Retrieval-Based Word Learning in Developmental Language Disorder: Verb Learning

Summary

Children with developmental language disorder (DLD; also referred to as specific language impairment) experience a significant deficit in language ability that is longstanding and harmful to the children's academic, social, and eventual economic wellbeing. Word learning is one of the principal weaknesses in these children. This project focuses on the word learning abilities of four- and five-year-old children with DLD. The goal of the project is to build on the investigators' previous work to determine whether, as has been found thus far, special benefits accrue when these children must frequently recall newly introduced words during the course of learning. The focus of the current study is verb-learning. The goal of the study is to increase children's absolute levels of verb learning while maintaining the advantage that repeated retrieval holds over comparison methods of learning.

Conditions

• Developmental Language Disorder
• Specific Language Impairment
• Language Development

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Retrieval-based verb learning: Repeated Spaced Retrieval condition

A set of novel verbs are practiced on 2 consecutive days (the same verbs are used each day). Half of the novel verbs are learned in the repeated spaced retrieval condition and half are learned in the repeated study condition, with the two conditions interleaved on each day. The repeated spaced retrieval condition consists of study and retrieval trials. At the start of the sessions, retrieval trials immediately follow study trials. Thereafter, retrieval trials are spaced for each verb, occurring after 3 other words have intervened between the retrieval trial and the last study trial for that verb.

BEHAVIORAL

Retrieval-based verb learning: Repeated Study condition

A set of novel verbs are practiced on 2 consecutive days (the same verbs are used each day). Half of the novel verbs are learned in the repeated spaced retrieval condition and half are learned in the repeated study condition, with the two conditions interleaved on each day. The repeated study condition consists of study trials only (with no retrieval practice).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

  collaborator NIH

• Purdue University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Laurence B. Leonard, PhD · Purdue Universtiy

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

48 Months

Max Age

71 Months

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2023-03-01

Primary Completion

2024-01-25

Completion

2024-01-25

Countries

• United States

Study Locations