How sound patterns shape early word learning in (a)typical development: an eye-tracking study

Jovana Pejovic, University of Lisbon, Center of Linguistics

Cátia Severino, University of Lisbon, Center of Linguistics

Sónia Frota, University of Lisbon, Center of Linguistics

Marina Vigário, University of Lisbon, Center of Linguistics

 

Word learning requires associating sound sequences to meaning. This study examined how phonotactic frequency and phonological grammar shapes word learning and lexical development in toddlers with low (typically developing, TD; N=32, mean age 20.4 ms) and high-risk (AR; N=29, mean age 20.7 ms) for language impairment, and toddlers with Down Syndrome (DS; N=12, mean age 22 ms). Toddlers’ eye gaze was assessed while learning new labels of unknown objects in three conditions: labels with high phonotactic probability sound sequences, with low phonotactic probability sound sequences, or with illegal sound patterns. Control object-word pairs showing familiar objects were also presented. The task included a training phase, a test phase, and control trials.

Both TD and AR increased their looking time to the named image in control trials, unlike DS. Word learning in the test phase was found only in TD, and with high frequency patterns. Further, TD learning of high frequency patterns related to concurrent expressive vocabulary, whereas AR general performance related to expressive vocabulary at 24 and 30 months of age. DS toddlers demonstrated no learning. Findings suggest that phonotactic frequency guides TD toddlers’ early knowledge of the phonological grammar of words, with AR toddlers’ either showing phonological delay or a different developmental path, and DS toddlers’ exhibiting a substantial delay in overall word learning skills. Unlike TD toddlers, both AR and DS toddlers displayed low sensitivity to sound patterns in early word learning.

 

 

Word Phonological Awareness in Preschool and School-Age Children: Error Patterns in Typical Development

Dina Caetano Alves, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Health (ESS/IPS) & Center of Linguistics of University of Lisbon

Joana Reis,Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Health (ESS/IPS)

Ana Castro, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Health (ESS/IPS) & NOVA University of Lisbon, Center of Linguistics (CLUNL)

 

This study aimed to describe and classify error patterns in a validated phonological awareness assessment tool, in order to characterise phonological awareness in preschool and school-age children (Alves et al., 2010; Castro et al., 2018; Castro et al., in prep.). The sample included 46 preschool children (4;4–6;1 years) and 48 school-age children (6;5–7;10 years). Using a cross-sectional observational design and a quantitative approach, the study examined error typologies across age groups.

The assessment tool evaluates different domains of phonological awareness, including word, syllabic, intrasyllabic, segmental, and stress awareness, through 18 digital tasks. Participants’ responses were audio-recorded and manually transcribed. Errors were classified into 33 categories, which included word-level errors (such as omission or substitution of words), syllable- level errors (such as addition or restructuring of syllables), phoneme-level errors (such as substitution, omission, or insertion of phonemes), and stress-level errors (such as misidentification of stressed or unstressed syllables).

The study analyzed the distribution of error types across age groups and phonological awareness domains, predicting that error patterns would vary with age. Specifically, it was hypothesized that syllabic awareness tasks would show lower error rates, while word and phonemic awareness tasks would present higher rates. The findings contribute to understanding the developmental trajectory of phonological awareness in European Portuguese-speaking children, delineating what constitutes typical error patterns at different stages. Additionally, these data support the early identification of children at risk for phonological awareness deficits, reinforcing its predictive role in reading and writing acquisition.

 

References

• Alves, D. C., Castro, A., & Correia, S. (2010). Consciência fonológica – dados sobre consciência fonémica, intrassilábica e silábica. In A. M. Brito, F. Silva, J. Veloso, & A. Fiéis (Eds.), Textos selecionados do XXV Encontro Nacional da Associação Portuguesa de Linguística (pp. 169–184). Associação Portuguesa de Linguística.

• Castro, A., Alves, D. C., Correia, S., & Soares, C. (in press). eConF.IRA: Consciência Fonológica – Instrumento de Rastreio e Avaliação em formato eletrónico. Relicário de Sons.

• Castro, A., Alves, D. C., Correia, S., & Soares, C. (2018). Phonological awareness screening and assessment tool for European Portuguese-speaking children. In 10th CPLOL Congress, 10–12 May 2018, Cascais, Portugal (pp. 228–229).

 

 

Morphoplay: A Serious Game for Assessing Morphological and Lexical Proficiency in School-Age Children

Carina Pinto, Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, School of Health (ESS/IPS) & Polythechnic Institute of Leiria, School of Health (ESSLEi) & ciTechCare & CLUL & The Word Lab

Alina Villalva, Lisbon University, The Word Lab

 

The assessment of linguistic proficiency has traditionally prioritized lexical, phonological, and syntactic knowledge, leaving the morphological domain underexplored. Developing tools to evaluate morphological proficiency—which is crucial in the initial stages of semantic decoding, poses significant challenges, as it is often conflated with phonological and lexical-semantic proficiency. However, it plays a key role in identifying issues that require intervention.

The Morphoplay project (Pinto et al., in press) addresses this gap by creating a digital serious game to assist speech and language therapists and educators in evaluating children's lexical and morphological knowledge. The tool incorporates an experimental corpus comprising five morphological conditions: denominal agentive nouns in -eir(o/a); plant name denominal nouns in -eir(o); deverbal agentive nouns in -dor(/a) (both attested and unattested); and simple agentive nouns. This corpus has been carefully controlled for linguistic criteria, word knowledge, homography, and lexical frequency), allowing for evaluation through reaction time benchmarks in a lexical decision task.

Morphoplay (the game) includes four interactive tasks: lexical decision, word segmentation, word family identification, and intruder detection. All stimuli were validated experimentally, and reviewed by an expert panel. The game provides an engaging, naturalistic approach to assessing morphological knowledge and processing, reducing the limitations of traditional evaluation methods. It supports early diagnosis and effective intervention for children with language impairments and reading difficulties.

This paper presents the results of a pilot study with children with (N=55) and without language disorders(N=65), demonstrating MorphoPlay’s potential as a diagnostic and educational tool.

 

References:

• Pinto, C., Minussi, R., Villalva, A., Lima, E., Silva, C., Abrantes, E., Reis, G., Gonçalves, F., & Barroso, I. (in press). MorphoPlay: Serious Game para a avaliação do conhecimento morfológico. Revista Portuguesa de Terapia da Fala.