Training word learning in toddlers: Translation equivalents are more challenging to learn than native language words and facilitate working memory growth

The present study aimed to determine whether teaching translation equivalents to monolingual toddlers would lead to a greater increase in executive functioning than if taught words in their native language. Children completed a 12-week training program during which nine novel words were taught weekly in children's native language (control group) or in a second language (experimental group). The participants' executive functioning was compared both pre- and post-intervention using the Early Executive Functions Questionnaire. Results suggest that learning translation equivalents is more difficult than learning words in one's native language. Although the control and experimental group's growth was equivalent for all EF components, working memory growth was linked to word learning in the experimental condition.