Strategy Use and Performance on Word Learning Tasks

Abstract

Purpose: We explored performance across time in a word-learning task for second grade children. Method: Our participants included 107 children: 48 typically developing monolinguals, 30 typically developing bilinguals, 14 dyslexic only, four with language impairment, and 11 with comorbid dyslexia and language impairment. After meeting inclusionary criteria, children participated in six session of pirate-themed games. This study focused on one aspect of the word-learning game, the phonological-visual linking task. We compared participants' average scores across each session to explore the possibilities of distinctive patterns of learning, perseverance, or boredom shown across time. Results: Cluster analysis revealed five different clusters of performance. The largest cluster, Group 5, contained the largest percentage of children from each category, except the language impairment category. Group 5 performed the best and showed improvement over time. Group 1 was the worst group, starting with fair accuracy and gradually becoming less accurate over time. Group 1 consisted of a fairly even percentage of children from each category. Conclusion: Impaired children and typically developing children are both capable of increased learning across time in this phonological-visual linking task, and children with impairments are not at significantly greater risk than peers for boredom effects.