Do Repeating children’s stories boost their vocabulary?

According to academics, children who demand the same story be read over and over may learn more than those who choose a different tale every time. Research at the University of Sussex found that repetition in reading storybooks is more likely to help a child acquire a broader vocabulary.

Psychologist Dr Jessica Horst and her team devised an experiment in which three-year-olds were exposed to two new words. Over a week, one group heard three different stories with the exact original words.

Another group heard only one of the stories with the exact new words. When tested after a week, those who had heard just one story were much better at recalling the words than those exposed to three different stories.

The study was published in ‘Frontiers in Psychology’ on 17th February 2011.
Daily Telegraph, Monday, 21st February 2011.