Direct Instruction Improves Word Learning for Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

Area of Science:

• Child Language Acquisition
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech and Language Therapy

Background:

• Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often experience challenges in acquiring new vocabulary.
• Understanding effective methods for teaching novel words is crucial for supporting language development in children with DLD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of direct instruction versus indirect exposure for novel word learning in children with DLD and typical language development (TLD).
• To investigate how cognitive factors influence word learning in these groups.

Main Methods:

• 36 children with DLD and 45 children with TLD (6-8 years old) were randomly assigned to direct instruction or indirect exposure conditions.
• Novel words and unfamiliar referents were presented through explicit teaching or yes/no questions.
• Word learning was assessed through recognition tasks measuring word-referent links, semantic categorization, and word form encoding.

Main Results:

• Children with DLD showed lower accuracy than TLD peers in linking words to referents, semantic categorization, and word form encoding.
• Cognitive factors like receptive vocabulary and memory significantly influenced these differences.
• Both groups retained word forms similarly over time.
• Children with TLD improved more with direct instruction than indirect exposure.
• Children with DLD benefited from direct instruction in linking words and semantic learning, but not word form learning.

Conclusions:

• Direct instruction in vocabulary interventions can partially support novel word learning for children with DLD.
• Additional strategies are required to enhance the encoding of phonological representations in children with DLD.
• Instructional methods should be tailored to address specific learning challenges in children with DLD.