Inquiring about the unknown: Preschoolers' questions about word meanings

• In Event: Poster Session 14
  In Poster Session: PS 14 Topic - Language, Communication

Abstract

Little is known about the extent and means by which children actively engage themselves in word learning. Previous studies have clarified that children are prolific question-askers, but these works have not focused on whether and how children elicit questions about word meanings. Here, to better understand active engagement in word learning, we examined whether preschoolers ask questions about novel vocabulary and assess definition quality. In Study 1, we investigated whether preschoolers seek information about words, and if so, whether they tailor their questions about words to meet their informational needs. Three- and five-year-olds were asked to complete actions according to instructions with unknown (“jostle”) or known (“wiggle”) verbs. Both age groups asked more questions about unknown (M = 3.86 out of 9, SD=3.48) than known verbs (M= .22, SD=.48), t(35)= -6.285, p<.001. Five-year-olds showed greater facility with question-asking (M=6.11 out of 9, SD=2.81) about novel words compared to three-year-olds (M=1.35, SD=2.23), t(33.58)= -5.648, p<.001. In Study 2, we investigated whether preschoolers evaluate definition quality, and if they do, whether they persist in information-seeking about unknown words after being provided with uninformative definitions. Both age groups asked more questions when faced with uninformative definitions (M=.87 out of 3, SD=1.166) than informative definitions (M=.05, SD=.16), t(21.33)= -3.05, p=.006, with no age differences in information-seeking. These studies provide evidence that children actively seek meanings of unknown words and evaluate whether definitions have met their informational needs.

Authors

• Laura Janakiefski, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Nick Tippenhauer, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Megan M Saylor, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author