it after me. Now, you will hear me say some more of these words. Repeat each word as soon
as you hear it, and then wait for the next word. Are you ready ?

The procedure was repeated for the remaining items in the test. Following the last item, the
tape concluded with: “That’s all now. Thank you”.

As soon as the screening tests were completed (during the first week), the children from each
age group were assigned randomly to four independent groups (Inference, Analogy, Lexical
contrast, Definition). The second week, the children from each independent group were
invited by a puppet to listen to two nice stories. Each child was told to listen carefully, while
the puppet was telling the story. Each story introduced a new term in an illustrated story
book context. The stories varied in the way in which linguistic information was used to
introduce the new terms.

5.3.4.3 Procedure for the groups

Inference group

The children in the Inference group were read stories where the new words were introduced
implicitly through various cues about the meaning of the word. The experimenter invited
the child to listen to a story by the puppet.

Analogy group

Children in the Analogy group were read a story where implicit information about the novel
words were given by providing them with an analogy of one aspect of the target word with
another already known (e.g...we blow the abez like we blow the flute...).

Lexical contrast group

Children in the Lexical contrast group, were read stories where the new words were
contrasted with two already known words (e.g.....He was playing neither a piano, nor a guitar.

He was playing an abez...)

Definition group

Children in the Definition group were read a story about the new words which included a
definition about them.

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