Figure - available from: Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders
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The marginal means showing differences according to learning condition across the three test types (collapsed across participant group and time). RSR, repeated spaced retrieval condition; OL, other learning condition
Source publication
Background
Many children with developmental language disorders (DLD) have well-documented weaknesses in vocabulary. In recent years, investigators have explored the nature of these weaknesses through the use of novel word learning paradigms. These studies have begun to uncover specific areas of difficulty and have provided hints about possible inte...
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Purpose
Although children with hearing loss (HL) can benefit from cochlear implants (CIs) and hearing aids (HAs), they often show language delays. Moreover, little is known about the mechanisms by which children with HL learn words. One mechanism by which typically hearing (TH) children learn words is by acquiring word learning biases such as the “...
Citations
... This suggests that hearing status does not affect the processing of visual information in this region of the brain. Leonard et al. (2021) examined sign language comprehension in deaf individuals, identifying a network of brain regions, including the inferior parietal lobule, inferior frontal gyrus, and middle temporal gyrus, which overlapped with regions implicated in written sentence processing. This supports the notion that the brain may draw on similar neural resources for processing both signed and written language. ...
Employing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of neural responses during sign language, picture, and word processing tasks in a cohort of 35 deaf participants and contrasted these responses with those of 35 hearing counterparts. Our voxel-based analysis unveiled distinct patterns of brain activation during language processing tasks. Deaf individuals exhibited robust bilateral activation in the superior temporal regions during sign language processing, signifying the profound neural adaptations associated with sign comprehension. Similarly, during picture processing, the deaf cohort displayed activation in the right angular, right calcarine, right middle temporal, and left angular gyrus regions, elucidating the neural dynamics engaged in visual processing tasks. Intriguingly, during word processing, the deaf group engaged the right insula and right fusiform gyrus, suggesting compensatory mechanisms at play during linguistic tasks. Notably, the control group failed to manifest additional or distinctive regions in any of the tasks when compared to the deaf cohort, underscoring the unique neural signatures within the deaf population. Multivariate Pattern Analysis (MVPA) of functional connectivity provided a more nuanced perspective on connectivity patterns across tasks. Deaf participants exhibited significant activation in a myriad of brain regions, including bilateral planum temporale (PT), postcentral gyrus, insula, and inferior frontal regions, among others. These findings underscore the intricate neural adaptations in response to auditory deprivation. Seed-based connectivity analysis, utilizing the PT as a seed region, revealed unique connectivity pattern across tasks. These connectivity dynamics provide valuable insights into the neural interplay associated with cross-modal plasticity.
... In brief, researchers have identified several robust learning mechanisms and heuristics underlying children's word mapping and learning, which have been observed outside of the laboratory (e.g., Cartmill et al., 2010;Leonard et al., 2021Leonard et al., , 2022Shneidman & Goldin-Meadow, 2012;Sobel et al., 2011). ...
... For instance, parents use pointing and eye-gaze in real-world settings, which has been linked to better language outcomes in children (e.g., Cartmill et al., 2010). Spaced schedules and variable contexts benefit learning in classrooms and clinical settings (e.g., Leonard et al., 2021Leonard et al., , 2022Sobel et al., 2011). Finally, cross-cultural studies have shown that children acquire language from overheard speech in their environment (e.g., Shneidman & Goldin-Meadow, 2012). ...
... As such, domain-general tasks, like the cross-situational word learning paradigm, have been used to study developmental language disorder, apraxia of speech, aphasia, and late talking (Ahufinger et al., 2021;McGregor et al., 2022;Peñaloza et al., 2017). Moreover, several domaingeneral theory principles (e.g., spaced and variable learning) have been effectively applied to intervention work in clinical research settings (Desmottes et al., 2017;Haebig et al., 2019;Leonard et al., 2021Leonard et al., , 2022Levlin et al., 2022;Plante et al., 2014). Why did SLPs nonetheless demonstrate similar alignment with the other participant groups? ...
The present study examined adults' understanding of children's early word learning. Undergraduates, non-parents, parents, and Speech-Language Pathologists (N = 535, 74% female, 56% White) completed a survey with 11 word learning principles from the perspective of a preschooler. Questions tested key principles from early word learning research. For each question, participants were prompted to select an answer based on the perspective of a preschooler. Adults demonstrated aligned intuitions for all principles except those derived from domain-general theories, regardless of experience with language development (Experiment 1). Experiment 2 revealed that perceived difficulty of a task for a preschooler impacted adults' reasoning about word learning processes. Experiment 3 ruled out level of confidence and interest as mechanisms to explain the results. These results highlight disconnects in knowledge between the cognitive development research community and the general public. Therefore, efforts must be made to communicate scientific findings to the broader non-academic community, emphasizing children's ability to excel at word learning in the face of task difficulty.
