Multimodal Lexical Representations and Nonverbal Supports: A Systematic Review of the Vocabulary Literature

• In Event: Playing With Words: How Multimodal Interactions Nurture Children's Vocabulary Development

Abstract

High quality lexical representations are important for reading comprehension (Perfetti, 2007), and numerous studies have sought to identify key instructional practices that help build and extend these lexical representations for young children (Marulis & Neuman, 2010). While many vocabulary interventions incorporate nonverbal scaffolds during vocabulary instruction, such as pictures, gestures, and sounds, few of those studies specifically investigate the benefit of including nonverbal supports. As a result, there is a need to consider how nonverbal aids are used in vocabulary studies to better understand if they assist children in learning new words.

The present paper analyzes how nonverbal supports promote primary grade children’s word learning through a systematic review of the literature. We draw upon Perfetti’s (2007) Lexical Quality Hypothesis and the Dual Coding Theory (Paivio, 1986) to consider how verbal and nonverbal information contributes to building multimodal lexical representations. We argue that the semantic content and the attention-directing attributes of nonverbal supports (Peirce, 1931-58) are critical in assisting children in building high quality multimodal lexical representations.

Data for the paper are drawn from studies using nonverbal gestures, pictures, and sounds during vocabulary instruction with primary grade children. We analyze the semantic content and attention-directing attributes of nonverbal supports in over 40 vocabulary interventions. Our results suggest that nonverbal scaffolds can help refine and deepen children’s knowledge of words, but highlight the need for further research on nonverbal supports and primary grade children’s word learning.

We identified three key patterns in our review. First, most studies do not consider the unique benefits of nonverbal supports on children’s word learning. We found only three studies that sought to isolate the word learning effects of nonverbal gestures, pictures, and/or sounds (Authors, under review; Rowe, Silverman, & Mullan, 2013; Tellier, 2008). Second, a majority of the reviewed vocabulary studies focus on children’s learning of concrete nouns and verbs. Only two studies analyzed children’s learning of abstract words (Author, 2016; Authors, under review). Both report that combining nonverbal supports, such as picture cards and/or nonverbal sound effects, with explicit verbal instruction enhanced children’s learning of abstract words. Third, we found that nonverbal supports are often treated as fixed knowledge and taught through didactic instruction. Children are rarely challenged to discuss, explain, create, or extend the nonverbal supports used to teach words. We found two studies that incorporated more inquiry-based instructional practices with nonverbal supports (Authors, under review; Wasik, Bond, Hindman, 2006); however, the specific word learning effects associated with those instructional methods was not directly examined. We discuss the importance of considering more inquiry-based approaches with nonverbal supports during vocabulary instruction.

This review offers novel insight into the role of nonverbal supports in building multimodal lexical representations for primary grade children. Our paper helps inform theory and practice regarding the instructional potential of nonverbal aids during word learning. The effectiveness of nonverbal supports and the ease in which nonverbal supports can be integrated in the classroom can help inform vocabulary instruction for practitioners.

Authors

• Jessica Lawson-Adams, Vanderbilt University

• David K. Dickinson, Vanderbilt University