Differences in vocabulary growth across groups and individuals

This chapter describes causes and consequences of individual differences in young children’s word learning. For decades, research has documented qualitative and quantitative differences in children’s language input, and it has been convincingly demonstrated that across different communities, children’s vocabulary growth can be linked to their language experiences. However, children also actively shape their own learning environment, and it is important to consider how their cognitive abilities, as well as their interests, shape their language experiences and their learning. Only by examining children with a wide range of experiences (e.g., children growing up in multilingual communities) and abilities (e.g., children with developmental delays or disorders) will it be possible to develop theories that adequately capture and explain differences in children’s word learning and vocabulary growth.