The Role of Language Experiences on Vocabulary Development: a Multidimensional, Developmental, and Individual Differences Analysis

 早期语言延迟是一个昂贵的公共卫生问题，因为它的临床，教育和社会影响。例如，词汇量小的儿童更有可能发展为语言障碍（这种障碍影响了美国6-7%的儿童），更有可能在入学准备方面落后，并且更有可能发展为行为问题。研究表明，儿童早期的语言经验是其语言发展的主要预测因素。这些经验如何以及通过何种机制导致语言的健康发展，目前尚不清楚。在这一研究领域取得进展的一个障碍是儿童的语言经验是一个多维度的结构。它包括：孩子们听到的单词数量， 这些词出现的互动语境的性质，以及儿童导向言语中明显的指涉透明度。语言经验的所有这些方面都与词汇的发展有着各自的联系。然而，很少有研究试图了解语言经验的不同维度如何共同塑造语言发展，特别是早期词汇的发展。拟议的研究计划旨在发展语言经验对早期语言发展的作用的统一认识。提出了三个具体目标。第一个目标是了解这些维度是如何相互联系的，以及它们是如何独特地共同促进语言发展的。第二个目的是了解这些维度在语言习得中所起的作用是否随着发展而变化。最终的目的是揭示不同维度的经验是否以不同的方式影响不同的儿童。从追求这三个目标中获得的知识将导致对语言发展中最重要的可变性来源之一的更深入的理解。此外，由于对语言经验的修改是对语言延迟儿童的常见干预方法，因此本研究的结果可以为制定更有效的干预策略提供信息。在追求这些研究目标时，申请人将完成一套量身定制的科学和 专业发展活动超出申请人目前的培训。这将包括语言习得的翻译科学培训，早期社会过程的发展科学培训，以及发展方法和统计方面的广泛培训。这一技能，加上申请人以前的培训，将准备申请人启动一个独立的研究生涯，是先进的理论，前沿的方法和桥梁之间的差距差距早期语言发展的基础和应用科学。

 DESCRIPTION: Early language delay is a costly public health problem because of its clinical, educational, and societal implications. For example, children who have small vocabularies have a greater likelihood of developing language impairments (a disorder that affects 6-7% of children in the US), are more likely to lag in their readiness for school, and have a greater chance of developing behavioral problems. Research has revealed that children's early language experiences are a major predictor of their language development. How, and through what mechanisms, these experiences lead to robust language development though is still not well understood. One barrier to progress in this area of research is that children's language experience is a multi- dimensional construct. It includes: the quantity of the words children hear, the nature of the interactive contexts in which those words occur, and the referential transparency evident in child-directed speech. All of these dimensions of language experience have been individually linked to vocabulary development. Little work, however, has sought to understand how different dimensions of language experience together jointly shape language development, specifically early vocabulary development. The proposed research plan is aimed at developing a unified understanding of the role of language experiences on early language development. Three specific aims are proposed. The first aim is to understand how the dimensions interconnect with one another and how they uniquely and jointly contribute to language development. The second aim is to understand whether the roles the dimensions play in language acquisition change with development. The final aim is to uncover whether different dimensions of experience impact different children in different ways. The knowledge gained from pursuing these three aims will lead to a deeper understanding of one of the most important sources of variability in language development. Additionally, because modifications to the language experience is a common method of intervention for children with language delay, the results from this research may inform ways of developing more effective intervention strategies. In pursuing these research objectives, the applicant will complete a tailored set of scientific and professional development activities that go beyond the applicant's current training. This will include training in the translational science of language acquisition, training in the developmental science of early social processes, and extensive training in developmental methodologies and statistics. This skill set, coupled with the applicant's previous training, will prepare the applicant to launch an independent research career that is advanced theoretically, cutting edge methodologically and that bridges the gap between the basic and applied sciences of early language development.