Applied Psycholinguistics最新文献

Continuous speech presents a challenge to the ab initio learner, as the language-specific segmentation strategies they use in their first language are not always reliable cues in other languages (Cutler 2001 International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting, 5(1), 1-23). Yet, they are able to use more general acoustic, prosodic, and statistical cues to word boundaries, as well as lexical similarity to their first language (e.g., Shoemaker & Rast 2013. Second Language Research, 29(2), 165-183) to recognize words at first exposure to a new language. In the current study, we investigated whether adult ab initio learners' ability to recognize words after brief exposure to continuous speech in a new language is improved when that speech is produced using an infant-directed register, a style of speech found to facilitate segmentation in infancy (Thiessen et al. 2005. Infancy 7(1), 53-71). In a series of experiments, we demonstrate that although English ab initio learners of German benefited from infant-directed speech, their performance was generally lower than in previous studies unless task demands were reduced. These learners also benefited from word length and from frequency of occurrence, as has been shown previously, but these did not interact with register. As in infancy, learner-directed speech registers appear to facilitate initial processing and recognition in adult ab initio learners.

How do sensory experiences shape the words we learn first? Most studies of language have focused on hearing children learning spoken languages, making it challenging to know how sound and language modality might contribute to language learning. This study investigates how perceptual and semantic features influence early vocabulary acquisition in deaf children learning American Sign Language and hearing children learning spoken English. Using vocabulary data from parent-report inventories, we analyzed 214 nouns common to both languages to compare the types of meanings associated with earlier Age of Acquisition. Results revealed that while children in both groups were earlier to acquire words that were more strongly related to the senses, the specific types of sensory meaning varied by language modality. Hearing children learned words with sound-related features earlier than other words, while deaf children learned words with visual and touch-related features earlier. This suggests that the easiest words to learn are words with meanings that children can experience first-hand, which varies based on children's own sensory access and experience. Studying the diverse ways children acquire language, in this case deaf children, is key to developing language learning theories that reflect all learners.

This paper examined the interaction between narrative performance, language exposure, and standardized measures of morphosyntax and semantics, in bilingual children tested two times, 1 year apart. We aimed to 1) identify the factor structure of oral narrative measures, and 2) examine the direction and strength of the effects of (i) language exposure and (ii) the relationship between language domains and narrative production. A total of 143 Spanish (L1)-English (L2) bilingual children completed a battery of oral narrative and oral language proficiency assessments in Spanish and English at two time points (kindergarten and Grade 1). Factor analyses yielded an identical two-factor structure of bilingual oral narrative measurements, namely productivity (word production) and complexity (sentence structure), in both Spanish and English across the two time points. Cross-lagged analysis showed that narrative production predicted semantics and morphosyntax performance in Spanish and English one year later. Cross-language transfer from L1 to L2 on the complexity of narrative was noted. Language exposure predicted only Spanish narrative production, but not English. These results suggest within- and cross-language transfer, highlighting the importance of L1 language development. In addition, current findings highlight the importance of language exposure for L1 in early school-age children.