Factors that influence comprehension of connectives among language minority children from Spanish-speaking backgrounds

from Applied Psycholinguistics

This study explores factors influencing the degree to which language minority (LM) children from Spanish-dominant homes understand how connectives, such as in contrast and because, signal relationships between text propositions. Standardized tasks of vocabulary, listening comprehension, word reading, and a researcher-designed text cohesion task were administered to 90 fourth-grade LM students. Understanding of connectives was influenced by vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. The degree of challenge that specific connectives posed to LM students was predicted by the difficulty that connectives presented as vocabulary items and also by the type of semantic relationship between clauses they signaled. The findings point to factors that may present sources of difficulty underlying reading comprehension, in particular the critical role of oral language competencies.

How does home language influence early spellings? Phonologically plausible errors of diglossic Malay children

from Applied Psycholinguistics

Diglossia, or the use of two forms of a language in a single speech community, is widespread. Differences between the nonstandard form, used for everyday conversations, and the standard form, used for formal occasions and writing, often extend to phonology as well as grammar and vocabulary. Most preschoolers from diglossic families are routinely exposed to the colloquial nonstandard form during conversations at home because the social setting determines the form their parents use. If early spellings are speech based, exposure to nonstandard phonology should influence the kinds of errors diglossic children make. We investigated this prediction in Rumi Malay that, unlike English, has unambiguous phonology–orthography mappings. For Study 1, two spelling tests (51 words, 26 nonwords) were dictated with standard Malay pronunciation. For words, but not nonwords, the diglossic Singaporean children (N = 52, mean age = 6.5 years) made vowel errors that are consistent with the nonstandard Malay pronunciation they use at home. Study 2 confirmed that these errors are rare for equally proficient Malay spellers from Indonesia who speak standard Malay at home. These results are interpreted as strong evidence for the view that beginners’ spellings are based on phonological redintegration of their own speech-based representations.

Is overt repetition critical to expressive word learning? The role of overt repetition in word learning with and without semantics

from Applied Psycholinguistics

Five experiments examined whether overt repetition (i.e., saying a word aloud) during exposure is critical to the expressive learning of new words. When participants did not engage in overt repetition during exposure, they nevertheless exhibited clear expressive learning, both with and without an accompanying semantics, indicating that overt repetition is not critical to expressive word learning. In addition, learning without overt repetition did not differ from learning with overt repetition, suggesting that overt repetition confers no benefit for learning in this situation. These results are discussed in relation to previous studies, and it is suggested that benefits of repetition may accrue primarily in second language rather than in first language word learning.

Is second language lexical access prosodically constrained? Processing of word stress by French Canadian second language learners of English

from Applied Psycholinguistics

The objectives of this study are (a) to determine if native speakers of Canadian French at different English proficiencies can use primary stress for recognizing English words and (b) to specify how the second language (L2) learners’ (surface-level) knowledge of L2 stress placement influences their use of primary stress in L2 word recognition. Two experiments were conducted: a cross-modal word-identification task investigating (a) and a vocabulary production task investigating (b). The results show that several L2 learners can use primary stress for recognizing English words, but only the L2 learners with targetlike knowledge of stress placement can do so. The results also indicate that knowing where primary stress falls in English words is not sufficient for L2 learners to be able to use stress for L2 lexical access. This suggests that the problem that L2 word stress poses for many native speakers of (Canadian) French is at the level of lexical processing.

The acquisition of tense in English: Distinguishing child second language from first language and specific language impairment

from Applied Psycholinguistics

This study reports on a comparison of the use and knowledge of tense-marking morphemes in English by first language (L1), second language (L2), and specific language impairment (SLI) children. The objective of our research was to ascertain whether the L2 children’s tense acquisition patterns were similar or dissimilar to those of the L1 and SLI groups, and whether they would fit an (extended) optional infinitive profile, or an L2-based profile, for example, the missing surface inflection hypothesis. Results showed that the L2 children had a unique profile compared with their monolingual peers, which was better characterized by the missing surface inflection hypothesis. At the same time, results reinforce the assumption underlying the (extended) optional infinitive profile that internal constraints on the acquisition of tense could be a component of L1 development, with and without SLI.

Verbal, visual, and spatial working memory demands during text composition

from Applied Psycholinguistics

Two experiments examined whether text composition engages verbal, visual, and spatial working memory to different degrees. In Experiment 1, undergraduate students composed by longhand a persuasive text while performing a verbal, visual, or spatial concurrent task that was presented visually. In Experiment 2, participants performed a verbal or spatial concurrent task that was aurally presented. Writing performance was not disrupted differentially across the three tasks. Performance on all concurrent tasks showed fewer correct responses and longer RTs relative to single-task, baseline data. However, the demands on visual working memory were as high as those on verbal working memory, whereas demands on spatial working memory were minimal. The findings help to delineate the roles of the verbal, visual, and spatial working memory in written composition.

The cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) and chloride-dependent ion fluxes of ovine vocal fold epithelium

from the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Purpose: Ion-driven transepithelial water fluxes participate in maintaining superficial vocal fold hydration which is necessary for normal voice production. We hypothesized that Cl- channels are present in vocal fold epithelial cells and that transepithelial Cl- fluxes can be manipulated pharmacologically.

Methods: Immunohistochemical assays were used to identify cystic fibrosis transmembrane regulator (CFTR) Cl- channels in ovine vocal fold mucosae (n = 2). Electrophysiological responses of vocal fold mucosae (n = 80) to Cl- channel inhibitors and secretagogues were evaluated in an ovine model using a randomized controlled experimental design.

