Word Learning in Children With Developmental Language Disorder: The Use of Retrieval Practice During Shared Book Reading.
Sofia Souto, Laurence B Leonard, Patricia Deevy and 3 others
PMID 40523864WHAT IT FOUND
Spaced retrieval during shared book reading helped children with and without DLD learn new words better than passive reading.
Recall of word forms and meanings improved, but recognition scores did not differ between methods. The benefit held one week later.
Key findings
01Children recalled significantly more novel word forms and meanings when they practiced spaced retrieval during the story than when they only heard the words repeatedly.
02There was no difference between the retrieval and passive reading conditions on the recognition task, where children had to point to the correct picture.
03The advantage of spaced retrieval for recalling word forms and meanings was still present one week after the reading sessions.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study used novel words (made-up names for fictional plants/animals) rather than real vocabulary, so it is unclear if this effect size holds for functional words. The recognition task showed no difference, possibly because the children with TD performed at 100% accuracy, masking any potential benefit. The meanings tested were simple associations (e.g., 'likes rain') rather than complex definitions, which may exaggerate the ease of learning. The sample was small (27 children), and the groups were distinct (DLD vs TD) rather than a broad clinical population.
Declared interests
None declared. The research was supported by non-U.S. government funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this technique improves a child's ability to recognize a word when they see it. The study found no benefit for spaced retrieval on the recognition task, likely because the children already recognized the pictures easily. The advantage was specifically for recalling the word form and meaning from memory.