Facilitating idiom acquisition in children with communication disorders: computer vs classroom

Abstract

This study compared two methods for training idiom acquisition in children with communication disorders. Eight idioms were trained using a computer program in individual withdrawal sessions and eight idioms were trained using a classroom-based intervention model. Results indicate that both methods resulted in significant gains for explaining idioms presented in context. The classroom-based approach was significantly more successful than the computer-based instruction for explaining idioms tested in isolation. Gains in idiom acquisition did not generalize to untrained idioms suggesting that idioms should be taught directly.