ERIC Number: EJ1385582
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Aug
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1525-7401
EISSN: EISSN-1538-4837
Introducing Variability into the Word Learning of Adults
Saletta Fitzgibbons, Meredith; Stein, Amy Buros
Communication Disorders Quarterly, v44 n4 p239-246 Aug 2023
We inquired whether introducing variability into a word-learning task would facilitate, inhibit, or have a neutral effect on adults' speech production and language learning. Twenty young adults from the U.S. Midwest with typical development participated. They repeated four novel words 10 times sequentially (blocked practice) and another four novel words 10 times in a mixed order (varied practice). We compared participants' speech production and language learning in the blocked practice and varied practice conditions. We also repeated the language-learning probes after a period of consolidation. In comparison with the blocked practice condition, a varied practice schedule did not improve speech production, short-term language learning, or long-term language learning. Introducing variability into this word-learning task had a neutral effect on young adults' speech production and language learning. Further research is necessary to determine how to apply these concepts to teaching word-learning strategies to children or adults with typical or atypical development.
Descriptors: Adult Learning, Vocabulary Development, Language Processing, Young Adults, Speech Communication, Articulation (Speech), Language Acquisition, Phonetics, Intelligence Tests, Nonverbal Ability, Verbal Ability, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension)
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Test of Nonverbal Intelligence
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A