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Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Sep 2022Children's early language knowledge-typically assessed using standardized word comprehension tests or through parental reports-has been positively linked to a variety of...
Children's early language knowledge-typically assessed using standardized word comprehension tests or through parental reports-has been positively linked to a variety of later outcomes, from reasoning tests to academic performance to income and health. To better understand the mechanisms behind these links, we examined whether knowledge of certain "seed words"-words with high inductive potential-is positively associated with inductive reasoning. This hypothesis stems from prior work on the effects of language on categorization suggesting that certain words may be important for helping people to deploy categorical hypotheses. Using a longitudinal design, we assessed 36 2- to 4-year-old children's knowledge of 333 words of varying levels of generality (e.g., toy vs. pinwheel, number vs. five). We predicted that adjusting for overall vocabulary, knowledge of more general words (e.g., toy, number) would predict children's performance on inductive reasoning tasks administered 6 months later (i.e., a subset of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales for Early Childhood-Fifth Edition [SB-5] and Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities [WJ] concept formation tasks). This prediction was confirmed for one of the measures of inductive reasoning (i.e., the SB-5 but not the WJ) and notably for the task considered to be less reliant on language. Although our experimental design demonstrates only a correlational relationship between seed word knowledge and inductive reasoning ability, our results are consistent with the possibility that early knowledge of certain seed words facilitates performance on putatively nonverbal reasoning tasks.
Topics: Child; Child Language; Child, Preschool; Humans; Language; Language Development; Language Tests; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35550281
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105449 -
Cognitive Science Feb 2022Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) served as a test case for determining the role of extant vocabulary knowledge, endogenous attention, and phonological...
Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) served as a test case for determining the role of extant vocabulary knowledge, endogenous attention, and phonological working memory abilities in cross-situational word learning. First-graders (M = 7 years; 3 months), 44 with typical development (TD) and 28 with DLD, completed a cross-situational word-learning task comprised six cycles, followed by retention tests and independent assessments of attention, memory, and vocabulary. Children with DLD scored lower than those with TD on all measures of learning and retention, a performance gap that emerged in the first cycle of the cross-situational protocol and that we attribute to weaknesses in initial encoding. Over cycles, children with DLD learned words at a similar rate as their TD peers but they were less flexible in their strategy use, demonstrating a propose-but-verify approach but never a statistical aggregation approach. Also, they drew upon different mechanisms to support their learning. Attention played a greater role for the children with DLD, whereas extant vocabulary size played a greater role for the children with TD. Children navigate the problem space of cross-situational learning via varied routes. This conclusion is offered as motivation for theorists to capture all learners, not just the most typical ones.
Topics: Child; Humans; Language Development Disorders; Language Tests; Learning; Linguistics; Verbal Learning; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35122309
DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13094 -
PloS One 2023Despite the increasing interest in learning non-alphabetical languages such as Chinese, research about its learning process for alphabet users is scarce. Research...
Despite the increasing interest in learning non-alphabetical languages such as Chinese, research about its learning process for alphabet users is scarce. Research conducted on Latin alphabet users on learning languages written in Latin alphabet, or on Chinese language learning in Chinese native speakers, users is undoubtedly useful but it does not inform about the peculiarities of leaning Chinese language by other alphabet users. Additionally, several authors have highlighted the need to inform and extend the current second language acquisition theories on the particular challenges of learning a language that uses another script. In this research we aim to contribute filling this research gap and studied the learning process of Chinese vocabulary by users of scripts different from Chinese. In particular, we examined the role of pictures and translations as learning aids for Chinese language vocabulary learning in participants familiarized with either one or two alphabetical scripts (different from the Chinese logographic script). One hundred thirteen participants studied word-aid pairs in different conditions: Hanzi (Chinese in Chinese characters)-picture; Pinyin (Chinese in Latin alphabet)-picture; Hanzi-translation; Pinyin-translation. Participants evaluated the future recallability of the words and their meanings (i.e., judgements of learning) and completed two recognition tests. Words in Pinyin and words-translation pairs were judged to be easier to remember than Hanzi and word-pictures pairs. Participants remembered the meaning of words written in Hanzi better than in Pinyin, and word-translations pairs better than pictures, but they were more confident about word-picture pairs. These results suggest that pictures boost confidence in learning Chinese, but do not affect performance. These findings suggest that while pictures may boost confidence in learning Chinese, they may not necessarily lead to better performance. Our study provides valuable insights into the interaction of learning aids and writing system in (meta)memory during vocabulary acquisition.
