Effects of training black preschool children in vocabulary versus sentence construction

Assigned 36 male and 36 black lower-class preschoolers to vocabulary training, sentence training, and control groups. Each s was tested before and after a 6-wk training period with the peabody picture vocabulary test (ppvt), a sentence imitation test (sit), and a picture interview (pi). Vocabulary training involved practice in recognizing and applying words from the ppvt and the pi. Sentence training consisted of imitating sentences similar to those in the sit and constructing new instances of the same sentence types. Analyses of variance show that vocabulary training had a positive effect on recognition and production of the words taught (p < .025), but did not transfer to sentence imitation. There were no significant effects of sentence training. Results suggest that vocabulary is more amenable to early training with disadvantaged children.