LAUSR

ABSTRACT Despite the prevalence of educational apps for children, there is little evidence of their effectiveness for learning. Here, children were asked to learn ten new words in a narrative mobile game that requires children use knowledge of word meanings to advance the game. Study 1 used a lab-based between-subjects design with middle-SES 4-year-olds and used a receptive vocabulary test to examine whether children learned the game’s words. Children who played the game answered more questions correctly than children who did not play the game. Study 2 used a within-subjects design with low-SES preschoolers who played the game four times as part of a larger classroom intervention. Children showed evidence of learning on both a receptive and an expressive vocabulary measure. The difference between pre- and post-test scores was significantly larger for target words than for five non-exposure control words. Results show that both middle-SES children in the lab and low-SES children in the classroom learned new vocabulary from an interactive mobile game, suggesting that developmentally-appropriate mobile games show promise for vocabulary learning.