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Yang J, Nagaraj NK, Magimairaj BM. Audiovisual perception of interrupted speech by nonnative listeners. Atten Percept Psychophys 2024:10.3758/s13414-024-02909-3. [PMID: 38886302 DOI: 10.3758/s13414-024-02909-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of visual cues in audiovisual perception of interrupted speech by nonnative English listeners and to identify the role of working memory, long-term memory retrieval, and vocabulary knowledge in audiovisual perception by nonnative listeners. The participants included 31 Mandarin-speaking English learners between 19 and 41 years of age. The perceptual stimuli were noise-filled periodically interrupted AzBio and QuickSIN sentences with or without visual cues that showed a male speaker uttering the sentences. In addition to sentence recognition, the listeners completed a semantic fluency task, verbal (operation span) and visuospatial (symmetry span) working memory tasks, and two vocabulary knowledge tests (Vocabulary Level Test and Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English). The results revealed significantly better speech recognition in the audio-visual condition than the audio-only condition, but the magnitude of visual benefit was substantially attenuated for sentences that had limited semantic context. The listeners' vocabulary size in English played a key role in the restoration of missing speech information and audiovisual integration in the perception of interrupted speech. Meanwhile, the listeners' verbal working memory capacity played an important role in audiovisual integration especially for the difficult stimuli with limited semantic context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yang
- Program of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Enderis Hall 873, P.O. Box 413, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA.
| | - Naveen K Nagaraj
- Cognitive Hearing Science Lab, Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA
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2
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Tarabeh G, Taha H, Sapir S. How Arabic diglossia affects the performances on phonological working memory tasks: Research evidence among first graders. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. CHILD 2023:1-9. [PMID: 37748122 DOI: 10.1080/21622965.2023.2259036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/27/2023]
Abstract
The effect of bilingualism on verbal learning and memory was explored in different studies. Different researchers assume that the Arabic diglossia, represents a case of bilingualism in the lingual context. Hence, the current study aimed to investigate the impact of diglossia in Arabic on the phonological working memory among beginner readers. Forty-one Arabic first graders (M = 7.13, SD = .73) were administered three tasks of phonological working memory in two versions (i.e., spoken and standard language); Two tasks were designed to test verbal retrieval and one task was designed to test remembering of instructions. The participants showed significant diglossic differences between spoken and standard stimuli in verbal retrieval tasks while no such significant differences appeared in remembering of instructions' task, especially, when the processing demands increased. In addition, the findings may shed light on the importance of developing research tools and tasks with a higher level of sensitivity in order to examine the diglossic effect on memory functions in general and verbal working memory in particular. The results were discussed considering the impact of the Arabic diglossia on cognitive and memory processing skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gubair Tarabeh
- Sakhnin College for Teachers' Education, Sakhnin, Israel
- University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Haitham Taha
- Sakhnin College for Teachers' Education, Sakhnin, Israel
- The Department of Education, Western Galilee College, Akko, Israel
| | - Shimon Sapir
- Sakhnin College for Teachers' Education, Sakhnin, Israel
- University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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3
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Explaining L2 Lexical Learning in Multiple Scenarios: Cross-Situational Word Learning in L1 Mandarin L2 English Speakers. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12121618. [PMID: 36552078 PMCID: PMC9775897 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12121618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Adults commonly struggle with perceiving and recognizing the sounds and words of a second language (L2), especially when the L2 sounds do not have a counterpart in the learner's first language (L1). We examined how L1 Mandarin L2 English speakers learned pseudo English words within a cross-situational word learning (CSWL) task previously presented to monolingual English and bilingual Mandarin-English speakers. CSWL is ambiguous because participants are not provided with direct mappings of words and object referents. Rather, learners discern word-object correspondences through tracking multiple co-occurrences across learning trials. The monolinguals and bilinguals tested in previous studies showed lower performance for pseudo words that formed vowel minimal pairs (e.g., /dit/-/dɪt/) than pseudo word which formed consonant minimal pairs (e.g., /bɔn/-/pɔn/) or non-minimal pairs which differed in all segments (e.g., /bɔn/-/dit/). In contrast, L1 Mandarin L2 English listeners struggled to learn all word pairs. We explain this seemingly contradicting finding by considering the multiplicity of acoustic cues in the stimuli presented to all participant groups. Stimuli were produced in infant-directed-speech (IDS) in order to compare performance by children and adults and because previous research had shown that IDS enhances L1 and L2 acquisition. We propose that the suprasegmental pitch variation in the vowels typical of IDS stimuli might be perceived as lexical tone distinctions for tonal language speakers who cannot fully inhibit their L1 activation, resulting in high lexical competition and diminished learning during an ambiguous word learning task. Our results are in line with the Second Language Linguistic Perception (L2LP) model which proposes that fine-grained acoustic information from multiple sources and the ability to switch between language modes affects non-native phonetic and lexical development.
