Retrieval-Based Word Learning in Young Typically Developing Children and Children With Development Language Disorder II: A Comparison of Retrieval Schedules

Abstract

Purpose Retrieval practice has been found to be a powerful strategy to enhance long-term retention of new information; however, the utility of retrieval practice when teaching young children new words is largely unknown, and even less is known for young children with language impairments. The current study examined the effect of 2 different retrieval schedules on word learning at both the behavioral and neural levels. Method Participants included 16 typically developing children ( M TD = 61.58 months) and 16 children with developmental language disorder ( M DLD = 59.60 months). Children participated in novel word learning sessions in which the spacing of retrieval practice was manipulated: Some words were retrieved only after other words had been presented (i.e., repeated retrieval that required contextual reinstatement [RRCR]); others were taught using an immediate retrieval schedule. In Experiment 1, children's recall of the novel word labels and their meanings was tested after a 5-min delay and a 1-week delay. In Experiment 2, event-related brain potentials were obtained from a match–mismatch task utilizing the novel word stimuli. Results Experiment 1 findings revealed that children were able to label referents and to retain the novel words more successfully if the words were taught in the RRCR learning condition. Experiment 2 findings revealed that mismatching picture–word pairings elicited a robust N400 event-related brain potential only for words that were taught in the RRCR condition. In addition, children were more accurate in identifying picture–word matches and mismatches for words taught in the RRCR condition, relative to the immediate retrieval condition. Conclusions Retrieval practice that requires contextual reinstatement through spacing results in enhanced word learning and long-term retention of words. Both typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder benefit from this type of retrieval procedure. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7927112

Adjective Learning in Young Typically Developing Children and Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Retrieval-Based Approach

“…Another parallel finding pertains to time; in both studies, children with DLD retained the words over 1 week as successfully as their TD peers. Similar findings were seen for our study comparing spaced retrieval with immediate retrieval (Haebig et al, 2019) and earlier studies of young adults by McGregor et al (2017) that used a different learning procedure. From these findings, we cannot conclude that individuals with DLD function adequately in their longterm retention.…”

“…However, to argue that the benefits of the RRCR condition were attributable in part to spaced retrieval rather than to the opportunity for retrieval more generally, we can only resort to our previous findings. In a study of novel noun learning, Haebig et al (2019) found that a spaced retrieval condition produced greater recall than a condition that provided the same number of retrieval opportunities but with no intervening items. With such immediate retrieval, the context changes very little, and hence, the context representation does not become more distinctive.…”

“…There have been several studies of retrieval effects on word learning in children or young adults with DLD (Chen & Liu, 2014;Haebig et al, 2019;Leonard et al, 2019;McGregor, Gordon, Eden, Arbisi-Kelm, & Oleson, 2017). Methods and retrieval schedules have differed across studies, but each investigation has reported advantages for retrieval over the comparison conditions.…”

The Influence of Quantitative Intervention Dosage on Oral Language Outcomes for Children With Developmental Language Disorder: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis

“…The evidence for 'little and often', if embedded within longer sessions with mixed goals, may be confounded by an increase in variability and intervention context. By changing the target after two minutes, both variability and context change, both of which are thought to be advantageous to children's language learning, (Haebig et al, 2019;Plante et al, 2014). What is unclear is how many times (or if at all) the target was revisited within a single session, i.e.…”

“…Although results suggest no spaced learning advantage between sessions (for morphosyntax) if all other dosage characteristics are controlled, inconsistencies in the definitions of spaced/distributed and massed/concentrated have been problematic, making cross-study comparison and clinical application difficult. Within session spacing has been under-researched and while Plante and colleagues (2019) report no differences in treatment effects based on the within session density with which the dose was given, changes in dose form context which inadvertently create within session spacing have been found to be advantageous (Haebig et al, 2019). Finally, frequent interventions (2/3 times per week) that target language goals for short periods, or less frequent interventions (1 per week or fortnight) targeting language goals for longer, have been found to yield the best outcomes in relation to composite language measures.…”