Children's L2 translation and free recall scores were higher for concrete than abstract nouns across experiments¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 In Experiment 1, L1-L2 translation scores were higher for concrete than abstract nouns (η²p = 0.76). → Andrä 2020 q3 i3 In Experiment 1, free recall scores were higher for concrete than abstract nouns (η²p = 0.53). → Andrä 2020 (2)

Evidence¶

Andrä 2020¶

Andrä, C., Mathias, B., Schwager, A., Macedonia, M., & von Kriegstein, K. (2020). Learning Foreign Language Vocabulary with Gestures and Pictures Enhances Vocabulary Memory for Several Months Post-Learning in Eight-Year-Old School Children. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09527-z

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Experiment 1 within-subjects ANOVA (n = 54). A "significant main effect of word type" showed concrete nouns were translated better than abstract nouns, consistent with prior developmental reports. Similar word-type effects appeared for L2-L1 translation (η²p = 0.82) and in Experiment 2 (η²p = 0.36 for L1-L2).

"There was also a significant main effect of word type [F (1, 53) = 163.70,p <0 . 0 0 1 ,η2 p = 0.76]: Children's L1-L2 translation scores were higher for concrete nouns compared with abstract nouns (Fig. 4b)."

Andrä 2020 (2)¶

Andrä, C., Mathias, B., Schwager, A., Macedonia, M., & von Kriegstein, K. (2020). Learning Foreign Language Vocabulary with Gestures and Pictures Enhances Vocabulary Memory for Several Months Post-Learning in Eight-Year-Old School Children. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09527-z

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Experiment 1 free recall ANOVA (n = 54) showed a "significant main effect of word type" favoring concrete nouns (η²p = 0.53).

"There was also a significant main effect of word type [ F (1, 53) = 60.42, p < 0.001, η2 p = 0.53]: Children's free recall scores were higher for concrete nouns compared with abstract nouns (Fig. 4b)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Gesture enrichment specifically aided translation of abstract words in Experiment 1, but this word-type specificity did not replicate in Experiment 2 — related
• Both gesture and picture enrichment enhanced children's test performance compared with non-enriched learning, with benefits persisting up to 6 months for concrete and abstract words — related
• Gesture-enriched learning improves 8-year-olds' L2 vocabulary translation and free recall compared with non-enriched learning, persisting up to 6 months — related
• Concrete L2 words are learned better than abstract words overall, but this concreteness advantage appears only in 14-year-olds — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Picture and gesture enrichment benefit children's learning of both concrete and abstract L2 words — related