽  
Vocabulary Intervention ◽  
New Words ◽  
School Grades ◽  
Grade Levels ◽  
Ability Levels ◽  
Instructional Settings

Purpose This prologue introduces the LSHSS Forum: Vocabulary Across the School Grades. The goals of the forum are to provide an overview of the importance of vocabulary to literacy and academic achievement, to review evidence regarding best practices for vocabulary instruction, and to highlight recent research related to word learning with students across different grade levels. Method The prologue provides a foundational overview of vocabulary's role in literacy and introduces the topics of the other ten articles in the forum. These include clinical focus articles, research reviews, and word-learning and vocabulary intervention studies involving students in elementary grades through college. Conclusion Children with language and reading disorders experience specific challenges learning new words, but all students can benefit from high-quality vocabulary instruction. The articles in this issue highlight the characteristics of evidence-based vocabulary interventions for children of different ages, ability levels, and language backgrounds and provide numerous examples of intervention activities that can be modified for use in individual, small-group, or large-group instructional settings.

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