FORGE · From new Objects to new woRds through GEstures: how sensory-motor experiences of objects and tools influence word acquisition in children
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-02-01 → 2018-01-31
- EU contribution
- €183,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
From new Objects to new woRds through GEstures: how sensory-motor experiences of objects and tools influence word acquisition in children
Developmental studies have shown that children’s object-directed actions promote learning about new objects. Moreover, acting on objects has been shown to be closely related to early gesture production, which in turn accompanies vocabulary acquisition. Together, these findings suggest a link between actions, gestures and vocabulary acquisition. But how are these related? During pre-school years vocabulary size increases greatly and continues to grow during elementary school. Various studies have shown that vocabulary size in pre-schoolers is a strong predictor of a number of essential academic skills (e.g., morpho-syntax, narrative skills, reading, creative writing). Furthermore, a delay and slower development in expressive vocabulary can be used for the early identification of children at risk of language impairment. Nonetheless, only few studies to-date have been dedicated to investigating how object-directed actions may influence gestures and vocabulary acquisition during this developmental period. The FORGE project aims to further our understanding of the relationship between a particular type of object-directed actions (i.e., sensory-motor object exploration) and communication, exploring how different types of sensory-motor experiences with novel objects affects words learning, and the role of gestures in this process, at a critical developmental period. To achieve this scientific goal the project aims to provide: (a) build and test a set of new smart objects and related materials to measure sensory-motor object exploration, integrating different technologies and methods derived from studies on language acquisition, gestures, motor skills and bio-engineering; (b) collect data on the relation between motor exploration and vocabulary acquisition in a group of pre-schoolers. The project also has a second aim in promoting transfer of knowledge and training which will be reached through: (a) topic-specific training in experimental psycholinguistics and studies on language acquisition; (b) hands-on experience in building smart objects and procedures allowing use of sensor-based technology with children; (c) transfer of knowledge on lab management, grant writing and organizing scientific events. All these activities will be carried out through a collaboration between the Language and Cognition Lab, within the Experimental Psychology Research Department at University College London – UCL and the Laboratory of Biomedical Robotics and Biomicrosystems (LBRB) at the University Campus Bio-Medico Rome – UCBM.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
A key question in language studies is how children learn the meaning of new words and corresponding concepts. Developmental studies show that children’s actions promote learning about new objects and that acting on objects is closely related to early gestures’ production, which in turn accompanies vocabulary acquisition. Brain imaging studies have found activation of motor areas when people process action-related words. Together, these findings suggest a link between sensory-motor experiences, gestures and vocabulary acquisition. But how are these related? One hypothesis is that children’s manipulation of objects promotes their learning of concepts, these concepts then drive the use of iconic gestures rooted in actions with objects, as well as word learning. An alternative hypothesis is that iconic gestures scaffold vocabulary learning because gestures maintain important iconic similarity with the corresponding affordances and actions, while having communicative functions like words: thus emergence of gestures would be precursor to word learning. To-date, correlational data seems to support the first hypothesis, but existing data does not allow to clearly establish the direction of effects. The FORGE project aims to test between these hypotheses, to understand how learning new concepts (mental representations for new manipulatable objects), learning to gesture about these new tools and learning their labels are related to one another. The project uses a multi-disciplinary approach, bringing together traditional video-coding techniques from developmental psychology and psycholinguistics, and new bio-engineering sensor technology for movement analysis. As pre-school children learn new words on a daily basis, and because vocabulary is a strong predictor of academic achievement, establishing optimal conditions for learning to occur is critical to any educational setting. It is further critical to implement programmes assisting children with clinical impairments.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · LondonCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union