A Systematic Review of Emergent Learning Outcomes Produced by Foreign language Tact Training

Wooderson et al. (2022) looked at every paper that taught foreign-language tacts. They pulled data from 37 learners across the studies. The team asked one question: does naming objects in a new language create other untaught skills?

Kids hit mastery on 79% of foreign tact tests. More important, foreign tact training sparked far more emergent responses than teaching foreign intraverbals or listener tasks. Naming first, then other skills follow.

Matter et al. (2020) already showed single foreign tact sets beat mixed drills for preschoolers. Wooderson’s big picture adds 32 more learners and says the same: start with tacts.

Cortez et al. (2025) push the idea further. They proved high-preference pictures speed up foreign tact mastery and emergent intraverbals. Wooderson’s review now confirms preference as a key variable across studies.

Hu et al. (2023) flipped the order. They taught English mands to Mandarin-speaking preschoolers with autism and still saw untaught tacts pop out. Wooderson’s data say tact-first is stronger, yet Hu shows mand-first can also work when clinicians probe for emergent skills.

If you want generative language in a second language, begin with tact training. Pick pictures the learner loves, name them in the new language, then probe for listener and intraverbal gains before you teach them separately. This saves hours of direct instruction and keeps sessions fun.