This meta-analysis examines the inconsistent findings across experimental studies that compared children’s learning outcomes with digital and paper books. We quantitatively reviewed 39 studies ...reported in 30 articles (n = 1,812 children) and compared children’s story comprehension and vocabulary learning in relation to medium (reading on paper versus on-screen), design enhancements in digital books, the presence of a dictionary, and adult support for children aged between 1 and 8 years. The comparison of digital versus paper books that only differed by digitization showed lower comprehension scores for digital books. Adults’ mediation during print books’ reading was more effective than the enhancements in digital books read by children independently. However, with story-congruent enhancements, digital books outperformed paper books. An embedded dictionary had no or negative effect on children’s story comprehension but positively affected children’s vocabulary learning. Findings are discussed in relation to the cognitive load theory and practical design implications.
Purpose Many preschoolers, especially those from low-income households, would benefit from instruction to enrich their vocabulary and language repertoires. Yet, explicit instruction of vocabulary and ...language skills generally occurs infrequently in early childhood education settings. This study investigated the additive effects of teacher-led, classwide review strategies to a previously studied small-group intervention on children's learning of academic vocabulary. Method Participants included 23 children with limited oral language skills at risk for reading difficulties enrolled in single-case experimental designs. Effects of the classroom strategies alone also were examined in 10 children with above-average language abilities from 2 classrooms. Results Visual analyses of the adapted alternating treatments designs showed consistent learning improvements when vocabulary instruction was extended into the classroom for 12 children, ceiling effects were evident for 3 participants regardless of condition, and inconsistent or minimal effects were demonstrated by 8 participants. Multilevel modeling used to evaluate the effects statistically revealed strong treatment effects. In addition, the 10 children with above-average language showed impressive learning of vocabulary words from books subject to teacher review strategies in comparison to words from books to which they were not exposed. Teachers varied in the extent to which they implemented review strategies in their classrooms. Nevertheless, their responses to social validity assessments were positive, supporting the feasibility of this intervention. Conclusions The addition of classwide review and practice opportunities is an effective means of enhancing the effects of an easy-to-implement small-group intervention that teaches challenging vocabulary words within prerecorded stories. This approach holds promise as a way to shrink the pervasive word gap that typically exists when children in high-poverty communities enter school.
This study aimed to examine the effect of an intensive vocabulary intervention embedded in e-books on the vocabulary skills of young Spanish-English speaking English learners (ELs) from ...low-socioeconomic status backgrounds.
Children (N = 288) in kindergarten and 1st grade were randomly assigned to treatment and read-only conditions. All children received e-book readings approximately 3 times a week for 10-20 weeks using the same books. Children in the treatment condition received e-books supplemented with vocabulary instruction that included scaffolding through explanations in Spanish, repetition in English, checks for understanding, and highlighted morphology.
There was a main effect of the intervention on expressive labeling (g = 0.38) and vocabulary on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (g = 0.14; Dunn & Dunn, 2007), with no significant moderation effect of initial Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test score. There was no significant difference between conditions on children's expressive definitions.
Findings substantiate the effectiveness of computer-implemented embedded vocabulary intervention for increasing ELs' vocabulary knowledge.
Computer-assisted vocabulary instruction with scaffolding through Spanish explanations, repetitions, and highlighted morphology is a promising approach to facilitate word learning for ELs in kindergarten and 1st grade.
Based on an analysis of the literature and a large scale crowdsourcing experiment, we estimate that an average 20-year-old native speaker of American English knows 42,000 lemmas and 4,200 ...non-transparent multiword expressions, derived from 11,100 word families. The numbers range from 27,000 lemmas for the lowest 5% to 52,000 for the highest 5%. Between the ages of 20 and 60, the average person learns 6,000 extra lemmas or about one new lemma every 2 days. The knowledge of the words can be as shallow as knowing that the word exists. In addition, people learn tens of thousands of inflected forms and proper nouns (names), which account for the substantially high numbers of 'words known' mentioned in other publications.
Many studies have demonstrated that vocabulary size plays a key role in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). In recent years, mobile game-based learning (MGBL) has been considered a ...promising scheme for successful acquisition and retention of knowledge. Thus, this study applies a mixed methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess the effects of PHONE Words, a novel mobile English vocabulary learning app (application) designed with game-related functions (MEVLA-GF) and without game-related functions (MEVLA-NGF), on learners’ perceptions and learning performance. During a four-week experiment, 20 sophomore students were randomly assigned to the experimental group with MEVLA-GF support or the control group with MEVLA-NGF support for English vocabulary learning. Analytical results show that performance in vocabulary acquisition and retention by the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. Moreover, questionnaire results confirm that MEVLA-GF is more effective and satisfying for English vocabulary learning than MEVLA-NGF. Spearman rank correlation results show that involvement and dependence on gamified functions were positively correlated with vocabulary learning performance.
