Current Projects
How do children learn words?
Children seem to be able to learn words quickly -- and most children learn thousands of words before they even begin school. But word learning doesn't stop there -- we all learn words throughout our lives. In recent studies, we are exploring if children use their familiarity with common events (like dinner time) to figure out what new words mean. Previous research has shown that adults and children are better able to understand language when it is labeled with events they understand. This helps us to constrain our expectations about what is likely to happen next. In this project, we ask if familiarity with events can also help children not only understand whats going on around them, but also to learn new information and words. We compare the speed and fluency with which children learn new words that occur in stories that either emphasize an event (like a birthday party) or an unknown individual. The results of this study should help us learn more about the conditions that can help children learn language most effectively.
How do children form new connections between words?
As adults, we use our prior experience and knowledge to generate expectations about what is and is not likely to happen. For example, if we were to think about the kinds of things pirates hide (like treasure), it would be very different than the kinds of things that dogs hide (eg. bones). This knowledge helps us to efficiently and quickly understand spoken language. Children are still learning a lot about these relationships between words. In previous work, we have examined how children use their current knowledge to understand language, and found that it is surprisingly a lot like adults. However, this opens a question about how children come to form these connections in the first place. In a current study we are examining how children learn new connections between words that they have through short stories to understand language. This work can help us figure out how children become fluent comprehenders of their native language.
Children seem to be able to learn words quickly -- and most children learn thousands of words before they even begin school. But word learning doesn't stop there -- we all learn words throughout our lives. In recent studies, we are exploring if children use their familiarity with common events (like dinner time) to figure out what new words mean. Previous research has shown that adults and children are better able to understand language when it is labeled with events they understand. This helps us to constrain our expectations about what is likely to happen next. In this project, we ask if familiarity with events can also help children not only understand whats going on around them, but also to learn new information and words. We compare the speed and fluency with which children learn new words that occur in stories that either emphasize an event (like a birthday party) or an unknown individual. The results of this study should help us learn more about the conditions that can help children learn language most effectively.
How do children form new connections between words?
As adults, we use our prior experience and knowledge to generate expectations about what is and is not likely to happen. For example, if we were to think about the kinds of things pirates hide (like treasure), it would be very different than the kinds of things that dogs hide (eg. bones). This knowledge helps us to efficiently and quickly understand spoken language. Children are still learning a lot about these relationships between words. In previous work, we have examined how children use their current knowledge to understand language, and found that it is surprisingly a lot like adults. However, this opens a question about how children come to form these connections in the first place. In a current study we are examining how children learn new connections between words that they have through short stories to understand language. This work can help us figure out how children become fluent comprehenders of their native language.
