Preschoolers' Word-Learning During Storybook Reading Interactions: Comparing Repeated and Elaborated Input

Abstract

Purpose Previous research shows that shared storybook reading interactions can function as effective speech and language interventions for young children, helping to improve a variety of skills—including word-learning. This study sought to investigate the potential benefits of elaboration of new words during a single storybook reading with preschoolers. Method Thirty-three typically developing children ages 35–37 months listened to a storybook containing novel words that were either repeated with a definition, repeated with no additional information, or only said once. Their receptive word-learning for these novel words was then evaluated via a preferential looking task. We analyzed children's correct looks to target pictures and compared looking behavior across the three levels of presentation. Results Results showed that preschoolers demonstrated successful receptive word-learning after a single storybook reading interaction with an adult when target words were repeated, either with or without elaboration. Within this context, elaboration was not required for preschoolers' receptive word-learning. Conclusions These results support the use of storybook reading with young children as a way to foster early receptive word-learning and highlight the importance of repeated exposure to novel material either with or without additional semantic information.

Preschoolers Benefit Equally From Video Chat, Pseudo-Contingent Video, and Live Book Reading: Implications for Storytime During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond

“…Crucially, these vocabulary words were never taught explicitly in the book. Our results align with previous research (O'Fallon et al, 2020), which suggests that young children can learn new vocabulary words during book reading without explicit instruction. However, although children in the experimental conditions scored higher than children in the control condition on the expressive vocabulary measure, this difference did not reach traditional levels of statistical significance.…”

“…Although the words appeared in the book, they were never explicitly taught to children, as research suggests that caregivers do not typically teach vocabulary during shared book reading ( Evans et al, 2011 ). Additionally, research suggests that preschoolers can learn vocabulary words that are repeated during book reading, even in the absence of word definitions ( O’Fallon et al, 2020 ). For nouns, children were asked, for example, “What is a dam?” and then, “Can you tell me or show me anything else about a dam?” For verbs, children were asked, for example, “What is gnawing?” and “Can you tell me or show me anything else about gnawing?” Testers gave children neutral feedback regardless of their accuracy, e.g., “You’re working so hard!” Prior to beginning the test words, children responded to two practice words ( drinking and tree ) to ensure that they understood the task.…”

“…Although the words appeared in the book, they were never explicitly taught to children, as research suggests that caregivers do not typically teach vocabulary during shared book reading (Evans et al, 2011). Additionally, research suggests that preschoolers can learn vocabulary words that are repeated during book reading, even in the absence of word definitions (O'Fallon et al, 2020). For nouns, children were asked, for example, "What is a dam?"…”

Parental linguistic support in a home environment is associated with language development of preschool‐aged children

“…1 It is possible, given that many children enjoy reading the same books numerous times, that the repetition of words and sentences and familiarity with pictures facilitate the acquisition of receptive language skills. 25 Of the types of parental linguistic support, free storytelling reached the highest explanatory value for grammatical skills, and also significantly explained the variability in lexical skills and general language ability. The grammatical aspects assessed in the present study included phonological and morphological skills, of which the former correlated significantly and positively with free storytelling.…”

“…Moreover, when parents repeat and expand their children's expressions the children hear the correct model, which helps them further to modify their own expressions 1 . It is possible, given that many children enjoy reading the same books numerous times, that the repetition of words and sentences and familiarity with pictures facilitate the acquisition of receptive language skills 25 …”