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Infant Behavior & Development Feb 2022This paper reports on a cross-language longitudinal study in which we extend previous research on the effects of maternal education on vocabulary growth in Spanish- and...
This paper reports on a cross-language longitudinal study in which we extend previous research on the effects of maternal education on vocabulary growth in Spanish- and English-dominant children at three time points: 16 months, 22 months, and 30 months of age. This study addresses recent conflicting evidence regarding the role of maternal education in children's acquisition of Spanish. Participants were 62 English-dominant children, 47 Spanish-dominant children, and their mothers. Growth curve models were constructed separately for English and Spanish vocabulary. Strong growth rate reliability and effect sizes were evinced for vocabulary across samples. As expected, in English-dominant children, maternal education predicted English vocabulary and growth from 16 to 30 months of age. However, in Spanish-dominant children, there was no significant effect of maternal education on vocabulary or growth, although there was a descriptive advantage for children of college-educated mothers at 30 months of age. In conjunction with prior evidence, we conclude that the effect of maternal education on maternal input and child vocabulary does not generalize readily to children whose first language is Spanish. Our findings contribute to a literature that suggests that focusing on maternal beliefs, input, and the home literacy environment are more fruitful approaches in the study of children learning Spanish in the U.S. Further, the importance of maternal beliefs highlights the need to support parent investment in the quantity and quality of input in the home language.
Topics: Child; Child Language; Female; Humans; Language; Language Development; Language Tests; Longitudinal Studies; Multilingualism; Reproducibility of Results; Vocabulary
PubMed: 34971859
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101685 -
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Feb 2022Multisensory integration (MSI) is the ability to combine temporally synchronous, amodally specified sensory information to create rich, coordinated perceptual...
Multisensory integration (MSI) is the ability to combine temporally synchronous, amodally specified sensory information to create rich, coordinated perceptual experiences. In early development, attention is directed toward such information in both social contexts (e.g., human speakers) and nonsocial contexts (e.g., multimodal toys). Parenting behaviors may support and sculpt multisensory integration by providing children with opportunities to experience amodally specified information (e.g., contingent face-to-face interactions). This study examined (a) whether 24-month-olds' MSI abilities differed as a function of context (social or nonsocial) and competition for attention (low or high), (b) whether MSI predicted expressive vocabulary, and (c) whether maternal sensitivity (MS) was related to both MSI and language. A total of 32 24-month-olds were tested in the Multisensory Attention Assessment Protocol, an audiovisual task that presents laterally positioned social/nonsocial events with and without a central distractor. Their mothers completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories and participated in a free-play period with their children for MS coding. Results showed MSI in both social and nonsocial conditions (i.e., toddlers paid more attention to the "match"), but only the ability to maintain attention to the social match was related to toddlers' expressive vocabulary. In addition, MS was positively correlated with toddlers' expressive language and social MSI performance. Taken together, the pattern of results shows important relations between emerging integration abilities and parenting behavior as well as the ability of both factors to positively influence word learning during early toddlerhood.
Topics: Child; Child Language; Female; Humans; Infant; Language Development; Mothers; Parenting; Vocabulary
PubMed: 34624708
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2021.105304 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... May 2023The goal of this work was to examine the semantic and syntactic properties of the vocabularies of autistic and non-autistic infants and toddlers to see if children in...
PURPOSE
The goal of this work was to examine the semantic and syntactic properties of the vocabularies of autistic and non-autistic infants and toddlers to see if children in these two groups know different kinds of words. We focused on both receptive and expressive vocabularies. For expressive vocabulary, we looked only at the "active" lexicon: Of those words that are already in children's receptive vocabulary, we asked which ones they also produce.
METHOD
We used an existing data set of 346 parent report vocabulary checklists (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures) from 41 autistic and 27 non-autistic children at multiple timepoints between the ages of 6 and 43 months. We coded the words on the checklists for various semantic and syntactic properties and evaluated which properties predicted whether children understood and produced those words.