Topics: Humans; Vocabulary; Metacognition; Colombia; Language; Learning
PubMed: 37917634
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286824 -
Sante Mentale Au Quebec 2020Introduction Public Service Interpreting (PSI) is gradually becoming part of Quebec society. The institutional and organizational mechanisms designed to provide a... (Review)
Review
Introduction Public Service Interpreting (PSI) is gradually becoming part of Quebec society. The institutional and organizational mechanisms designed to provide a framework for this interpretative practice are not yet generalized to all public services in the province, and where they are, many challenges remain. Objective The objective of the study was to provide stakeholders working in the mental health sector with practical strategies to foster collaboration with public service interpreters. Methodology A critical reading of the literature (narrative review) was carried out with the objective of offering a new perspective on the already existing object of study. Because it offers a critical synthesis of key information in the field, this method is particularly well suited to the needs of the reader who is not up to date with advances in the field. Results This critical reading first made it possible to identify two general challenges concerning mental health practitioners called upon to collaborate with public service interpreters: the recognition of the interpreter's role and the acknowledgement of the diversity of communicative situations likely to foster their collaboration. This paper presents seven interprofessional collaboration strategies that mental health practitioners can apply to meet these challenges: 1) using vocabulary drawn from the public service interpreter Positioning and Postures Typologies; 2) obtaining information to be transmitted in the interpreting assignment; 3) allocating time for briefings and 4) for debriefings; 5) encouraging the interpreter's presentation; 6) framing small and big talk; and 7) promoting the continuity of care. Discussion The present study offers a new perspective on some of the distinctive tensions in the PSI domain. The 7 proposed collaboration strategies are a response to these and aim to improve the quality of intercultural communication and services offered to users by promoting knowledge transfer. They are specifically addressed to knowledge users, take their practices into account and are explained using non-specific terms.
Topics: Allied Health Personnel; Communication; Continuity of Patient Care; Cooperative Behavior; Humans; Information Dissemination; Interprofessional Relations; Mental Health Services; Psychosocial Intervention; Public Sector; Quebec; Stakeholder Participation; Time Factors; Translating; Vocabulary
PubMed: 33651931
DOI: No ID Found -
PloS One 2019The mature lexicon encodes semantic relations between words, and these connections can alternately facilitate and interfere with language processing. We explore the...
The mature lexicon encodes semantic relations between words, and these connections can alternately facilitate and interfere with language processing. We explore the emergence of these processing dynamics in 18-month-olds (N = 79) using a novel approach that calculates individualized semantic structure at multiple granularities in participants' productive vocabularies. Participants completed two interleaved eye-tracked word recognition tasks involving semantically unrelated and related picture contexts, which sought to measure the impact of lexical facilitation and interference on processing, respectively. Semantic structure and vocabulary size differentially impacted processing in each task. Category level structure facilitated word recognition in 18-month-olds with smaller productive vocabularies, while overall lexical connectivity interfered with word recognition for toddlers with relatively larger vocabularies. The results suggest that, while semantic structure at multiple granularities is measurable even in small lexicons, mechanisms of semantic interference and facilitation are driven by the development of structure at different granularities. We consider these findings in light of accounts of adult word recognition that posits that different levels of structure index strong and weak activation from nearby and distant semantic neighbors. We also consider further directions for developmental change in these patterns.
Topics: Female; Humans; Infant; Language; Language Development; Male; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Recognition, Psychology; Semantics; Vocabulary
PubMed: 31295282
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219290 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Nov 2020Purpose This study compared perception of consonants in medial position by preschoolers, with and without speech sound disorder (SSD), with similar vocabulary and...
Purpose This study compared perception of consonants in medial position by preschoolers, with and without speech sound disorder (SSD), with similar vocabulary and language skills. In addition, we investigated the association between speech perception and production skills. Method Participants were 36 monolingual English-speaking children with similar vocabulary and language skills, half with SSD and half with typical speech and language development (TD). Participants completed a speech perception task targeting phonemes /p, k, s, ɹ/ in /aCa/ disyllables and a comprehensive battery of speech and language measures. Results Children with SSD were significantly less accurate in perceiving speech sound distinctions relative to peers with TD. The phoneme /p/ was perceived significantly more accurately than the three other target phonemes. The correlation between overall perceptual accuracy and overall production accuracy was significant. Furthermore, perceptual accuracy of targets /k, s, ɹ/ was significantly correlated with production accuracy of these phonemes. Conclusions Many children with SSD have greater difficulty perceiving the specific speech sounds they misarticulate. Nonetheless, most children with SSD present with broader perceptual difficulties than peers with TD with similar vocabulary and language skills.
Topics: Child; Humans; Phonetics; Speech; Speech Perception; Speech Sound Disorder; Vocabulary
PubMed: 32976079
DOI: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-20-00146 -
Infant Behavior & Development Nov 2022A growing body of research has examined how children's self-regulation during early and middle childhood mediates SES disparities in academic achievement. Evidence...
A growing body of research has examined how children's self-regulation during early and middle childhood mediates SES disparities in academic achievement. Evidence suggests that these self-regulation skills begin developing even earlier, during the toddler years, but more work is needed examining how different measures of self-regulation relate to key constructs such as socioeconomic status (SES) and toddlers' pre-academic skills. In this online study, we examine multiple approaches to measuring self-regulation using confirmatory factor analyses and assess the extent to which self-regulatory skills help explain SES differences in early math and language skills among a sample of 158 two- and three-year-old children. Self-regulation was assessed through a battery of parent- and examiner-ratings. Children's counting, cardinality, and vocabulary skills were measured online through direct assessments and parent surveys. Two self-regulation factors emerged representing parent-reported and observational measures, and only observational measures of self-regulation mediated associations between SES and children's math and language skills. Parent-reported self-regulation was not uniquely related to SES or children's pre-academic skills, underscoring the need for careful consideration of how self-regulation is measured among toddlers when examining its associations with pre-academic skills.
