Parent Cell Phone Use Can Halt a Child’s Language Learning

Researchers at Temple University’s Language Learning Lab found that children are less likely to learn a new words when a phone call interrupts the child’s conversation with their parent.  In their experiment, researchers asked parents to teach their child two words, but answer a cell phone call partway through teaching one of the words.  The team’s analysis showed that when parent-child conversations were interrupted, children did not learn the new word. To learn more about this research, check out this video interview with Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Elfg0UWQVc