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First impressions: Children’s knowledge of words gained from a single exposure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

David K. Dickinson
David K. Dickinson*
Affiliation:
Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study
*
David K. Dickinson, Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155
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Abstract

Two experiments examined factors affecting the initial phase of word learning. Four- to 11-year-olds heard new words in three presentation conditions: A conversation, a story, and paired with a definition. Overall the results indicate that children at all ages could identify the new words as “words,” were sensitive to correct usage, and could acquire a partial semantic representation from a single exposure. Older children benefited more than younger ones from explicit definitions, suggesting that metalinguistic awareness and memory strategies affect word learning. Evidence also suggests that meanings for new words are better learned if the exemplar is peripheral to previously named categories than if the word is central to a previously named category.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1984 , pp. 359 - 373
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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