RESULTS
Overall, we replicated a common finding that autistic children have smaller receptive vocabularies than non-autistic children, but we found that of the words they understand, autistic children produce a similar proportion of those words as non-autistic children. While we found that some syntactic properties are more or less likely to be represented in children's early vocabularies (e.g., nouns are more likely to be understood and produced than words that are not nouns), these patterns did not differ across autistic and non-autistic children.
CONCLUSIONS
The semantic and syntactic compositions of autistic and non-autistic children's vocabularies are similar. Thus, while receptive vocabularies are relatively smaller for autistic children, they do not appear to have specific difficulty with words that have particular syntactic or semantic properties, or with adding words to the expressive vocabulary that they already understand.
Topics: Infant; Humans; Child, Preschool; Semantics; Vocabulary; Language; Language Development; Communication
PubMed: 37137280
DOI: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00369 -
Journal of Autism and Developmental... Jul 2023Subgroups of children with different speech profiles have been described however, little is known about the trajectories of speech development or stability of subgroups...
Subgroups of children with different speech profiles have been described however, little is known about the trajectories of speech development or stability of subgroups over time. This longitudinal study described both speech trajectories and subgroup stability of 22 autistic children, aged 2;0-6;11 years, over 12 months. Independent and relational speech analyses, vocabulary size and nonverbal communication were used in clustering. Results suggest varied speech trajectories, particularly for children with 'low language and low speech' at Time 1. Receptive vocabulary and consonant inventory at Time 1 may predict speech outcomes after 12 months. A small subgroup of children (n = 3) present with low expressive vocabulary and speech but higher receptive vocabulary and use of gestures. This unique profile remained stable.
Topics: Humans; Child; Speech; Longitudinal Studies; Autism Spectrum Disorder; Autistic Disorder; Child Development; Vocabulary; Language Development
PubMed: 35438437
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-022-05561-8 -
Occupational Therapy International 2022In real communication, the context is complex and changeable and the color and meaning of some words will wander in the context. The development and changes of words are...
OBJECTIVE
In real communication, the context is complex and changeable and the color and meaning of some words will wander in the context. The development and changes of words are more complex and multidimensional than before. Compared with the rational meaning of words, the color meaning of words can better reflect the psychological mode and way of thinking of the Han nationality but it is difficult for foreign learners to accurately grasp and misunderstandings often occur. In order to solve this problem, it is necessary to summarize and explain the words whose color meanings are easily shifted, so as to help the students accurately grasp the color meanings of the words and better help Chinese learners to realize the communicative function of the language.
METHOD
This paper takes the scope of emotional words as the starting point and proposes that emotional words are words with emotional colors. The four aspects of whether words belong to emotional words define the concept of emotional words and introduce the specific methods of judging and extracting emotional words from the two aspects of dictionary definition and word collocation. This paper takes foreign students whose native language is English as the research object, through questionnaire survey and corpus analysis, to investigate the use of foreign students' emotional colors and to explore the influence of native language factors on emotional color acquisition. Based on the research of modern Chinese ontology and the existing research results in the field of teaching Chinese as a foreign language, this paper takes the theory of interlanguage and transfer theory as the theoretical basis and mainly uses the methods of comparative analysis and error analysis to try to find out the relationship between emotional color teaching and acquisition.
RESULTS
/. The basic pattern and quantity distribution of lexical emotion correction for beginners, intermediate, and advanced learners of Chinese as a second language were analyzed, and the restrictive factors and characteristics were explained. Similarities and differences and the rationale behind them were explored. In the process of international Chinese teaching, teachers mostly pay attention to the rational meaning of words, while ignoring the teaching of the emotional meaning of words. The lack of vocabulary emotion and meaning teaching is prone to errors in students' understanding and use. With the increase of the vocabulary of intermediate and advanced learners, many words with similar colors and meanings appear, which brings a lot of difficulties for students to distinguish between synonyms. If the use of words with emotional meanings is not accurate, it is easy to cause communication barriers.
