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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 1, 2025

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation tDCS of Wernicke's and Broca's Areas in Studies of Language Learning and Word Acquisition

Published on: July 13, 2019

Learning Words in Two Languages: Manipulating Exemplar Variability for Within- and Cross-Language Generalization.

Stephanie De Anda¹, Erica M Ellis², Nayelli C Mejia¹

¹Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, University of Oregon, Eugene.

Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR

|March 2, 2022

Summary

Spanish-English bilingual children can leverage exemplar variability for better word learning. Language proficiency and code-switching influenced cross-language word retention, suggesting tailored interventions for multilinguals.

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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

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Published on: February 26, 2020

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Bilingualism Research
Child Language Acquisition

Background:

Understanding how bilingual children learn words is crucial for educational strategies.
Exemplar variability, the range of examples used to teach a word, may impact learning differently in bilinguals.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how exemplar variability affects word learning and generalization in Spanish-English bilingual children.
To identify individual factors predicting word learning success in bilinguals.

Main Methods:

Nineteen Spanish-English bilingual children participated in a word learning task with high or no exemplar variability.
Word learning, retention, and generalization (within and across languages) were assessed.
Language proficiency and code-switching frequency were measured.

Main Results:

Exemplar variability enhanced within-language generalization.
Cross-language generalization was less pronounced but influenced by English semantic skills.
Code-switching correlated positively with word retention in the high variability condition.

Conclusions:

Bilingual children may utilize exemplar variability differently than monolinguals.
The effectiveness of exemplar variability is moderated by existing language skills.
Findings support the development of adaptive word learning interventions for multilingual learners.