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4
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Heyrani R, Nejati V, Abbasi S, Hartwigsen G. Laterality in Emotional Language Processing in First and Second Language. Front Psychol 2022; 12:736359. [PMID: 35185667 PMCID: PMC8850280 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.736359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Language is a cognitive function that is asymmetrically distributed across both hemispheres, with left dominance for most linguistic operations. One key question of interest in cognitive neuroscience studies is related to the contribution of both hemispheres in bilingualism. Previous work shows a difference of both hemispheres for auditory processing of emotional and non-emotional words in bilinguals and monolinguals. In this study, we examined the differences between both hemispheres in the processing of emotional and non-emotional words of mother tongue language and foreign language. Sixty university students with Persian mother tongue and English as their second language were included. Differences between hemispheres were compared using the dichotic listening test. We tested the effect of hemisphere, language and emotion and their interaction. The right ear (associated with the left hemisphere) showed an advantage for the processing of all words in the first language, and positive words in the second language. Overall, our findings support previous studies reporting left-hemispheric dominance in late bilinguals for processing auditory stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raheleh Heyrani
- Department of Education and Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.,Raftar Cognitive Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Vahid Nejati
- Raftar Cognitive Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Sara Abbasi
- Department of Education and Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.,Institute for Cognitive Science Studies, Tehran, Iran
| | - Gesa Hartwigsen
- Lise Meitner Research Group Cognition and Plasticity, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
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5
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The missing-VP effect in readers of English as a second language. Mem Cognit 2021; 49:1204-1219. [PMID: 33864238 PMCID: PMC8313440 DOI: 10.3758/s13421-021-01159-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
English sentences with double center-embedded clauses are read faster when they are made ungrammatical by removing one of the required verb phrases. This phenomenon is known as the missing-VP effect. German and Dutch speakers do not experience the missing-VP effect when reading their native language, but they do when reading English as a second language (L2). We investigate whether the missing-VP effect when reading L2 English occurs in native Dutch speakers because their knowledge of English is similar to that of native English speakers (the high exposure account), or because of the difficulty of L2 reading (the low proficiency account). In an eye-tracking study, we compare the size of the missing-VP effect between native Dutch and native English participants, and across native Dutch participants with varying L2 English proficiency and exposure. Results provide evidence for both accounts, suggesting that both native-like knowledge of English and L2 reading difficulty play a role.
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6
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Song S, Li D. The Predicting Power of Cognitive Fluency for the Development of Utterance Fluency in Simultaneous Interpreting. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1864. [PMID: 32903742 PMCID: PMC7438941 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2019] [Accepted: 07/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Although simultaneous interpreting (SI) is generally recognized as a highly demanding cognitive activity in nature, the role of cognitive processes in SI fluency is yet to be determined. While utterance fluency refers to the set of objectively determined oral features of utterances, cognitive fluency means the speaker’s efficient mobilization and integration of underlying cognitive processes responsible for utterance production. An investigation into the relationship of the two dimensions of fluency helps to reveal the cognitive bases of interpreting. This study explores the predicting power of cognitive fluency in the utterance fluency development of L2 (English)–L1 (Chinese) SI output of trainee interpreters. Cognitive fluency was operationalized as measures of lexical access, linguistic attention control, and working memory capacity. Measures of utterance fluency were obtained through simulated SI tasks under conditions of low and high input rates. Twenty-eight trainees interpreted two speeches, one with a high input rate and the other with a low input rate, at the beginning and end of an SI training period of 13 weeks. A bilingual corpus of the participants’ SI output was built, and indicators of SI utterance fluency were annotated systematically. Utterance fluency was indexed by the speech rate, mean length of run, phonation time ratio, mean number of silent pauses, and mean number of disfluencies. Results of analyses indicated that (1) the predicting power of cognitive fluency for SI utterance fluency development was only shown under high cognitive load over a training period of 13 weeks; (2) predictors for the development of SI utterance fluency tended to be the efficiency of cognitive processes involved in the target language production stage; and (3) the inclusion of measures of working memory capacity significantly increased the predicting power of cognitive fluency for SI utterance fluency development. This study for the first time provides evidence for the role of cognitive fluency in trainee interpreters’ SI utterance fluency development, having implications for the theoretical framework of cognitive fluency and the information processing mechanism in interpreting process, as well as for interpreter aptitude tests and interpreting pedagogy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuxian Song
- School of Translation Studies, Qufu Normal University, Rizhao, China.,Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Dechao Li
- Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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7
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Nowbakht M. The Role of Working Memory, Language Proficiency, and Learners' Age in Second Language English Learners' Processing and Comprehension of Anaphoric Sentences. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2019; 48:353-370. [PMID: 30343343 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-018-9607-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study is designed to explore the role of second language (L2) English learners' working memory (WM), language proficiency, and age in the processing and comprehension of English anaphoric sentences. To this end, 40 EFL learners participated in the study. The proficiency levels of the participants varied from elementary to high-intermediate, as measured by the Quick Placement Test. A first-language Operation Span Task and a self-paced reading task were employed to measure the participants' WM capacity and anaphoric sentence processing and comprehension respectively. The results of standard multiple regression analyses revealed that 36% of the variation in anaphoric processing, and 70% of variation in anaphoric sentences comprehension could be accounted for by the independent variables of the study, with the composite WM as the only significant predictor. Moreover, both components of WM, i.e. WM processing and WM storage, significantly predicted 36% and 72% of variation in anaphoric processing and comprehension respectively; with the WM processing having a greater contribution in both cases. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence on the significant role of WM on anaphoric resolution.
