Input affects uptake: How early language experience influences processing efficiency and vocabulary learning

Abstract

Two studies explore how early vocabulary learning is influenced both by maternal speech to the child and by the childpsilas developing skill in real-time comprehension. Study 1 shows that amount and quality of motherspsila speech predict language growth in Spanish-learning children, providing the first evidence that language input shapes speech processing efficiency as well as lexical development. Study 2 demonstrates that early efficiency in speech processing is beneficial for vocabulary growth, showing how fluency in online comprehension facilitates learning.