Topics: Emotions; Humans; Language; Occupational Therapy; Students; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35495175
DOI: 10.1155/2022/5203122 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jul 2021Written vocabulary size plays a key role in children's reading development. We aim to study the relationship between Chinese written vocabulary size and cognitive,...
Written vocabulary size plays a key role in children's reading development. We aim to study the relationship between Chinese written vocabulary size and cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors in primary school students. Using stratified cluster sampling, 1162 pupils from Grade 2~5 in Guangzhou were investigated. Chinese written vocabulary size, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors were assessed by the Chinese written vocabulary size assessment scale, the dyslexia checklist for Chinese children (DCCC) and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), respectively. The scores of visual word recognition deficit ( = -3.32, 95% CI: -5.98, -0.66) and meaning comprehension deficit ( = -6.52, 95% CI: -9.39, -3.64) were negatively associated with Chinese written vocabulary size; the score of visual word recognition deficit (odds ratio (OR) = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.07) was the related factor of a delay in written vocabulary size. The score of meaning comprehension deficit was negatively associated with boys' Chinese written vocabulary size, while the score of auditory word recognition deficit was negatively associated with girls' Chinese written vocabulary size. The related factor of a delay in written vocabulary size was spelling deficit in boys and visual word recognition deficit in girls. There is a significant correlation between Chinese written vocabulary size and cognitive factors, but not emotional and behavioral factors in primary school students and these correlations are different when considering gender.
Topics: Child; China; Comprehension; Female; Humans; Male; Reading; Schools; Students; Vocabulary
PubMed: 34360088
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18157797 -
Biological Psychiatry May 2024The number of words children produce (expressive vocabulary) and understand (receptive vocabulary) changes rapidly during early development, partially due to genetic... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
BACKGROUND
The number of words children produce (expressive vocabulary) and understand (receptive vocabulary) changes rapidly during early development, partially due to genetic factors. Here, we performed a meta-genome-wide association study of vocabulary acquisition and investigated polygenic overlap with literacy, cognition, developmental phenotypes, and neurodevelopmental conditions, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
METHODS
We studied 37,913 parent-reported vocabulary size measures (English, Dutch, Danish) for 17,298 children of European descent. Meta-analyses were performed for early-phase expressive (infancy, 15-18 months), late-phase expressive (toddlerhood, 24-38 months), and late-phase receptive (toddlerhood, 24-38 months) vocabulary. Subsequently, we estimated single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability (SNP-h) and genetic correlations (r) and modeled underlying factor structures with multivariate models.
RESULTS
Early-life vocabulary size was modestly heritable (SNP-h = 0.08-0.24). Genetic overlap between infant expressive and toddler receptive vocabulary was negligible (r = 0.07), although each measure was moderately related to toddler expressive vocabulary (r = 0.69 and r = 0.67, respectively), suggesting a multifactorial genetic architecture. Both infant and toddler expressive vocabulary were genetically linked to literacy (e.g., spelling: r = 0.58 and r = 0.79, respectively), underlining genetic similarity. However, a genetic association of early-life vocabulary with educational attainment and intelligence emerged only during toddlerhood (e.g., receptive vocabulary and intelligence: r = 0.36). Increased ADHD risk was genetically associated with larger infant expressive vocabulary (r = 0.23). Multivariate genetic models in the ALSPAC (Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) cohort confirmed this finding for ADHD symptoms (e.g., at age 13; r = 0.54) but showed that the association effect reversed for toddler receptive vocabulary (r = -0.74), highlighting developmental heterogeneity.
CONCLUSIONS
The genetic architecture of early-life vocabulary changes during development, shaping polygenic association patterns with later-life ADHD, literacy, and cognition-related traits.
Topics: Adolescent; Humans; Infant; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Cognition; Genome-Wide Association Study; Literacy; Longitudinal Studies; Phenotype; Vocabulary
PubMed: 38070845
DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.11.025 -
Acta Psychologica Nov 2022Emerging evidence suggests that impaired speech may be related to reduced working memory (WM). The current study aimed to validate and compare the influence of...
Emerging evidence suggests that impaired speech may be related to reduced working memory (WM). The current study aimed to validate and compare the influence of articulation, short-term memory (STM), WM, and receptive vocabulary abilities of Pakistani children with speech sound disorder (SSD; N = 50) versus typically developing (TD; N = 30) children aged 7-13 years. Assessments included the Test for Assessment of Articulation and Phonology in Urdu (TAAPU), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4, translated to Urdu (U-PPVT-4), and Digit Memory Test (DMT) used to determine speech articulation, receptive vocabulary, and memory abilities respectively. The percentage correct consonants (PCC) score was used to divide the SSD group further into SSD severity groups. The TD and SSD groups significantly differed in performance on all tasks (p < 0.05). Moreover, the SSD severity groups showed significant differences (p < 0.0001) in performance on different components of TAAPU (total errors and substitution errors) and DMT tasks. However, the SSD severity groups did not show significant differences in performance on the U-PPVT-4. Correlational analyses indicate statistically significant correlations of PCC with STM, WM, and receptive vocabulary. Regression analyses suggested that both WM and STM contribute to speech intelligibility in children with SSD. Our findings in Urdu-speaking children support previous results in English-speaking children suggesting the articulation skills, receptive vocabulary, STM, and WM were less developed in children with SSD than in TD children.
Topics: Child; Humans; Speech Sound Disorder; Memory, Short-Term; Vocabulary; Language; Phonetics; Speech
PubMed: 36356337
DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103777 -
Developmental Psychology Jul 2022Receptive vocabulary development was examined in 313 children (151 girls; 78% White) as a function of infant attention and maternal education (66% of mothers held a...
Receptive vocabulary development was examined in 313 children (151 girls; 78% White) as a function of infant attention and maternal education (66% of mothers held a college degree or higher). Attention was measured at 10 months using a dynamic puppet task and receptive vocabulary was measured at 3-, 4-, 6-, and 9 years of age using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The best-fitting multilevel growth model was a quadratic model as a function of age. Results indicated that both infant attention and maternal education were predictors of receptive vocabulary initial status, with no differences as a function of child sex. In contrast, infant attention, but not maternal education, predicted growth in receptive language skill, and boys demonstrated a faster rate of receptive language development in comparison to girls. These findings illustrate that even after accounting for child sex and maternal education, infant visual attention predicts children's receptive language development starting from the early preschool period into the elementary school years. These findings demonstrate the importance and nature of the role that infant attention and maternal education play with respect to childhood receptive language development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Child; Child Development; Child, Preschool; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Infant; Language Development; Male; Mothers; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35389687
DOI: 10.1037/dev0001365 -
Child Development Jan 2023We examined the relation between socioeconomic status (SES), vocabulary, and reading in middle childhood, during the transition from primary (elementary) to secondary...
We examined the relation between socioeconomic status (SES), vocabulary, and reading in middle childhood, during the transition from primary (elementary) to secondary (high) school. Children (N = 279, 163 girls) completed assessments of everyday and curriculum-related vocabulary, (non)word reading, and reading comprehension at five timepoints from age 10 to 13. Piecewise linear mixed-effects models showed significant growth in everyday vocabulary and word reading between every time point. Curriculum vocabulary and reading comprehension showed significant growth during the school year, but not during the summer holidays. There were significant effects of SES on all measures except word reading; yet, SES differences did not widen over time. Our findings motivate targeted reading and vocabulary support for secondary school students from lower SES backgrounds.
Topics: Female; Humans; Child; Adolescent; Vocabulary; Comprehension; Schools; Social Class; Linear Models
PubMed: 36214376
DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13862