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Can toddlers learn vocabulary from television? An experimental approach
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Short Description: This study was inspired by the rise in television targeting toddlers and preverbal infants (eg,
Teletubbies, Baby Mozart). Overall, we investigated if very young children who are in the early
stages of language acquisition can learn vocabulary quickly
Content Inside: Media Psychology, 10:4163, 2007 Copyright © Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. ISSN: 1521-3269 print / 1532-785X online DOI: 10.108/15213260701300931
Can Toddlers Learn Vocabulary from Television? An Experimental Approach
MARINA KRCMAR
Wake Forest University
BERNARD GRELA KIRSTEN LIN
University of Connecticut
This study was inspired by the rise in television targeting toddlers and preverbal infants (e.g., Teletubbies, Baby Mozart). Overall, we investigated if very young children who are in the early stages of language acquisition can learn vocabulary quickly (fast map) from television programs. Using a fast mapping paradigm, this study examined a group (n D 48) of toddlers (1524 months) and their ability to learn novel words. Utilizing a repeated measures design, we compared children's ability to learn various novel words in 5 different conditions. These included the presentation and identification of a novel word by an adult speaker via live presentation when the toddler was attending (i.e., joint reference), an adult via live presentation when the toddler was not attending, an adult speaker on television, and an edited clip from a children's television program (Teletubbies). Overall, the toddlers were most successful in learning novel words in the joint reference condition. They were significantly less successful in the children's program condition. Furthermore, there was a significant interaction between age and condition on children's performance. Both younger (1521 months) and older (2224 months) participants identified the target objects when they were taught
Address correspondence to Marina Krcmar, Communication Department, 316 Carswell Hall, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109. E-mail: krcmarm@wfu.edu This research was conducted while the first author was an assistant professor at the University of Connecticut. 41
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