Tools
ToolsSamuelson, Larissa K. (2021) Towards a precision science of word learning: Understanding individual vocabulary pathways. Child Development Perspectives, 15 (2). pp. 117-124. ISSN 1750-8592
Preview |
PDF (Version_of_Record)
- Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
Toddlers vary widely in the rate at which they develop vocabulary. This variation predicts later language development and school success at the group level; however, we cannot determine which children with slower vocabulary development in the second year will continue to have difficulty. In this article, I argue that this is because we lack theoretical understanding of how multiple processes operate as a system to create individual children’s pathways to word learning. I discuss the difficulties children face when learning even a single concrete noun, the multiple general cognitive processes that support word learning, and some evidence of rapid development in the second year. I present work toward a formal model of the word learning system and how this system changes over time. The long-term goal of this work is to understand how individual children’s strengths and weaknesses create unique vocabulary pathways, and to enable us to predict outcomes and identify effective interventions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | formal models,individual differences,word learning,pediatrics, perinatology, and child health,developmental and educational psychology,life-span and life-course studies ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/2700/2735 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 13 Mar 2021 00:47 |
| Last Modified: | 17 Oct 2025 23:50 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/79455 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/cdep.12408 |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |