The ability to learn and recall information when it is needed is essential for virtually every human activity, so it is important to develop a better understanding concerning how young children differ in this capacity compared to older children when formulating interventions to facilitate this process (Silva & Britto, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of the relevant literature concerning these issues as well as what interventions have been proven effective in improving memory recall in different age cohorts. Finally, the paper provides a summary of the review of the literature and key findings concerning how young children differ from older children in their ability to recall information in the conclusion. How do young children differ from older children in the ability to recall information?

On the one hand, the world in which very young children live is one of magic and wonder, and countless novel events occur that are especially memorable and which contribute to the memory-making process. On the other hand, though, very young children differ in their ability to recall specific information versus older children since their mental lexicon remains comparatively undeveloped. In this regard, Silva and Britto (2014) note that, “The human holds a mental lexicon, and this is accessed when there the desire to represent, by words, an object, an action, an attribute, an event. The learning of words and how to use them accordingly is a fundamental aspect of the language development” (p. 1654).

What interventions work to improve memory recall in different populations?

There is a general consensus among language development researchers that additional studies are needed to determine with more specificity the manner in which infants develop language. In this regard, Howell (2011) reports that, “We do not fully understand the interaction of mother and infant somatic and visceral processes gives the infant a means of expression and access to the other anticipatory motor-images and feelings and permits direct motive-to...

138). What is known for certain, though, is that the earlier language development interventions are implemented (i.e., as early as 11 months of age), the more benefits infants receive from them (Moeller, 2000).
Nevertheless, what is also known for certain is that one of the more remarkable aspects of the human condition is the ability of infants to interact with their mothers from birth using what is termed protoconversations that are comprised of “baby talk” such as babbling and other vocalizations (Crestani, Moraes & de Souza, 2015). Therefore, interventions that are designed to promote protoconversations can facilitate memory recall in even very young babies. In this regard, Crestani and her associates report that, ”[P]roto-conversation is an element generating disjunctive and conjunctive mechanisms in mother-infant dialogues, that will be instrumental in rearing the baby in and by the language whose first evidence is the baby’s early lexical production” (p. 169).

Interventions that are designed to improve memory recall in young children are important because this knowledge is a prerequisite for developing effective listening, speaking, writing and reading skills (Huey & Swinehart, 2015). It is important to note, however, that various interventions have fundamentally different objectives such as improving academic performance or interpersonal communication abilities (Huey & Swinehart, 2015). Providing the optimal intervention means that some children may require nontraditional instructions (Huey & Swinehart, 2015).

Although it is regarded as being nontraditional, an effective intervention that can be used to improve recall of vocabulary words with children is to incorporate various imagery strategies. For instance, according to Huey and Swinehart (2015), “Imagery helps when learning verbal definitions and when associating new words with existing concepts” (p. 46). A growing body of evidence confirms that there is an inextricable link…