App-based morphological training produces lasting effects on word knowledge in primary school children: A randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

Vocabulary, knowledge of word meanings, is essential for comprehension and production of oral and written language. It is, however, an unconstrained skill that covers a vast content area. This makes explicit teaching of every single word in a language an impossible task. Additionally, teaching the meanings of specific words is unlikely to provide transfer of knowledge to other words. We need to target knowledge and skills that are generalizable. Furthermore, educational games and apps have come to play large parts in education. While educational software can provide efficient and effective parts of education, learning gains depend on how children interact with the software. The overarching aim of this thesis is to unravel some of the pieces in the puzzle of app-based language learning, focusing specifically on morphological knowledge, implicit learning, and child-app interaction.\nIn Article 1, we found evidence that implicit app-based morphological training provides generalizable and durable effects on children’s word knowledge. Article 2 focused on morphological knowledge, and provides support of a multidimensional view, where morphological knowledge consists of morphological awareness, morphological decoding and morphological analysis. Article 3 examined repeated mistakes, a child-app interaction pattern, and found that children with less prior knowledge are more likely to repeat mistakes. Furthermore, children with a high propensity to repeat mistakes have lower expected learning gains than low-propensity children with the same pre-test score. Finally, Article 4 investigated task and child covariates of repeated mistakes. We found the number of repeated mistakes made relates to task type and task position in a session, as well as children’s receptive knowledge of morphologically complex words and non-verbal ability.\nIn the extended abstract, I discuss these four articles, highlighting key findings and contributions, and providing recommendations for both research and practice. To sum up briefly, an implicit app-based morphological intervention can contribute to language learning, but we need to pay close attention to how children interact with the app, as some interaction patterns may hinder children’s learning.

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