Interactive Book Reading to Accelerate Word Learning by Kindergarten Children With Developmental Language Disorder:...

Area of Science:

• Speech and Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Laboratory studies show retrieval practice enhances word learning and retention over passive methods.
• Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) often benefit from targeted interventions to improve language skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of retrieval-based practice versus passive training in an interactive book reading intervention for children with DLD.
• To investigate if varying the proportion of retrieval opportunities impacts word learning and retention in this population.

Main Methods:

• 37 kindergarten children with DLD participated in a 15-session intervention.
• Intervention conditions differed in the frequency of retrieval opportunities (high, mid, low).
• Word learning and retention were assessed during, immediately after, and 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The proportion of retrieval opportunities did not influence learning or retention rates.
• Initial language skills were the primary predictor of learning success.
• Maternal education positively correlated with learning rate; females showed slower forgetting of definitions.

Conclusions:

• Both retrieval-based and passive interactive book reading interventions effectively support word learning in children with DLD.
• Pre-intervention characteristics were poor predictors of learning and forgetting rates.
• Frequent in-training assessments are crucial for gauging individual effectiveness, with periodic post-intervention checks for retention.