Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T10:43:11.621Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Word learning from context in school-age children: relations with language ability and executive function

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2020

Margaret S. HILL  and
Stacy A. WAGOVICH
Margaret S. HILL*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Clinical and Educational Sciences, Indiana State University, USA
Stacy A. WAGOVICH
Affiliation:
Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Missouri, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Applied Clinical and Educational Sciences, Indiana State University, 401 North 7th Street, Terre Haute, IN47809, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Purpose: Although school-age children learn most new word meanings from surrounding context, the joint roles of language ability and executive function (EF) in the word learning process remain unclear. This study examined children's acquisition of word meanings from context in relation to oral language ability and three EF skills (working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility). Method: Typically developing school-age children completed measures of language and EF, then read and listened to short stories containing unfamiliar target words. A multiple-choice pretest–posttest measure assessed children's target word knowledge gains. Results: Regression analyses showed that language and cognitive flexibility were both related to word knowledge gains; each skill assumed greater importance among children with relative weakness in the other skill. Conclusion: Language ability and cognitive flexibility may each play a direct role in contextual word learning among school-age children, with children naturally relying on one skill if the other is weaker.

Keywords

word learninglanguage abilityexecutive functioncognitive flexibility
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Issue 5 , September 2020 , pp. 1006 - 1029
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adlof, S., Frischkoff, G., Dandy, J., & Perfetti, C. (2016). Effects of induced orthographic and semantic knowledge on subsequent learning: a test of the partial knowledge hypothesis. Reading & Writing, 20, 475–500.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function (EF) during childhood. Child Neuropsychology, 8(2), 71–82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baddeley, A. (1986). Working memory. New York: Oxford University Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Baron, I. S. (2004). Neuropsychological evaluation of the child. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & McCaslin, E. S. (1983). Vocabulary development: all contexts are not created equal. Elementary School Journal, 83(3), 177–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Best, J. R., Miller, P. H., & Naglieri, J. A. (2011). Relations between executive function and academic achievement from ages 5 to 17 in a large, representative national sample. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 327–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biemiller, A., & Boote, C. (2006). An effective method for building meaning vocabulary in primary grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 44–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, P. (2000). How children learn the meanings of words. Cambridge, MA: Bradford Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, L., Sherbenou, R. J., & Johnsen, S. K. (2010). Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (4th ed.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Cain, K., Oakhill, J. V., & Elbro, C. (2003). The ability to learn new word meanings from context by school-age children with and without language comprehension difficulties. Journal of Child Language, 30, 681–94.Google ScholarPubMed
Cain, K., Oakhill, J., & Lemmon, K. (2004). Individual differences in the inference of word meanings from context: the influence of reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge, and memory capacity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 671–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carey, S. (1978). The child as word learner. In Halle, M., Bresnan, J., & Miller, G.A. (Eds.), Linguistic theory and psychological reality (pp. 264–93). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Christ, T. (2011). Moving past ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ toward a continuum of young children's semantic knowledge. Journal of Literacy Research, 43(2), 130–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Common Core State Standards Initiative (2015). Accessed at <http://www.corestandards.org/other-resources/key-shifts-in-english-language-arts/>..>Google Scholar
Côté, I., Rouleau, N., & Macoir, J. (2014). New word acquisition in children: examining the contribution of verbal short-term memory to lexical and semantic levels of learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 28, 104–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cowan, N. (2014). Working memory underpins cognitive development, learning, and education. Educational Psychology Review, 26, 197–223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Craig, F., Margari, F., Legrottaglie, A. R., Palumbi, R., de Giambattista, C., & Margari, L. (2016). A review of executive function deficits in autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 1191–202.Google ScholarPubMed
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frishkoff, G. A., Perfetti, C. A., & Collins-Thompson, K. (2010). Lexical quality in the brain: ERP evidence for robust word learning from context. Developmental Neuropsychology, 35, 376–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fukkink, R. G. (2005). Deriving word meaning from written context: a process analysis. Learning and Instruction, 15, 23–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fukkink, R. G., Blok, H., & de Glopper, K. (2001). Deriving word meaning from written context: a multicomponential skill. Language Learning, 51(3), 477–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garon, N., Bryson, S. E., & Smith, I. M. (2008). Executive function in preschoolers: a review using an integrative framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 31–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gathercole, S. E. (1999). Cognitive approaches to the development of short-term memory. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 410–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gathercole, S. E., Hitch, G. J., Service, E., & Martin, A. J. (1997). Phonological short-term memory and new word learning in children. Developmental Psychology, 33(6), 966–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golden, C. J., Freshwater, S. M., & Golden, Z. (2003). Stroop Color and Word Test, children's version for ages 5–14: a manual for clinical and experimental uses. Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting Co.Google Scholar
Harms, M. B., Zayas, V., Meltzoff, A. N., & Carlson, S. M. (2014). Stability of executive function and predictions to adaptive behavior from middle childhood to pre-adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, e2014.00331.Google Scholar