Topics: Child; Child, Preschool; Humans; Parent-Child Relations; Vocabulary; Mathematics; Parents; Social Class
PubMed: 36274356
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101779 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Jun 2022Measuring the growth of young children's vocabulary is important for researchers seeking to understand language learning as well as for clinicians aiming to identify...
PURPOSE
Measuring the growth of young children's vocabulary is important for researchers seeking to understand language learning as well as for clinicians aiming to identify early deficits. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are parent report instruments that offer a reliable and valid method for measuring early productive and receptive vocabulary across a number of languages. CDI forms typically include hundreds of words, however, and so the burden of completion is significant. We address this limitation by building on previous work using item response theory (IRT) models to create computer adaptive test (CAT) versions of the CDIs. We created CDI-CATs for both comprehension and production vocabulary, for both American English and Mexican Spanish.
METHOD
Using a data set of 7,633 English-speaking children ages 12-36 months and 1,692 Spanish-speaking children ages 12-30 months, across three CDI forms (Words & Gestures, Words & Sentences, and CDI-III), we found that a 2-parameter logistic IRT model fits well for a majority of the 680 pooled vocabulary items. We conducted CAT simulations on this data set, assessing simulated tests of varying length (25-400 items).
RESULTS
Even very short CATs recovered participant abilities very well with little bias across ages. An empirical validation study with = 204 children ages 15-36 months showed a correlation of = .92 between language ability estimated from full CDI versus CDI-CAT forms.
CONCLUSION
We provide our item bank along with fitted parameters and other details, offer recommendations for how to construct CDI-CATs in new languages, and suggest when this type of assessment may or may not be appropriate.
Topics: Child Language; Child, Preschool; Humans; Infant; Internet; Language; Language Development; Language Tests; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35658517
DOI: 10.1044/2022_JSLHR-21-00372 -
Journal of Speech, Language, and... Mar 2022Language abilities have long been thought to be weaker in adults who stutter (AWS) compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS). However, it is unknown whether modality...
PURPOSE
Language abilities have long been thought to be weaker in adults who stutter (AWS) compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS). However, it is unknown whether modality affects language performance by AWS in time pressure situations. This study aimed to examine lexical access and retrieval abilities of AWS in oral and typed modes.
METHOD
Fifteen AWS and 15 well-matched AWNS completed computer-administered letter fluency tasks. Adults were asked to orally produce words that began with one of two letter targets and type words that began with one of two alternate letters. Conditions were counterbalanced across participants.
RESULTS
Generalized linear mixed-effects models were evaluated to determine the effects of group (AWS/AWNS), mode (oral/typed), and expressive vocabulary on letter fluency performance. Group predicted letter fluency such that AWS generated fewer items on both the oral and typed letter fluency tasks. Mode did not impact letter fluency results. Expressive Vocabulary Test scores predicted letter fluency similarly in both AWS and AWNS.
CONCLUSIONS
AWS were not penalized by oral task demands. AWS generated fewer items on the letter fluency tasks regardless of response mode, suggesting that they have weaker lexical access abilities. Furthermore, better expressive vocabulary skills were associated with better letter fluency performance in both groups.
Topics: Adult; Cognition; Humans; Language; Language Tests; Stuttering; Vocabulary
PubMed: 35133869
DOI: 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-21-00344 -
Neuropsychologia Dec 2023Most research on the neurostructural basis of language abilities in children stems from small samples and surface-based measures. To complement and expand the existent...
Most research on the neurostructural basis of language abilities in children stems from small samples and surface-based measures. To complement and expand the existent knowledge, we investigated associations between grey matter volume and language performance in a large sample of 9-to-11-year-old children, using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study (N = 1865) and an alternative measure of grey matter morphology. We estimated whole-brain grey matter volume for one half of the sample (N = 939) and tested for correlations with scores on a picture vocabulary and a letter and word reading test, with and without factoring in general intelligence and total grey matter volume as additional covariates. The initial analyses yielded correlations between grey matter in the right occipital fusiform gyrus, the right lingual gyrus, and the cerebellum for both vocabulary and reading. Employing the significant clusters from the first analyses as regions of interest in the second half of the cohort (N = 926) in correlational and multiple regression analyses suggests the cluster in the right occipital fusiform and lingual gyri to be most robust. Overall, the amount of variance explained by grey matter volume is limited and factoring in additional covariates paints an inconsistent picture. The present findings reinforce existent doubt with respect to explaining individual differences in reading and vocabulary performance based on unique contributions of macrostructural brain features.
Topics: Child; Adolescent; Humans; Gray Matter; Vocabulary; Reading; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Language
PubMed: 37939873
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108719