Early language learning. A bibliometric analysis of the most influential articles (2010-2022)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyse the evolution of research on language learning at early ages within the main collection of the Web of Science (2010 to 2022) and Scopus (2010 to 2022). To this end, a bibliometric study has been developed taking into consideration the following indicators: diachronic, geographical, authors and source productions. At the same time, an analysis of the structural development of the topics has been carried out on a sample of references from combined searches. The analyses carried out determine an exponential growth pattern in the scientific literature on early language and learning over the last two decades (2010-2022), a period that covers 87.2% of the current scientific production. In relation to the evolution of topics in the field, it is observed that current lines of research are focusing mainly on the results obtained in two areas: (1) Neu- rosciences and Speech Pathologies and (2) Psychology, Social Sciences and Technology, where the value of A/Y where higher, which indicates that both areas are the ones that have the greatest influence over time.