Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Linguistic context supports children’s verb learning. For example, upon hearing “the boy is pilk ing,” children can infer that the novel verb pilk names an action that a boy (rather than a girl) engages in. However, more information, such as a modified subject (e.g. “the tall boy is pilk ing”), could hinder rather than aid due to increased processing load, as suggested by a previous study with English-learning toddlers (He et al., 2020, Language Learning and Development 16, 22–42). In the current study, we found that Korean-learning preschoolers also experienced difficulty when the verb appeared with a modified subject compared to an unmodified one; this difficulty persisted across three situational contexts, even when the additional information was necessary to identify the referent. Our findings, with a typologically different language and diverse contexts, provide cross-linguistic support for prior results in English, consistent with a conceptual replication of the idea that less information can sometimes be more beneficial for learning.
Source: Journal of Child Language
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,550
OpenAlex ID: W4415836377