Effects of vocabulary training by computer in kindergarten
Abstract In the present study, intensive vocabulary training by computer was undertaken in a two-year kindergarten programme in the Netherlands. In the intervention, 67 native and immigrant children in the first and second years of kindergarten played vocabulary games on the computer twice a week for a period of 15minutes over 15weeks. A control group of 97 kindergartners followed the regular curriculum. In a pre-test-training-post-test-retention test design, positive effects of the computer training were found on a curriculum-dependent vocabulary test. A trend was found towards positive effects of the computer training on a curriculum-independent test for children in their second year of kindergarten. The results present an alternative and relatively teacher-independent method to enlarge children's vocabularies.
vocabulary control group cd-rom experiential multimedia pre-school quantitative second language learning