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8
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Francis WS, Taylor RS, Gutiérrez M, Liaño MK, Manzanera DG, Penalver RM. The effects of bilingual language proficiency on recall accuracy and semantic clustering in free recall output: evidence for shared semantic associations across languages. Memory 2018; 26:1364-1378. [PMID: 29781375 PMCID: PMC6179441 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2018.1476551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
Abstract
Two experiments investigated how well bilinguals utilise long-standing semantic associations to encode and retrieve semantic clusters in verbal episodic memory. In Experiment 1, Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 128) studied and recalled word and picture sets. Word recall was equivalent in L1 and L2, picture recall was better in L1 than in L2, and the picture superiority effect was stronger in L1 than in L2. Semantic clustering in word and picture recall was equivalent in L1 and L2. In Experiment 2, Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 128) and English-speaking monolinguals (N = 128) studied and recalled word sequences that contained semantically related pairs. Data were analyzed using a multinomial processing tree approach, the pair-clustering model. Cluster formation was more likely for semantically organised than for randomly ordered word sequences. Probabilities of cluster formation, cluster retrieval, and retrieval of unclustered items did not differ across languages or language groups. Language proficiency has little if any impact on the utilisation of long-standing semantic associations, which are language-general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy S Francis
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
| | - Randolph S Taylor
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
| | - Marisela Gutiérrez
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
| | - Mary K Liaño
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
| | - Diana G Manzanera
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
| | - Renee M Penalver
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
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9
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Ma X, Ding N, Tao Y, Yang YF. Syntactic complexity and musical proficiency modulate neural processing of non-native music. Neuropsychologia 2018; 121:164-174. [PMID: 30359654 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
In music, chords are organized into hierarchical structures on the basis of musical syntax and the syntax of Western music can be implicitly acquired by listeners growing up in a Western musical culture. Here, we investigated whether Western musical syntax of different complexities can be implicitly acquired by non-native listeners growing up in China. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure how the neural responses to musical sequences that either follow a simple rule, i.e., finite state grammar (FSG), or a complex rule, i.e., phrase structure grammar (PSG), are affected. We tested three groups of Chinese listeners who varied in their proficiency and experience in Western music. Only the high-proficiency group had received formal Western musical training, whereas the low- and moderate-proficiency groups varied in their degree of exposure to Western music. The results showed that in the FSG condition, the event-related potentials (ERPs) evoked by regular and irregular final chords were not significantly different in the low-proficiency group. In contrast, in the moderate- and high-proficiency groups, the irregular final chords evoked an ERAN-N5 biphasic response. In the PSG condition, however, only the high-proficiency group showed an ERAN-N5 biphasic response evoked by irregular final chords. This study provides evidence that although simple structures of Western music, such as FSG, can be acquired by long-term implicit learning, the acquisition of more complex structures, such as PSG, merely from exposure to western music may not be as easy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xie Ma
- Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Educational Science and Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China; Key Laboratory of Educational Informatization for Nationalities, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Nai Ding
- College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China; State Key Laboratory of Industrial Control Technology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yun Tao
- College of Educational Science and Management, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China; Key Laboratory of Educational Informatization for Nationalities, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, China
| | - Yu Fang Yang
- Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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10
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Van der Linden L, Van de Putte E, Woumans E, Duyck W, Szmalec A. Does Extreme Language Control Training Improve Cognitive Control? A Comparison of Professional Interpreters, L2 Teachers and Monolinguals. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1998. [PMID: 30405488 PMCID: PMC6206226 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is currently a lively debate in the literature whether bilingualism leads to enhanced cognitive control or not. Recent evidence suggests that knowledge of more than one language does not always suffice for the manifestation of a bilingual cognitive control advantage. As a result, ongoing research has focused on modalities of bilingual language use that may interact with the bilingual advantage. In this study, we explored the cognitive control performance of simultaneous interpreters. These highly proficient bilinguals comprehend information in one language while producing in the other language, which is a complex skill requiring high levels of language control. In a first experiment, we compared professional interpreters to monolinguals. Data were collected on interference suppression (flanker task), prepotent response inhibition (Simon task), and