Developmental Psychology - Language Acquisition 2

Why is learning words difficult?

There are arguably infinite possible meanings for new words.

What is fast mapping? (Carey, 1978)

The ability to quickly link (map) a novel name to a novel object, typically using known information.

What did Carey (1978) find about fast mapping?

When asked for a “chromium” tray, children deduced it was the green tray, NOT the blue one. A week later, 9/13 children chose the green tray again.

What impacts word learning as a dynamic system?

Timescales, such as what the child just did, what they see now, and their developmental history.

What makes word learning easier or harder in the moment?

• Easier: Pointing to something rather than saying a new word; choosing an object if nothing else is named.

• Harder: Choosing a known object in an unfamiliar colour.

What recent experiences make word learning easier or harder?

• Easier: Remembering object names with previous exposure to examples in the same category.

• Harder: Learning words from books with more illustrations & if the experimenter changes.

What did Horst et al. (2011) find about story repetition?

Children who heard the same stories learned and retained words better than children who heard different stories.

How does repetition help with word learning?

Repetition helps children know what to expect and focus on finer details.

What did Williams & Horst (2014) discover about repetition and sleep?

Word learning is facilitated by both story repetition and nap-time sleep.

What is babbling, and when does it begin?

A string of consonant-vowel sequences that begins around 6 months.

What is the consequence of delayed babbling?

Children who start babbling later have smaller vocabularies.

How many words do children typically say during the vocabulary explosion & when does it occur?

About 20 new words per week, between 18-20 months.

What are early sentences like and when do they occur?

Sentences with signs of syntax, usually made up of a couple of words, occurring at around 24 months.

Who are Late Talkers & what risks are it linked with?

Children who DO NOT experience rapid vocabulary growth learn only 3-5 words per week. At 24 months they say about 50 fewer words and are at risk of developing language disorders & weak social abilities.

What happens when children don’t know the right word?

Overextension - extending a known word to something beyond the current vocabulary.

What are the types of overextension?

• Categorical Relation: X is in a similar category to Y.

• Analogical Relation: X looks similar to Y.

• Predicate-Based Relation: X and Y co-occur (X is used on Y).

What is syntax?

Rules for how words go together in sentences.

What is morphology?

Rules for changing words to change meaning (e.g., plurals).

What are the phases of over-generalisation of past tense verbs?

• Correct irregular usage (“gave”).

• Overgeneralisation (“gived”).

• Return to correct usage (“gave”).

What did Maslen et al. (2004) find about over-generalisation?

A child (“Brian”) overgeneralised about 14% of irregular verbs (e.g., “go”).