Abstract
INVESTIGATING PRESCHOOLERS’ RECEPTIVE AND EXPRESSIVE VOCABULARY REGARDING TECHNOLOGY USAGE AND PARENTAL FACTORS
It is considered important that the relationship between interaction time with technological devices and vocabulary acquisition during the preschool period be examined because environmental stimulants are crucial for linguistic development. This study is investigated the relationship between preschoolers’ vocabulary acquisition and technology use in terms of duration and type of activity. This study employs the longitudinal design pulled from quantitative research methods. The study group consisted of 143 children and their parents. The study data were collected through the Turkish Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary (TİFALDİ) Test as well as through a family information form. According to the research results, both receptive and expressive vocabularies among children achieved significantly different scores due to their mothers’ educational level. Both the first and second measurements of the participating children’s expressive vocabulary revealed significant differences in favor of those children possessing (a) sibling(s) who also attended school. Regarding technology usage, it has been determined that receptive and expressive vocabularies are not different based on the duration of TV watching or use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The participating children’s expressive vocabulary differentiated according to the types of ICT activities they undertook. The expressing vocabularies of those children who spent more time playing games on digital media were found to exhibit the lowest scores, while the expressing vocabulary of those children who listened to music scored highest.
Keywords
Receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, preschool, children, technology.