Word Learning in Children: Normal Development and Language Impairment

描述(申请人提供)：这项研究计划的长期目标是确定影响儿童学习语言单词的因素，并利用这些证据开发一个涵盖正常和受损语言发展的单词学习的综合模型。最终，这一模式将被用于构建临床诊断和治疗技术，以改善单词学习，最大限度地减少未来语言习得方面的缺陷。通过计划的项目，我们考察了声音表征(即语音表征)、全词形式(即词汇表征)和意义(即语义表征)对简单联想学习(即初始映射)和长期整合学习(即扩展映射)的贡献的异同。计划了四个项目，每个项目都有多个研究，以独立地处理声音、整词词形和意义。在宏观层面，项目A关注从学龄前到成年的词汇学习的发展变化，项目B探索语言正常儿童和特定语言障碍儿童之间的词汇学习差异。在微观层面上，项目C考察了表征的增量变化是否会在单词学习中产生相应的增量变化。项目D探讨了小说和已知表征之间的特定类型的关系是否会影响新表征的学习。项目C和D还调查了在暴露过程中是否可以操纵声音、整词形式和/或含义的属性来增强单词学习。研究结果将为建立语音、词形和意义表征学习的综合模型提供必要的证据，这些模型可用于开发具有理论动机的临床技术。这项研究的健康益处是，许多有语言障碍的儿童在学习新单词方面存在困难，但这种缺陷的原因却鲜为人知。早期的单词学习是至关重要的，因为它可以为获得阅读解码、阅读理解和学业成功奠定基础。进入小学时词汇有缺陷的孩子很难缩小与同龄人的差距。因此，有效的单词学习指导对于防止阅读和学业失败至关重要。理论上积极的诊断和治疗方法可能会将这种风险降至最低。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this research program is to determine the factors that influence how children learn the words of the language and use this evidence to develop a comprehensive model of word learning across normal and impaired language development. Ultimately, this model will be used to construct clinical diagnostic and treatment techniques to improve word learning, minimizing future deficits in language acquisition. Across planned projects, we examine similarities and differences in the contribution of representations of sounds (i.e., phonological representations), whole-word forms (i.e., lexical representations), and meaning (i.e., semantic representations) to both simple associative learning (i.e., initial mapping) and long-term integrative learning (i.e., extended mapping). Four projects are planned with multiple studies in each project to independently address sound, whole-word froms, and meaning. At the macroscopic level, Project A focuses on developmental changes in word learning from preschool to adulthood, and Project B explores word learning differences between children with normal language and those with specific language impairment. At the microscopic level, Project C examines whether incremental changes in representations produce corresponding incremental changes in word learning. Project D explores whether specific types of relationships between novel and known representations influence learning of new representations. Projects C and D also investigate whether properties of sounds, whole-word forms, and/or meaning can be manipulated during exposure to enhance word learning. The resulting findings will provide the necessary evidence to build a comprehensive model of the learning of sound, word-form, and meaning representations that can be used to develop theoretically motivated clinical techniques. The health benefit of this research is that many children with language impairments have difficulty learning new words, yet the cause of this deficit is poorly understood. Early word learning is critical because it may set the foundation for acquisition of reading decoding, reading comprehension, and academic success. Children who enter elementary school with vocabulary deficits have difficulty closing the gap with their peers. Thus, effective word learning instruction is critical in preventing reading and academic failure. Theoretically motivated diagnostic and treatment methods may minimize this risk.