Results: CFTR were localized to the plasma membranes of epithelial cells. The Cl- transport inhibitor, diphenylamine-2-carboxylate (DPC), elicited a 30% decrease in mean short-circuit current (Isc; n = 10). The secretagogue, isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX), yielded a 31.7% increase in mean Isc (n = 10). Another secretagogue, uridine triphosphate (UTP), elicited a 48.8% immediate and 17.3% sustained increase in mean Isc (n = 10). No sustained increases occurred following application of secretagogues to mucosae bathed in a low Cl- environment (n = 10) suggesting that responses were Cl–dependent.

Conclusions: We provide structural and functional evidence for the presence of a transepithelial pathway for Cl- fluxes. Pharmacological manipulation of this pathway may offer a mechanism for maintaining superficial vocal fold hydration.

The effect of temporal gap identification on speech perception by users of cochlear implants

from the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research

Purpose: This study examined the ability of listeners using cochlear implants (CIs) and listeners with normal-hearing (NH) to identify silent gaps of different duration, and the relation of this ability to speech understanding in CI users.

Method: Sixteen NH adults and eleven postlingually deafened adults with CIs identified synthetic vowel-like stimuli that were either continuous or contained an intervening silent gap ranging from 15 to 90 ms. Cumulative d’, an index of discriminability, was calculated for each participant. Consonant and CNC word identification tasks were administered to the CI group.

Results: Overall, the ability to identify stimuli with gaps of different duration was better for the NH group than for the CI group. Seven CI users had cumulative d’ scores that were no higher than those of any NH listener, and their CNC word scores ranged from 0 to 30%. The other four CI users had cumulative d’ scores within the range of the NH group, and their CNC word scores ranged from 46% to 68%. For the CI group, cumulative d’ scores were significantly correlated with their speech testing scores.

Conclusions: The ability to identify silent gap duration may help explain individual differences in speech perception by CI users.

Examining Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis as One of the Main Views on the Relationship Between Language and Thought

from the Journal of Psycholinguistic Research

Abstract One of those features that set human societies apart from animal societies is the use of language. Language is a vital part of every human culture and is a powerful social tool that we master at an early age. A second feature of humans is our ability to solve complex problems. For centuries philosophers have questioned whether these two abilities are related and, if so, what the nature of the relationship between language and thought is. At the beginning of the last century psychologists joined this debate and it is a topic that is currently generating a lot of research. Another factor in the study of language and thought is the role of culture. When we study a language from another country we see that it is not just the words and grammar that are different but the customs and traditions as well. Even the ideas of that culture and the way of dealing with life can be different. There are a number of views on the nature of the relationship between language and thought. But here we are going to explore one of those views, the linguistic relativity hypothesis (LRH), concerning that the language a speaker uses influences the way the speaker thinks.

Unlocking The Brain After Stroke

from Medical News Today.com

University of Queensland research is set to unlock the regions of the brain central to successful language treatment following a stroke.

Speech pathologist Dr David Copland, from UQ’s Centre for Clinical Research, hopes to launch the first large-scale study of its type in the world.

CA and SCT: strange bedfellows or useful partners for understanding classroom interactions?

from Discourse Studies

Understanding classroom interactions is a complex process. This article explores what conversation analysis (CA) and sociocultural theory of learning (SCT) can contribute to that process. The exploration is carried out through analyses of interactions between Brian, a five-year-old boy, and Ms Nikora, his teacher, during a nine-hour social studies curriculum unit in a New Zealand classroom. CA and SCT may appear to be strange bedfellows, in that the former concerns itself with language use (how participants organize and manage conversations), while the latter concerns itself with language as mediation (how learning occurs), but they turn out to be useful partners. The analyses reveal at least three perspectives from which participants need to be understanding what is going on in classroom interactions in order to participate in them appropriately and learn through them: how people organize conversations, institutional talk, and how teachers and learners jointly construct learning opportunities.

Cutting edge discussion on age-related hearing loss

from EurekAlert.org

Leading experts in the study of hair cells and hearing loss will discuss state-of-the art developments in determining the genetic and environmental factors that cause Age-Related Hearing Impairment (ARHI) at the 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO, in Chicago, IL.

New tool to assess speech development in infants, toddlers with hearing impairments

from EurekAlert.org

The number of hearing impaired infants and toddlers who are successfully aided by technological devices, such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, continues to grow, but there are still unknowns about these children’s speaking abilities, according to a Purdue University expert.

Un-total recall: Amnesics remember grammar, but not meaning of new sentences

from EurekAlert.org

Syntactic persistence is the tendency for speakers to produce sentences using similar grammatical patterns and rules of language as those they have used before. Although the way this occurs is not well understood, previous research has indicated that this effect may involve a specific aspect of memory function. Memory is made up of two components: declarative and procedural. Declarative memory is used in remembering events and facts. Procedural memory helps us to remember how to perform tasks, such as playing the piano or riding a bike. A recent study suggests that the common phrase, “it’s so easy, it’s like riding a bike” should perhaps be replaced with “it’s so easy, it’s like forming a sentence.”

Geriatric patients receive significant benefit from cochlear implantation

from EurekAlert.org

Despite previous inconclusive research, geriatric patients do experience significant quality of life improvement (QOL) after receiving cochlear implants for hearing loss, says new research presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Chicago, IL.