Word Learning and Individual Differences in Word Learning Reflected in Event-Related Potentials.

Abstract

Adults learned the meanings of rare words (e.g., gloaming) and then made meaning judgments on pairs of words. The 1st word was a trained rare word, an untrained rare word, or an untrained familiar word. Event-related potentials distinguished trained rare words from both untrained rare and familiar words, first at 140 ms and again at 400-600 ms after onset of the 1st word. These results may point to an episodic memory effect. The 2nd word produced an N400 that distinguished trained and familiar word pairs that were related in meaning from unrelated word pairs. Skilled comprehenders learned more words than less skilled comprehenders and showed a stronger episodic memory effect at 400-600 ms on the 1st word and a stronger N400 effect on the 2nd word. These results suggest that superior word learning among skilled comprehenders may arise from a stronger episodic trace that includes orthographic and meaning information and illustrate, how an episodic theory of word identification can explain reading skill.

The Role of Self-Teaching in Learning Orthographic and Semantic Aspects of New Words

“…For example, Swanborn and de Glopper (2002) showed that in a group of 223 children, participants with low reading comprehension scores learned fewer words from context than peers with high comprehension scores. This finding is consistent with data showing that poor comprehenderschildren who have reading comprehension impairments despite the ability to read words and texts at an age-appropriate level-are poor at inferring the meaning of new words from context (Cain et al, 2003;Cain, Oakhill, & Lemmon, 2004;Oakhill, 1983) and remembering them over time (Nation, Snowling, & Clarke, 2007;Ricketts et al, 2008; for a similar finding with adults see Perfetti, Wlotko, & Hart, 2005).Reading experience enables vocabulary development, with measures of print exposure predicting vocabulary growth (e.g., Echols, West, Stanovich, & Zehr, 1996). Equally though, existing vocabulary knowledge is a significant predictor of semantic learning following reading (e.g., Cain et al, 2004;Ewers & Brownson, 1999;Sénéchal, Thomas, & Monker, 1995;Shefelbine, 1990).…”

Language experience shapes early electrophysiological responses to visual stimuli: The effects of writing system, stimulus length, and presentation duration

“…Neural changes associated with reading acquisition have also been well documented under both natural (e.g., Brem et al, 2006;Burgund et al, 2006;Maurer et al, 2005bMaurer et al, , 2006 and experimental conditions (e.g., Brem et al, 2005;Chen et al, 2007;McCandliss et al, 1997;Perfetti et al, 2005;Xue et al, 2006). Nevertheless, there is little consensus with regard to the exact mechanisms underlying these neural changes.…”

Differences between written and spoken input in learning new words

“…Such a trace is detectible in ERPs, which can differentiate between a recently learned word and a familiar or unfamiliar word as early as 140 ms, with an additional later component between 400 and 600 ms that is also sensitive to comprehension skill. The later component is more pronounced in skilled comprehenders, indicating that skilled readers are more effective in establishing strong episodic traces for new words (Perfetti, Wlotko, & Hart, 2005). With repeated exposures to a new word, and multiple episodic traces, a reader should be able to establish a new lexical entry, more independent from the individual episodic traces, complete with semantic, phonological, and orthographic information.…”