... The last two sessions were used to review all 15 words. Each new word was repeated about 10 times per learning session, about 40 times in total, spaced out between each session (Leonard et al., 2021;Storkel et al., 2017Storkel et al., , 2019. ...
Many children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a vocabulary deficit. One of the most effective interventions for increasing children's lexicon size is the semantic and phonological approach, an approach that has been used mainly with adolescents. The goals of our study are (1) to test whether the semantic-phonological approach coupled with rich vocabulary instruction is effective with younger children with DLD on words learned during the training and (2) to check whether the gains can be maintained over the long term. A group of eight French-speaking children (aged 6 to 10), with a diagnosis of DLD, underwent a phonological-semantic group intervention over 5 months. Four lists (vegetables, animals, school materials, and sports) of words were trained, each category involving 3-hour sessions. Five-word lists (L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5) corresponded to the four trained categories and one served as control. When L1 words were trained, L2 served as the control list; then when L2 words were trained, L3 was the control list, and so on. The group results indicated significant improvement on the four trained lists once intervention was introduced, and no improvement on the control lists. All effects were maintained over the long term at the delayed posttest. Individual outcomes were dependent on children's cognitive and language profiles. Vocabulary training thus allowed young French
... We could therefore consider this test as a final learning trial, just as completion was during reading. Both of these measures (i.e., completion and immediate post-test) could be thought of as retrieval trials, and various studies have shown that retrieval during learning leads to better word retention (see (38) for multiple studies). In our study however, hearing the phonological form of the non-word at immediate post-test did not allow the children to perform better on the delayed post-test, probably because a single retrieval event was not sufficient to aid phonological encoding. ...
... Following these promising results, we have created a new SSBR task by better controlling semantic features and choosing more replicable objects (110). We have also developed a word learning task with retrieval trials during learning based on of the work of Leonard and colleagues (38). Their experiments have shown that repeated spaced retrieval results in greater recall of word form and meaning. ...
Tools to effectively assess the language performance of bilingual children are lacking. Static tests assessing vocabulary knowledge (e.g., naming task) are not appropriate for testing bilingual children due to different types of bias. Alternative methods have been developed to diagnose bilingual children, including measuring language learning (e.g., word learning) through dynamic assessment. Research conducted with English-speaking children indicates that DA of word learning is effective in diagnosing language disorders in bilingual children. In this study, we examine whether a dynamic word learning task, using shared-storybook reading, can differentiate French-speaking (monolingual and bilingual) children with developmental language disorder (DLD) from those with typical development (TD). Sixty children (4–8 years), 43 with TD and 17 with DLD, participated: 30 were monolinguals and 25 were bilinguals. The dynamic word-learning task used a shared-storybook reading context. The children had to learn four non-words, paired with novel objects, as well as their semantic characteristics (a category and a definition) during the reading of a story. Post-tests assessed the recall of the phonological form and the semantic features of the objects. Phonological and semantic prompts were given if the child was unable to name or describe the objects. Results indicated that children with DLD performed less well than those with TD on phonological recall, leading to fair sensitivity and good specificity at delayed post-test for young children (4–6 years). Semantic production did not differentiate the two groups: all children performed well at this task. In sum, children with DLD have more difficulties encoding the phonological form of the word. Our findings suggest that a dynamic word learning task using shared-storybook reading is a promising approach for diagnosing lexical difficulties in young French-speaking, monolingual and bilingual, children.
... Recent surveys of SLPs and recordings of their sessions reveal that they most commonly use techniques that are focused on teaching children the meanings of words but seldom use techniques focused on phonology or orthography (Justice et al., 2014;Steele, 2020). Other techniques, including increasing the number of exposures , testing learners' ability to recall the names of referents throughout learning (i.e., repeated spaced retrieval; Haebig et al., 2019;Leonard et al., 2021;McGregor, Gordon, et al., 2017), and explicitly asking learners to monitor words for the presence of specific sounds , have all been shown to improve word-form learning for children and adults with DLD. ...
Purpose:
The current study compared the effects of direct instruction versus indirect exposure on multiple aspects of novel word learning for children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and children with typical language development (TLD).
Method:
Participants included 36 children with DLD and 45 children with TLD. All children were in the first grade and 6-8 years of age (Mdn = 7 years; 2 months). Using a between-subjects design, children were randomly assigned to be exposed to novel words and their unfamiliar referents via either direct instruction (each referent presented in isolation with an explicit goal of learning) or indirect exposure (multiple referents presented with the goal of answering yes/no questions).
