2-093 - Beyond Vocabulary Size: New Considerations for Receptive Vocabulary Assessment in the Preschool Years

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Accurate assessment of preschoolers’ receptive vocabulary is critical for understanding the processes of vocabulary growth and for predicting long-term language outcomes. Traditional assessments measure overall knowledge by quantifying vocabulary size (e.g., PPVT, Dunn & Dunn 2007). However, several studies have demonstrated the importance of considering factors beyond the number of words a child knows. Understanding factors like lexical processing (Fernald, Perfors & Marchman, 2006), word learning processes, and knowledge within different grammatical categories (e.g., nouns, verbs, prepositions) can augment the picture. This symposium presents four papers that focus on these factors, thereby expanding on traditional approaches to receptive vocabulary assessment.

The first paper presents the results of a longitudinal study with typically developing children ages 2 to 4. Regression analyses indicate that both vocabulary size and lexical processing, together, significantly predict later vocabulary outcomes. The second paper presents an eye-tracking paradigm for assessing receptive verb vocabulary using dynamic scene stimuli. Two studies demonstrate the feasibility of this approach: one with toddlers with ASD and a second with late talkers. The third paper discusses the benefits of including novel verb-learning tasks in vocabulary assessment. Typically developing and language-impaired children’s performance is contrasted; results suggest that protracted immature patterns of novel verb acquisition may indicate impaired processing. The final paper assesses children’s comprehension of spatial prepositions, which are important for children’s math learning. Two-year-olds showed comprehension of a number of spatial terms, although low-income children knew fewer than middle-class children and girls did better than boys.

Sub Unit

• Language, Communication

Chair

• Sabrina Horvath, Boston University

Individual Presentations

• Continuity in Vocabulary Development: Predictions from Decontextualized Vocabulary and Lexical Access - Presenting Author: Erin Smolak, San Diego State University & University of California, San Diego; Non-Presenting Author: Kristi Hendrickson, University of Iowa; Non-Presenting Author: Pascal Zesiger, University of Geneva; Non-Presenting Author: Margaret Friend, San Diego State University

• Assessment of Receptive Verb Vocabulary Using Dynamic Scene Stimuli: Evidence from ASD and Late Talkers - Presenting Author: Sabrina Horvath, Boston University; Non-Presenting Author: Sudha Arunachalam, New York University

• Using Syntax to Learn Verbs: Comparing Error Patterns in Preschoolers with and without Language Impairment - Non-Presenting Author: Amy Pace, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Jill de Villiers, Smith College; Non-Presenting Author: Aquiles Iglesias, University of Delaware; Non-Presenting Author: Mary Sweig Wilson, University of Vermont & Laureate Learning Systems; Presenting Author: Frances Bueno, University of Washington

• A Spatial Language Assessment for Preschoolers and its Relationship to Mathematics and Spatial Tasks - Non-Presenting Author: Lindsey Foster, University of Delaware; Presenting Author: Daniela Avelar, University of Delaware; Non-Presenting Author: Laura Zimmermann, SRI International; Non-Presenting Author: Brian N. Verdine, University of Delaware; Non-Presenting Author: Maya Marzouk, Yeshiva University; Non-Presenting Author: Siffat Islam, Temple University; Non-Presenting Author: Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Univ of DE; Non-Presenting Author: Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University