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The rapid rise of digital technology, such as internet-connected tablets, is transforming the way children interact with one another, and the way they interpret and convey information about the world.
“From watching cartoons to studying the ABCs, children’s everyday life is surrounded by digital media shaping and informing how they socialise, play and learn,” says Mila Vulchanova, director of the Language Acquisition and Language Processing Lab at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
While offering significant benefits such as personalised learning, digital tools can also have adverse effects on attention, memory and cognition, even affecting the acquisition of native languages.
Through the e-LADDA project, which was funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, Vulchanova and her team investigated the consequences of digital technology for early child development and language.
They also conducted the first comparative study on screen exposure and digital habits and environments at homes across Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom.
“Given the increasing role of digital technology as a primary source of language input, understanding the complex processes involved in learning and acquisition within the digital landscape was a priority,” adds Vulchanova.
Through a series of studies, the researchers explored how the basic mechanisms involved in language learning develop with age, and whether they develop differently through auditory and visual experiences.
“Digital technology is now part of our daily lives and we need to harness its power in designing age- and task-appropriate digital content for children,” notes Vulchanova. “Our advice to parents is to assess carefully the content their child may be exposed to, and to try and use digital technology together with the child, rather than use it instead of a babysitter.”
Screen exposure and digital habits across Europe
The team conducted a number of systematic reviews to identify research gaps. The team found that little is known about the impact of digital technology on language development, in particular in preschool-age children (those aged 4-6 years).
“Preschool children display similar responses to adults in segmenting auditory input (language), showing that listening skills are fully developed around that age,” explains Vulchanova. “An open question is whether integrating information from auditory sources and rich visual input – as afforded by screens – is optimal for the purposes of language learning in this age group.”
The e-LADDA team also collected data from children through lab experiments. These studies used social robots, touchscreens and eye tracking methodology to see where children look on a screen when learning new words.
Their research revealed that adults and children of all age groups are sensitive to knowledge gaps when learning new words, but only adults and older children actively work to reduce uncertainty and gather the necessary knowledge.
However, the e-LADDA team also found that joint interactive reading can be beneficial, and using digital technology for word learning can help children with autism and children learning second languages.
Helping parents and policymakers adapt for the digital age
In each country in the e-LADDA network, the team communicated their expert advice to local educators and policymakers, and organised a number of public events in the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal. “It remains to be seen how educational systems can adapt to the fast pace of digital technology development,” Vulchanova notes.
Beyond the results, the e-LADDA team also highlights its pride in the true interdisciplinarity of the project, mobilising researchers from a range of diverse and distant fields, from developmental psychology and neurodiversity research, to language experts and technology developers.
A second major achievement was placing the topic firmly on the research agenda by guest-editing a special upcoming issue of Developmental Psychology, ‘Living in a Digital Ecology’. “We received over 80 abstract submissions, which attests to the importance of the topic,” remarks Vulchanova.
The team is still working to publish their results, while continuing to participate in the public discussions. “For my research group, a special interest is the development of augmented reality apps for word learning for children with autism and implementing them in interventions,” says Vulchanova.