Results:
In alternative forced-choice measures of recognition, children with DLD were less accurate than their TLD peers in linking words to referents, encoding semantic categories for words, and encoding detailed representations of word forms. These differences in word learning were accounted for by a constellation of cognitive measures, including receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, visuospatial memory, and sustained attention. All children were similarly accurate in retaining word forms over a 24- to 48-hr delay. Children with TLD were more accurate in all aspects of word learning following direct instruction compared to indirect exposure. Benefits from direct instruction were observed for children with DLD in link and semantic, but not word form, learning.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that vocabulary interventions with direct instruction can help children with DLD learn some, but not all, aspects of novel words. Additional support is necessary to help children with DLD encode rich phonological representations.
... Indeed, the drawback of standardized vocabulary tasks for use with bilingual children were clearly evident in the current study. Presently, we are working on developing tasks with other word learning methodologies such as shared storybook reading (Burton and Watkins 2007;Flack et al. 2018) and word retrieval during the learning process (Leonard et al. 2021) to increase the number of words learned and recalled by children. Our ultimate aim is to create a dynamic word learning task that can be administered in a single session, and that can aid in the diagnosis of children with DLD. ...
Dynamic assessment (DA), which evaluates the learning process rather than static knowledge, has been found to be effective in diagnosing developmental language disorder (DLD) in English-speaking bilingual children. We present three studies that examine whether a French dynamic word learning task can distinguish caseload children with DLD from control children with typical development (TD). Forty-eight monolingual and 69 bilingual French-speaking children, aged four to nine, were required to learn three to six non-words and their semantic characteristics. DA consisted of three phases: (1) a teaching phase in which non-words were taught to the child; (2) an immediate test phase, with graduated prompts, in which children were required to identify and produce the target words and their semantic features; and (3) a delayed test phase. Global results indicated that there were no differences between monolingual and bilingual TD children on the DA whereas there were differences on the static assessment of vocabulary knowledge: bilinguals performed less well than monolinguals. In addition, DA differentiated control and caseload monolingual children. Further work is needed to develop a dynamic word learning task, administered in one session, which can even more accurately differentiate TD and DLD bilingual children.
... Thus, people with DLD are likely to require explicit teaching of vocabulary, with multiple presentations, focusing on word forms and meanings and the links between them. Recent studies (summarized in Gordon, 2020;Leonard et al., 2021) also highlight the value of retrieval practice (saying the word in response to a stimulus), with feedback regarding correctness, distributed over several days or weeks to support the retention of new vocabulary. Indeed, studies have shown that the above approaches lead to learning and retention of new vocabulary by children with DLD (e.g., Gray, 2005;Haebig et al., 2019;Leonard et al., 2019;Riches et al., 2005;Storkel et al., 2017Storkel et al., , 2019Zens et al., 2009). ...
Background:
People with language disorders (including developmental language disorder-DLD) often struggle to learn new words and, for young adults, this could affect their success in future work. Therefore, it is crucial to support their learning of career-specific vocabulary. However, little published evidence exists regarding the effectiveness of speech and language intervention for older adolescents and young adults with (developmental) language disorder (D)LD within a post-16 provision.
Aims:
To investigate whether for students with (D)LD in a post-16 environment, the addition of direct individual intervention from a speech and language therapist (SLT) teaching course-specific vocabulary leads to more progress than just in-course teaching on bespoke vocabulary measures.
Methods & procedures:
A total of 28 college-aged students (11 female and 17 male) with (D)LD (aged 16.0-19.9) participated in a within-participant study comparing progress with explicit vocabulary intervention plus in-course teaching versus in-course teaching alone. The participants were assessed at four time points (3 months pre-intervention, immediately pre- and post-intervention, 3.5 months after intervention) using bespoke vocabulary assessments with an equal number of nouns, verbs and adjectives. All participants received one-to-one vocabulary intervention from their usual SLT for 30 min per week for 9 weeks. The intervention had four main components: (1) to identify intervention focus, (2) to recap previously taught terms (using an online flashcard program), (3) to explicitly teach new words using word maps to help with: creating definition and pictorial representation, identification of word class and investigation of phonological and morphological properties, and (4) to add new words, with their definition and pictorial representation to online flashcard program.
Outcomes & results:
The results showed a stable baseline, then during the intervention term significant progress on words targeted only in lessons and significantly greater progress on words targeted both in lessons and SLT sessions. Progress was maintained for 14 weeks. Individuals with initially lower scores showed smaller intervention effects. In general, performance was higher on verbs and on the definition recognition task and lower on the production tasks, but all tasks improved with intervention.
Conclusions & implications:
Direct one-to-one vocabulary intervention with an SLT can lead to significant gains in knowledge of course-specific terminology for college-aged students with (D)LD. The effectiveness of speech and language therapy services for this age group in a wider range of areas of language and social communication should also be investigated.