Hill, M. S., Wagovich, S. A., & Manfra, L. (2017). Word learning during reading: effects of language ability in school-age children. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 39, 270–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hollingshead, A. (1975). Four factor index of social status. New Haven, CT: Department of Sociology, Yale University.Google Scholar
Just, M. A., & Carpenter, P. A. (1992). A capacity theory of comprehension: individual differences in working memory. Psychological Review, 99(1), 122–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kapa, L. L., & Colombo, J. (2014). Executive function predicts artificial language learning. Journal of Memory and Language, 76, 237–52.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaushanskaya, M., Park, J. S., Gangopadhyay, I., Davidson, M. M., & Ellis Weismer, S. (2017). The relationship between executive functions and language abilities in children: a latent variables approach. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 912–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuperman, V., Stadthagen-Gonzalez, H., & Brysbaert, M. (2012). Age-of-acquisition ratings for 30 thousand English words. Behavior Research Methods, 44(4), 978–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lehto, J. E., Juujärvi, P., Kooistra, L., & Pulkkinen, L. (2003). Dimensions of executive functioning: evidence from children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 21, 59–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
majortests.com (2015). GRE Word Lists. Retrieved from <http://www.majortests.com/gre/wordlist.php>..>Google Scholar
Martin, N. A., & Brownell, R. (2005). Test of Auditory Processing Skills, Third Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
McClelland, M. M., & Cameron, C. E. (2012). Self-regulation in early childhood: improving conceptual clarity and developing ecologically valid measures. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 136–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mestres-Missé, A., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., & Münte, T. F. (2007). Watching the brain during meaning acquisition. Cerebral Cortex, 17, 1858–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miyake, A. M., Friedman, N. P., Emerson, M. J., Witzki, A. H., Howerter, A., & Wager, T. D. (2000). The unity and diversity of executive functions and their contributions to complex ‘frontal lobe’ tasks: a latent variable analysis. Cognitive Psychology, 41, 49–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagy, W. E., & Herman, P. A. (1987). Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: implications for acquisition and instruction. In McKeown, M. G. & Curtis, M. E. (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 19–36). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Nicolay, A.-C., & Poncelet, M. (2013). Cognitive abilities underlying second-language vocabulary acquisition in an early second-language immersion education context: a longitudinal study. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 115(4), 655–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perfetti, C. A. (1984). Reading ability. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Perfetti, C. (2010). Decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension: the golden triangle of reading skill. In McKeown, M. G. & Kucan, L. (Eds.), Bringing reading research to life (pp. 291–303). New York: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Perfetti, C. A., & Hart, L. (2002). The lexical quality hypothesis. In Verhoeven, L., Elbro, C., & Reitsma, P. (Eds.), Precursors of functional literacy (pp. 189–213). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ReadWorks.org (2015) Reading passages. Retrieved from<http://www.readworks.org/books/passages>..>Google Scholar
Reynolds, C. R. (2002). Comprehensive Trail Making Test. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Romine, C. B., & Reynolds, C. R. (2005). A model of the development of frontal lobe functioning: findings from a meta-analysis. Applied Neuropsychology, 12(4), 190–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shenhav, A., Botvinick, M. M., & Cohen, J. D. (2013). The expected value of control: anintegrative theory of anterior cingulate cortex function. Neuron, 79, 217–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanczak, D. E., & Triplett, G. (2003). Psychometric properties of the Mid-Range Expanded Trail Making Test: an examination of learning-disabled and non-learning-disabled children. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18, 107–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steele, S. C., & Watkins, R. V. (2010). Learning word meanings during reading by children with language learning disability and typically-developing peers. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 24(7), 520–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Most vocabulary is learned from context. In McKeown, M. G. & Curtis, M. E. (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 89–106). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Stroop, J. R. (1935). Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18, 634–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swanborn, M. S. L., & de Glopper, K. (1999). Incidental word learning while reading: a meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(3), 261–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trembly, D. (1966). Laws of learning general and specialized vocabularies [Summary]. American Psychologist, 21(7), 687.Google Scholar
Vakil, E., Blachstein, H., Sheinman, M., & Greenstein, Y. (2009). Developmental changes in attention tests norms: implications for the structure of attention. Child Neuropsychology, 15, 21–39.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Valentini, A., Ricketts, J., Pye, R. E., & Houston-Price, C. (2018). Listening while reading promotes word learning from stories. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 167, 10–31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagovich, S. A., Hill, M. S., & Petroski, G. F. (2015). Semantic–syntactic partial word knowledge growth through reading. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 24(1), 60–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagovich, S. A., & Newhoff, M. (2004). The single exposure: partial word knowledge growth through reading. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 13(4), 316–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wiig, E. H., Semel, H., & Secord, W. A. (2013). Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, Fifth Edition. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.Google Scholar
Wilbourn, M. P., Kurtz, L. E., & Kalia, V. (2012). The Lexical Stroop Sort (LSS) picture–word task: a computerized task for assessing the relationship between language and executive functioning in school-aged children. Behavior Research Methods, 44(1), 270–86.Google ScholarPubMed
Woodcock, R. W. (2011). Woodcock Reading Mastery Test, Third Edition. Bloomington, MN: Pearson.Google Scholar
Yang, H., & Gray, S. (2017). Executive function in preschoolers with primary language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 379–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoshida, H., Tran, D. N., Benitez, V., & Kuwabara, M. (2011). Inhibition and adjective learning in bilingual and monolingual children. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, e2011.00210.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed