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Retrieval Practice And Word Learning In Children With Specific Language Impairment And Their Typically Developing Peers, Laurence B. Leonard, Patricia Deevy

Purdue Center for Early Learning Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose

In this article, we review the role of retrieval practice on the word learning and retention of children with specific language impairment (SLI).

Method

Following a brief review of earlier findings on word learning in children with SLI and the assumptions behind retrieval practice, four experiments are described that compared novel words learned in a repeated spaced retrieval condition and those learned in either a repeated study condition or a repeated immediate retrieval condition. Preschool-age children with SLI and their same-age peers with typical language development were the participants in all experiments. The effects of repeated spaced retrieval were …