What this paper adds:
What is already known on this subject Very few services exist for young adults with DLD, despite their persisting language difficulties and the detrimental impact of these on their academic attainment and employment prospects. Most careers involve specific vocabulary which is crucial to executing a role successfully and these need to be learned by those looking to move into these careers. However, children, adolescents and adults with DLD struggle to learn new words and may need help in this area. What this study adds to existing knowledge The young adults with (D)LD received 9 weeks of intervention targeting individualized course-specific vocabulary (nouns, verbs and adjectives), using word maps to focus on word forms, definitions, morphologically related words and syntactic information such as word class and how to use the word in a sentence. An online learning tool provided regular spaced retrieval practice of previously taught words and their definitions. The participants showed significant progress with learning course-specific vocabulary from attending lessons. However, they made significantly greater progress on those words which were also targeted in individual SLT sessions, regardless of word class. Progress was maintained over 14 weeks. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Direct one-to-one vocabulary intervention with an SLT can lead to significantly greater gains in the acquisition of targeted course-specific terminology for young adults with (D)LD than the vocabulary teaching available in lessons. Individual intervention delivered by SLTs should therefore be offered to this age group of students with (D)LD to maximize their ability to access the academic curriculum and their future careers. Indeed, the broader role of SLTs in helping these young adults to access the world of work and independent living should be further investigated and supported.
... Thus, people with DLD are likely to require explicit teaching of vocabulary, with multiple presentations, focusing on word forms and meanings and the links between them. Recent studies (summarized in Gordon, 2020;Leonard et al., 2021) also highlight the value of retrieval practice (saying the word in response to a stimulus), with feedback regarding correctness, distributed over several days or weeks to support the retention of new vocabulary. Indeed, studies have shown that the above approaches lead to learning and retention of new vocabulary by children with DLD (e.g., Gray, 2005;Haebig et al., 2019;Leonard et al., 2019;Riches et al., 2005;Storkel et al., 2017Storkel et al., , 2019Zens et al., 2009). ...
Purpose
The word learning of preschool-age children with developmental language disorder (DLD) is improved when spaced retrieval practice is incorporated into the learning sessions. In this preregistered study, we compared two types of spacing—an expanding retrieval practice schedule and an equally spaced schedule—to determine if one of these approaches yields better word learning outcomes for the children.
Method
Fourteen children with DLD aged 4–5 years and 14 same-age children with typical language development (TD) learned eight novel nouns over two sessions. Spacing for half of the novel words was expanded gradually during learning; for the remaining novel words, greater spacing remained at the same level throughout learning. Immediately after the second session and 1 week later, the children's recall of the words was tested.
Results
The children with TD recalled more novel words than the children with DLD, although this difference could be accounted for by differences in the children's standardized receptive vocabulary test scores. The two groups were similar in their ability to retain the words over 1 week. Initially, the shorter spacing in the expanding schedule resulted in greater retrieval success than the corresponding (longer spaced) retrieval trials in the equally spaced schedule. These early shorter spaced trials also seemed to benefit retrieval of the trials with greater spacing that immediately followed. However, as the learning period progressed, the accuracy levels for the two conditions converged and were likewise similar during final testing.
Conclusion
We need a greater understanding of how and when short spacing can be helpful to children's word learning, with the recognition that early gains might give a misleading picture of the benefits that short spacing can provide to longer term retention.
Supplemental Material
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25537696
Introduction
Retrieval practice enhances adults' long-term memory over restudying. However, it is less clear whether young children also benefit from retrieval practice. This study assessed whether retrieval practice could support children's novel word learning in the context of storybook reading.
Method
In Experiments 1–3, preschoolers ( N = 167, Range Age = 26–68 months) were presented with 10 novel word-object pairs across four consecutive storybook readings. Half of the children were read the storybook four times (i.e., SSSS), whereas the other half of the children were read the storybook once and were then asked to retrieve the novel words during the subsequent three readings (i.e., STTT). Children's recall and recognition memory for the novel words was tested after a 5-min delay.
Results and discussion
Results revealed that although children had high retrieval success during learning, retrieval practice did not provide an advantage over re-reading for children's recall (Experiment 1), even when additional mapping and retrieval opportunities were provided (Experiment 2); that is, children who engaged in retrieval practice did not outperform children who re-read the storybooks. A retrieval practice effect also did not emerge in children's recognition memory of novel words (Experiment 3). Taken together, this study suggests that retrieval practice may only benefit young children under specific learning conditions. Future research should therefore consider characteristics of the learner and broader learning context to explain developmental differences in retrieval practice effects.
