• In general, the children used significantly more the target word than the other types
of reference when referring to the target word.
Is there a differential impact of the type of exposure to new lexical items that the children
receive on the reference to the target item by using the target word ?
• The Definition group used the target words significantly more times than the other
groups during post test 2 and 3.
• During post test 2, again the Definition group used significantly more times the target
word than the Ostensive definition group. During post test 3, the Lexical contrast
group used the target word significantly more than the Control groups. In addition,
the Definition group used the target word significantly more than the two Control and
the Ostensive definition groups.
Does children ,s use of the target word increase with increased exposure to the lexical items?
• The children used the target word in post test 3 significantly more times than in post
tests 2 and 1.
Does the children ,s prior knowledge of the lexical items influence the use of target word ?
• No significant differences were found.
Is the use of the target word influenced by the semantic domain of the lexical items ?
• The children used the target word significantly more frequently when referring to
words describing animals than to words describing artifacts during post test 1 and
post test 3. The same pattern was found for each one of the groups. The differences
were significant for the Lexical contrast group during post test 3 and the Definition
group during post test 1.
Concluding remarks for the Story generation task
► The analysis of the story generation task revealed that the Definition group performed
better than the other groups. Children also performed better over time. No significant
differences were found by children’s prior knowledge of the lexical items. On the
other hand, during post test 3 the children provided more stories for the target words
describing artifacts than animals. Additionally, children with high level baseline