Which screen media types enhance vocabulary learning in young children most effectively?

By Winnie Tam, Centre for University and School Partnership, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

A meta-analysis by Jing and colleagues explored the impact of screen exposure on vocabulary development in early childhood (0-6 years). The review incorporated research focused on children’s screen-media use with receptive or expressive vocabulary assessment. Inclusion criteria required a screen media exposure group for experimental studies and a measure of screen media exposure for correlational studies. Those involving adult aid or peer scaffolding to support children’s learning were excluded.

The multilevel meta-analysis included 266 effect sizes from 63 studies (44 experimental and 19 correlational) published between 1998 and 2022. Most studies assessed English vocabulary (76%). The combined results revealed a small yet positive effect size (r = +0.23), with experimental studies showing a significant positive effect on vocabulary development (ES =+0.30) but correlational studies with nearly zero association (r= +0.07).

Among experimental studies, media platform was a significant moderator, with e-books exhibiting a larger effect size (ES = +0.40) than TV/videos (ES = +0.20) and games/apps (ES = +0.25). Video chat yielded the largest effect size (+0.66). Exposure to interactive media (ES = +0.39) produced a larger effect than exposure to non-interactive media (ES = +0.25). The effect of learning program-specific words (ES = +0.35) was significantly larger than that of general vocabulary (ES = +0.18), and expressive vocabulary (ES = +0.44) exhibited a higher effect than receptive vocabulary (ES = +0.26).

The findings from the manipulative experimental studies indicated a higher likelihood of interactive educational design e-books fostering early literacy relative to other forms of screen media.