# Effects of Face Masks  on Word Learning in Preschool-Age Children

> **NIH NIH R01** · RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER · 2022 · $229,956

## Abstract

Project Summary
Children’s ability to understand and learn from spoken language declines when speech quality is low. This can
be particularly problematic during the preschool years, a time when children’s sole source of vocabulary is
through spoken language and when children build foundational vocabulary knowledge that is essential for future
reading and academic achievement. The use of face masks in educational settings, including preschools, to
mitigate the spread of COVID-19 introduces a barrier to the high-fidelity speech input that children need.
Specifically, face masks acoustically filter speech by limiting access to high frequency speech sounds necessary
for accurate speech perception (e.g., the /ch/ and /s/ in the word “cheese”). Furthermore, some face masks limit
access to visual speech cues. Although preschool children are frequently tasked with resolving degraded speech
due to background noise in their naturalistic environments, their speech perception is less resilient than that of
older children to these manipulations. A robust literature demonstrates that degraded speech both disrupts the
recognition of spoken words as well as taxes cognitive processes, such as attention and working memory, that
are fundamental to word learning. Thus, chronic exposure to talkers who use face masks may create a barrier
to vocabulary development in preschool-age children, which may lead to negative downstream consequences
on their future language development. The purpose of the present study is to test the effect of face masks on
word learning in preschool-age children. We hypothesize that reduced access to the acoustic and visual
components of speech due to mask use by the target talker will result in poorer word learning. To test this
hypothesis, children between 4 and 6 years of age will be taught words across conditions that vary in both the
acoustic fidelity of the speech signal (Aim 1.1) and access to visual speech cues based on mask use by a target
talker (Aim 1.2). Although the availability of clear masks allows access to visual speech cues, they can cause
greater acoustic filtering. To test the potential trade-off between acoustic fidelity and availability of visual speech
cues, we will also test the effect of mask type (Aim 1.3): we will compare children’s word learning between a
disposable medical mask that has moderate acoustic filtering but limits access to visual speech cues and a
ClearMask® that has significant acoustic filtering but provides access to visual speech cues. Finally, we will
determine the extent to which individual factors, such as vocabulary size and verbal working memory skills,
influence children’s performance across these conditions (Aim 2). Through accomplishing these aims, we will
determine how face masks affect word learning in preschool-age children and will identify which children are
most at risk for poor vocabulary development when face masks are used. More broadly, the results will show
how disrupted access to...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10508012
- **Project number:** 3R01HD100439-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** TINA M GRIECO-CALUB
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $229,956
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-09 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10508012

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10508012, Effects of Face Masks  on Word Learning in Preschool-Age Children (3R01HD100439-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10508012. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*