Understanding Unfamiliar Words in a Text: Different Tactics Used by Monolingual and Foreign-Language-Speaking Children
Journal: Učënye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriâ Gumanitarnye nauki/Učenye zapiski Kazanskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriâ Gumanitarnye nauki/Učenye zapiski Kazanskogo universiteta. Seriâ Gumanitarnye nauki
Year: 2024

This article explores various tactics used by children to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words while reading. The study was performed on 24 children aged 8–9 years, including 12 monolinguals and 12 foreign-language speakers. In such a situation, the two primary tactics are relying on either context or the internal forms of words. The results of the experiment show that monolingual children typically focus on context, while children speaking a foreign language depend more on the inner forms