Vocabulary interventions for second language (L2) learners up to six years of age.

Background: Second language (L2) learners are a heterogeneous group. Their L2 skills are highly varied due to internal factors (e.g.

Screening for Language Delay: Growth Trajectories of Language Ability in Low- and High-Performing Children.

Purpose: This study investigated the stability and growth of preschool language skills and explores latent class analysis as an approach for identifying children at risk of language impairment.

Method: The authors present data from a large-scale 2-year longitudinal study, in which 600 children were assessed with a language-screening tool (LANGUAGE4) at age 4 years. A subsample (n = 206) was assessed on measures of sentence repetition, vocabulary, and grammatical knowledge at ages 4, 5, and 6 years.

Nonword-repetition ability does not appear to be a causal influence on children's vocabulary development.

In the study reported here, we assessed the theory that vocabulary learning in children depends critically on the capacity of a "phonological loop" that is indexed by nonword-repetition ability. A 3-year longitudinal study of 219 children assessed nonword-repetition ability and vocabulary knowledge at yearly intervals between the ages of 4 and 7 years. There was a considerable degree of longitudinal stability in children's vocabulary and nonword-repetition skills, but there was no evidence of any influence of nonword-repetition ability on later vocabulary knowledge.