Towards a precision science of word learning: Understanding individual vocabulary pathways

Samuelson, Larissa K. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-3286 (2021) Towards a precision science of word learning: Understanding individual vocabulary pathways. Child Development Perspectives, 15 (2). pp. 117-124. ISSN 1750-8592

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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: 23 Oct 2022 02:17
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/79455
DOI: 10.1111/cdep.12408

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