Language Development Research 302 - Trajectories of early vocabulary growth in Hebrew-speaking toddlers - The role of comprehension

Q: What question does the study address about toddlers’ vocabulary growth?

It asks whether early differences in expressive vocabulary before 16 months can serve as signals for children’s later expressive vocabulary development, and whether comprehension skills explain trajectory variation.

Q: How were children grouped in the study?

Caregivers assessed 92 toddlers three times using the Hebrew adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates CDI, and children were classified at first administration (12–16 months) as lower or higher based on earliest expressive vocabulary percentile.

Q: What did the results show about receptive skills?

Children with weaker initial receptive skills had significantly shallower expressive vocabulary growth trajectories than children with stronger comprehension, while moderate receptive delays were not informative for lower initial expressive vocabulary scores.

Sep 29, 2026

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The second year of life brings rapid expressive vocabulary growth, yet children show substantial individual differences. This study tested whether early expressive vocabulary variation identified before 16 months predicts later development. Growth trajectories from 12–24 months in Hebrew-speaking toddlers were grouped by earliest expressive vocabulary level using a Hebrew CDI adaptation. Results showed delayed expressive growth in the lower group, and weaker receptive skills produced shallower trajectories, while moderate receptive delays were less informative.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Parent Reports of Early Vocabulary

Language Development Research 302 Trajectories of early vocabulary growth in Hebrew-speaking toddlers: The role of comprehension Hila Gendler-Shalev, Ph.D. Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders University of Haifa, Israel Virginia A. Marchman, Ph.D. Department of Psychology Stanford University, USA Esther Dromi, Ph.D. Constatiner School of Education Tel Aviv University, Israel Abstract: The second year of life is characterized by rapid expressive vocabulary growth for most children, however, there is also substantial individual variation. Can variation in expressive vocabulary skill identified very early in the second year, prior to 16 months, provide useful signals about children’s later development? Here, we examined growth trajectories in expressive vocabulary from 12-24 months ofage in Hebrew-speaking children grouped according to their earliest expressive vocabulary level. Caregivers of 92 toddlers completed the Hebrew adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories: Words & Gestures three times, every few months. Children were classified at first administration (12-16 months) as either lower (n = 21, ≤ 25th percentile) or higher (n = 71, > 25th percentile) in expressive vocabulary. Trajectories of growth were significantly delayed in the lower group, compared to the higher group, but the shapes of trajectories were generally similar. Critically, children with initial weaker receptive skills (< 25th percentile) had significantly shallower growth trajectories than children with stronger comprehension skills. Moderate delays in receptive vocabulary (< 50th percentile) were not informative in predicting growth trajectories for children with lower initial expressive vocabulary scores. These results suggest that lower expressive and receptive skills defined as early as 16 months provide useful information about future expressive vocabulary growth. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. Keywords: vocabulary growth, expressive and receptive vocabulary, MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI), language development, vocabulary growth trajectories, Hebrew Corresponding author: Hila Gendler-Shalev, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders University of Haifa, Abba Khoushy Ave 199, Haifa, 3498838, [Israel. Email:](Israel. Email: hilags@welfare.haifa.ac.il)[ ](Israel. Email: hilags@welfare.haifa.ac.il)[hilags@welfare.haifa.ac.il](Israel. Email: hilags@welfare.haifa.ac.il) ORCID ID(s): Hila Gendler-Shalev: [https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3624-2522](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3624-2522); Virginia A. Marchman: [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7183-6743](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7183-6743); Esther Dromi: [https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-8396](https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-8396) [Citation:](Citation: Gendler-Shalev)[ Gendler-Shalev](Citation: Gendler-Shalev), H., Marchman, A.V., & Dromi, E. (2025) . Trajectories of early vocabulary growth in Hebrew-speaking toddlers: The role of comprehension. Language Development Research, 5 (3), 302–328. [http://doi.org/10.34842/ldr2025-838](http://doi.org/10.34842/ldr2025-838) Volume 5, Issue 3 Language Development Research 303 Introduction In the second year of life, most children undergo substantial increases in the number of words that they can say (Bates et al., 1994; Fenson et al., 1994), going from producing just a few single words to amassing an expressive vocabulary of several hundred words1 (Frank et al., 2021) . However, there is also considerable variability across children in when and how quickly their expressive vocabulary grows. Some children begin to produce their first words around their first birthday and quickly expand their vocabularies over the next several months. Other children, often referred to as “late talkers”(LT) (Fisher, 2017; Rescorla & Dale, 2013), may not do so until months later and may experience delays in vocabulary development that persist throughout

FAQs

What question does the study address about toddlers’ vocabulary growth?

It asks whether early differences in expressive vocabulary before 16 months can serve as signals for children’s later expressive vocabulary development, and whether comprehension skills explain trajectory variation.

How were children grouped in the study?

Caregivers assessed 92 toddlers three times using the Hebrew adaptation of the MacArthur-Bates CDI, and children were classified at first administration (12–16 months) as lower or higher based on earliest expressive vocabulary percentile.

What did the results show about receptive skills?

Children with weaker initial receptive skills had significantly shallower expressive vocabulary growth trajectories than children with stronger comprehension, while moderate receptive delays were not informative for lower initial expressive vocabulary scores.

Sep 29, 2026

Upload by Grenda