Concept Vocabulary in Children with Hearing Loss

Abstract

Children with hearing loss (CHL) often struggle with vocabulary knowledge more than their normal hearing peers (Convertino et al., 2014; Davidson et al., 2013; Hayes et al., 2009; Lund, 2015; Nott et al., 2009; Tomblin et al., 2015). However, most vocabulary studies on CHL focus only on overall vocabulary outcomes. It is important to know the specific vocabulary that CHL struggle with as certain words are particularly crucial for academic success and creating complex syntax. When analyzing vocabulary knowledge, research should focus both on what is known and how words are used. The purpose of this study was to explore concept vocabulary knowledge in CHL as compared to children with normal hearing (CNH) by analyzing their expressive concept vocabulary in single-word, standardized testing versus in spontaneous language samples.