What does fast mapping involve?

Fast mapping is a cognitive process that allows individuals, especially young children, to quickly infer the meanings of new words based on the context in which they are encountered. This process usually occurs when a learner hears a new word alongside familiar concepts or objects, enabling them to assign a meaning to the word after just a few exposures. The effectiveness of fast mapping is influenced by contextual clues provided by the surrounding language or the situation during the learning process. Thus, the ability to guess a word's meaning using context clues is a fundamental aspect of how language acquisition occurs in early childhood and contributes to vocabulary growth.