Interactive Effects of Executive Function and Language Ability on Children's Cross-Situational Word Learning

This study examined whether executive function (EF) skills predict cross-situational word learning (CSWL) in children and whether EF-CSWL relationships vary as a function of language ability, including in children with developmental language disorder (DLD).

Fifty monolingual English-speaking children 5-9 years of age completed a CSWL task in which they learned five novel words. EF was measured using indices derived from the dimensional change card sort task, indexing shifting, inhibitory control, and monitoring skills.

EF skills predicted CSWL, but critically, language ability moderated these effects. Specifically, statistical word learning performance improved as shifting and monitoring skills increased, but only in children with average-to-high language skills. Weaker EF skills attenuated the benefit of language ability on statistical word learning in children with robust language systems. Across models, EF explained little variance in CSWL performance in children with weaker language skills, including those with DLD. Inhibitory control, as measured here, played a minimal role in CSWL across children with different language profiles. Lastly, language ability uniquely predicted CSWL, and performance improved with age.

The findings refine theoretical accounts of CSWL by showing that statistical word learning may depend on the dynamic interplay between executive control and language ability. Results indicate that poor CSWL in children may not stem from a deficit in a single domain (e.g., language or EF), especially among children with weaker or atypical language profiles. These results underscore the need for language acquisition models to incorporate EF-language interactions.

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.33061790.