How many words are there?

5-year-olds that are fluent in English (monolingual English speakers OR multilingual with 50% or more English exposure between home and school)

This study will take place on a video call, live with a researcher! Clicking on the “Schedule a time to participate” button will send you to an online calendar where you can select a date and time that works for you. In the study, your child will see pictures of handwritten text in two different languages, English or an "alien language," and hear a character read it out loud. After each audio clip, we'll ask them to tell us how many words were in the sentence.

The purpose of this study is to explore children's theories about the rules of human language, and the potential impact of literacy. For example, young children may learn that pauses can separate a spoken sentence into words, and then in school, be taught that written words are separated by spaces. Natural language is messy and full of exceptions, so how do children adapt if both sets of rules contradict each other? Answering this question will allow us to gain insight into children’s understanding of the possibilities of human language.

20 minutes

You will receive a code for a $5 Amazon.com gift card within 1 week of the scheduled Zoom call. Your child must meet the eligibility criteria and should be visible during the study to be eligible for compensation. Each child can only participate in this study once.