A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

3.5 PRELIMINARY STUDY FOUR
This study had a number of aims. Firstly, to ascertain if the word forms (names)
or associated meanings (skills) of the 20 novel images could be deduced from
merely looking at the images alone. It also aimed to provide more data on the
learning of new word forms with new word meanings by the normal population
using a larger corpus of stimuli and participants. This study would also inform
the timing and number of stimuli to be learned by participants in the main
investigation.
3.5.1 Procedure
Two groups of 3 rd year speech and language therapy students from Queen
Margaret University College, Edinburgh participated in this study. Participants
included 63 females and two males with an age range between 19 and 46 years.
Sixty-two of these participants were native English speakers.
3.5.1.1 Initial training and assessment procedure
All twenty word forms and paired associated meanings from preliminary studies
one and two were presented for learning. The alien images were presented by
overhead projection one by one and participants were required to guess the
alien names as well as possible skills they would imagine them to possess
(responses in written form). A brief discussion describing various strategies
found to enhance the learning of new information followed this task and data
from preliminary studies one and two were employed to offer examples of
possible learning methods (see Table 3.3). Participants were then trained in the
names and skills of each creature. Each alien was presented again along with
its name and skill (both in spoken and written form). Participants were then
given a copy of the stimuli to learn the name and skill of each alien in any
manner that they wished for a period of 10 minutes. They were advised not to
consult with their peers at this stage. After 10 minutes elapsed participants were
advised to work with their peers to consolidate their learning for a further period
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