The authors describe Monster, P.I., which is an app‐based, gamified assessment that measures language skills (knowledge of morphology, vocabulary, and syntax) of students in grades 5–8 and provides ...teachers with interpretable score reports to drive instruction that improves vocabulary, reading, and writing ability. Specifically, the authors describe why an assessment of language is important to include, the components of language that are assessed by Monster, P.I., and how Monster, P.I., uses gamification to add enjoyment and motivation to the assessment experience. The authors then explain how to use Monster, P.I., to inform instructional decisions, specifically explaining the overall instructional framework, what each score means, and examples of instruction that link to each area assessed by the app. Links to Common Core State Standards are included. The authors conclude by sharing teachers’ feedback on the assessment and how they used it to support instruction in their classrooms.
We evaluated the impact of a supplemental, small-group kindergarten vocabulary intervention designed to reinforce content taught in core classroom instruction implemented within a multitiered system ...of support (MTSS) framework. Kindergarten teachers implemented a published vocabulary program with all their students during whole-class instruction for 15 min to 20 min per day over the course of the year. We identified students at risk for language and learning difficulties who scored below the 30th percentile on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-4 (PPVT-4; Dunn & Dunn, 2007) and randomly assigned them in clusters to either the control group (n = 453) that received only the classroom vocabulary instruction, or to the treatment group (n = 468) that received the classroom instruction plus small-group supplemental intervention for 30 min, four times per week between November and May. Analyses using multilevel modeling indicated that students who received supplemental vocabulary intervention outperformed control group students on measures of target vocabulary taught during whole-class and small-group instruction and listening comprehension of passages that included taught vocabulary. There were no effects on standardized measures of vocabulary. At-risk students who received the supplemental intervention also eliminated vocabulary learning differences with typically achieving students (n = 430) who received only classroom vocabulary instruction on words targeted for instruction. Findings suggest that supplemental vocabulary intervention that reinforces content taught during classroom instruction implemented within an MTSS framework can accelerate the learning of at-risk students on proximal and near transfer outcomes that are aligned with the content and focus of the instruction and that MTSS offer a feasible framework for schools to provide effective and efficient vocabulary supports to students in the primary grades.
Educational Impact and Implications Statement
Vocabulary knowledge, or understanding the meaning of words, is essential for reading success. However, there are significant differences in vocabulary knowledge among many young students who are entering school, and traditional classroom vocabulary instruction does little to narrow these vocabulary differences. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of providing kindergarten students at risk for language and learning difficulties with small-group vocabulary intervention that supplemented general classroom instruction over the course of the school year. In our primary experimental comparison, we found that at-risk students who received the vocabulary intervention experienced accelerated vocabulary learning compared with at-risk students who only participated in classroom vocabulary instruction. In our secondary nonexperimental comparison, we found that supplemental vocabulary intervention was associated with narrowing the vocabulary learning differences between these students and their not-at risk peers. Findings from this study provide guidance to schools and teachers on how to provide more effective vocabulary instruction to young school-aged students.
Frequency is often the only variable considered when researchers or teachers develop vocabulary materials for second language (L2) learners. However, researchers have also found that many other ...variables affect vocabulary acquisition. In this study, we explored the relationship between L2 vocabulary acquisition and a variety of lexical characteristics using vocabulary recognition test data from L2 English learners. Conducting best subsets multiple regression analysis to explore all possible combinations of variables, we produced a best‐fitting model of vocabulary difficulty consisting of six variables (R2 = .37). The fact that many variables significantly contributed to the regression model and that a large amount of variance remained yet unexplained by the frequency variable considered in this study indicates that much more than frequency alone affects the likelihood that learners will learn certain L2 words.
This study examined the effect of pre‐reading vocabulary instruction on learners’ attention and vocabulary learning. We randomly assigned participants (L1 = 92; L2 = 88) to one of four conditions: ...pre‐reading instruction, where participants’ received explicit instruction on six novel items and read a text with the items repeated eight times; reading‐only, where participants simply read the same text with the novel items repeated eight times; reading‐baseline, where participants read the same text with the repeated items replaced by known (control) words; and instruction‐only, where participants received explicit instruction on the novel items and read an unrelated text. Eye‐tracking was used to measure amount of attention to the vocabulary during reading. We assessed knowledge of the target vocabulary in three immediate posttests (form recognition, meaning recall, and meaning recognition). Results showed that pre‐reading instruction (plus reading the text) led to both more vocabulary learning and a processing advantage. Cumulative reading times were a significant predictor of meaning recognition scores.
Students must have a sufficient vocabulary size in order to improve other English skills, as vocabulary is one of the most crucial aspects of language acquisition. Therefore, it is necessary to teach ...vocabulary when teaching a language. This study seeks to determine the effect of vocabulary instruction on vocabulary achievement among senior high school students. This study was a quantitative study, the sample was 30 students, and the data was collected using a pre-test and post-test. Between the assessments, a seven-hour vocabulary education was provided. Using the paired sample t-test and Wilcoxon signed rank test, it was determined whether there was a statistically significant difference between students' scores before and after the vocabulary training was implemented. The results indicate a significant increase in vocabulary scores among students. The results of the research indicate that explicit vocabulary instruction should be incorporated into the teaching and learning process since it has been shown to increase students' vocabulary.
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