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Category: Project

Description: This article evaluates a testing procedure for collecting eye-gaze data with toddlers (Experiment 1) and preschoolers (Experiment 2) during a word-learning task. We provide feasibility and precision data by comparing performance in an in-person version of the study (conducted under controlled conditions in the lab), with performance in a virtual version in which participants completed the testing procedure from home. Our data support the feasibility of collecting remote eye-gaze data with young children, and present it as a viable alternative for conducting developmental language research when in-person interactions with participants cannot take place. Additionally, we use this methodological approach to examine a topic that has gained popularity in recent years – the role of music and songs on vocabulary learning. We provide evidence suggesting that while songs may help increase attention during a particular task (specifically in toddlers), greater attention does not lead to greater learning. In fact, preschoolers show improved word-learning performance for items that were trained in a spoken sentence compared to items that were trained in a song. This means that while songs may be beneficial for increasing child engagement, spoken sentences may be best for supporting deep level learning of language concepts.