Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT07600242

Word Learning in Bilingual Typical and Late Talking Children: The Role of Meaning and Input

The goal of this clinical trial is to understand how different types of word categories, along with the language children hear from their parents, support bilingual toddlers' word learning. This study will address two main questions: (1) How are the words toddlers know related to the words their parents use? and (2) How does what toddlers already know help them learn new words in two languages? The investigators will compare bilingual toddlers with typical development to those with language delay to determine whether they learn new words in similar ways.

Children's vocabulary knowledge will be assessed using standardized parent-report checklists. To examine how different types of categories support learning, the study will focus on two early-acquired categories: animals and clothing. The investigators will compare what parents report about their children's vocabulary with how children learn new words within each category.

To understand the role of parent input, children and their parents will engage in shared book reading and play activities using materials from one of the target categories. Parent-child interactions will be video recorded. Children will also complete an eye-tracking task in which they learn new words in two languages within the same category.

Recruiting

Interested in participating?

Request Info

Key information

Conditions

Bilingualism Late Talkers Network Science Vocabulary Acquisition

Age range

24 month–30 month

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Boston University

Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States

Location status: Recruiting

Location contact

Kimberly Crespo, PhD, CCC-SLP

CONTACT

[email protected]

(617) 358-0790

Kimberly Crespo, PhD, CCC-SLP

PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • At least 10% exposure to both English and Spanish or at least 90% exposure to English and another language

Exclusion criteria

  • Hearing impairment
  • Uncorrected visual impairment
  • Neurological impairment
  • Genetic syndromes
  • Neurodevelopmental disabilities (e.g. autism)
  • More than 10% exposure to a language other than English or Spanish

Treatment and study plan

Large Semantic Category Condition

Behavioral

Participants will learn new words that refer to objects that belong to a category from which toddlers know many words (i.e., animals). They will learn new animal words in two different language conditions: a single language context and a dual language context. In the single language context, they will learn new English-like words in a learning environment where they only hear one language (i.e., English). In the dual language context, they will learn new English-like and Spanish-like words in a learning environment where they only hear both languages.

Participants and their parents will also read books about animals and play with animal toy sets.

Small Semantic Category Condition

Behavioral

Participants will learn new words that refer to objects that belong to a category from which toddlers know few words (i.e., clothing). They will learn new clothing words in two different language conditions: a single language context and a dual language context. In the single language context, they will learn new English-like words in a learning environment where they only hear one language (i.e., English). In the dual language context, they will learn new English-like and Spanish-like words in a learning environment where they only hear both languages.

Participants and their parents will also read books about clothes and play with toy sets that include clothing.

Primary outcomes

  1. Word learning

    Time frame: Day 1

    The researchers will assess learning through participants' looking behavior via experimental eye-tracking paradigms. Specifically, the researchers will measure how accurately and quickly participants look to the target object after hearing its name.

  2. Vocabulary Network Properties

    Time frame: Day 1

    The researchers will characterize participants' vocabulary size and structure using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI). Vocabulary size will be calculated using the raw number of words produced (range: 0-680 words) and their age-matched percentile score from the MB-CDI (range: 0-100). Higher scores indicate larger vocabulary sizes.The researchers will also calculate how many words each participant knows in in two categories on the MB-CDI (i.e., animals [0-43 words] and tools [0-28 words]) across the languages they are learning (i.e., English and Spanish). Network properties may include the number of words in a category and the number of connections between words in a category.

  3. Parent Language Input

    Time frame: Day 1

    The researchers will calculate the number of words the parent says to their child during book reading and toy play activities. Language input will be defined as the total number of nouns and verbs (tokens) and the number of unique nouns and verbs (types).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Boston University Charles River Campus

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

Registry information

Official study title

Dual Language Input, Semantic Structure and Word Learning in Typically Developing and Late Talking Bilingual Children

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2029
First posted
May 20, 2026
Registry last updated
May 20, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.