short-term memory (digit span task). The results showed that the professional interpreters performed similarly to the monolinguals on all measures. In Experiment 2, we compared professional interpreters to monolinguals and second language teachers. Data were collected on interference suppression (advanced flanker task), prepotent response inhibition (advanced flanker task), attention (advanced flanker task), short-term memory (Hebb repetition paradigm), and updating (n-back task). We found converging evidence for our finding that experience in interpreting may not lead to superior interference suppression, prepotent response inhibition, and short-term memory. In fact, our results showed that the professional interpreters performed similarly to both the monolinguals and the second language teachers on all tested cognitive control measures. We did, however, find anecdotal evidence for a (small) advantage in short-term memory for interpreters relative to monolinguals when analyzing composite scores of both experiments together. Taken together, the results of the current study suggest that interpreter experience does not necessarily lead to general cognitive control advantages. However, there may be small interpreter advantages in short-term memory, suggesting that this might be an important cognitive control aspect of simultaneous interpreting. The results are discussed in the light of ongoing debates about bilingual cognitive control advantages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lize Van der Linden
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | | | - Evy Woumans
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Wouter Duyck
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Arnaud Szmalec
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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11
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Taxing the Brain to Uncover Lying? Meta-analyzing the Effect of Imposing Cognitive Load on the Reaction-Time Costs of Lying. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEMORY AND COGNITION 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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12
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Dong Y, Liu Y, Cai R. How Does Consecutive Interpreting Training Influence Working Memory: A Longitudinal Study of Potential Links Between the Two. Front Psychol 2018; 9:875. [PMID: 29922199 PMCID: PMC5996275 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00875] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With an intention to contribute to the issue of how language experience may influence working memory (WM), we focused on consecutive interpreting (CI), analyzed its potential links with WM functions and tested these links in a longitudinal experiment, trying to answer the specific question of how CI training may influence WM. Two comparable groups of Chinese learners of English received either CI or general second language (L2) training for one semester, and were tested before and after the training with the tasks of n-back (non-verbal updating), L2 listening span, and letter running span (verbal spans). CI performance was tested in the posttest. The results showed that (1) updating efficiency in both the pretest and posttest predicted CI performance, and CI training enhanced updating efficiency while general L2 training did not; (2) the relationship between verbal spans and CI performance was weaker (i.e., only pretest L2 listening span correlated with CI performance and predicted CI performance with marginal significance), and CI training did not make a unique contribution to these spans (i.e., no group differences). The results indicated an "interpreter advantage" in updating, which was probably due to that updating was more central in the CI task than WM spans. Theoretically, we believe that updating and CI are closely related because they share the same underlying mechanism, or more specifically updating and the recalling process in the CI task share the same attentional control process, a unique link between updating and the CI task. Methodological implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanping Dong
- Bilingual Cognition and Development Lab, National Center for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuhua Liu
- College of Foreign Studies, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Rendong Cai
- School of English and Education, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
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13
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Lobley KJ, Baddeley AD, Gathercole SE. Phonological similarity effects in verbal complex span. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 58:1462-78. [PMID: 16365950 DOI: 10.1080/02724980443000700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Phonological similarity effects were used to assess the role of acoustic coding in verbal complex span, a processing-plus-storage measure found to correlate significantly with aspects of complex cognition. Three experiments demonstrated consistent effects of phonological similarity on listening span. These effects appeared relatively insensitive to manipulations of task materials (Experiment 1) and differences in processing task demands (Experiments 2 and 3). The results were interpreted as reflecting a significant role for the phonological loop in supporting verbal complex span and a multicomponent view of working memory, as tapped by these tests. Phonological similarity did not significantly interact with aspects of the tasks varied across Experiments 1 to 3, suggesting a relative robustness of the effect. However, variation in the phonological similarity effect sizes across Experiments 1 to 3 supports the suggestion that task demands and characteristics have the potential to disrupt the phonological similarity effect and, by implication, the reliance on a phonological code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katy J Lobley
- Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
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14
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Zhou H, Rossi S, Chen B. Effects of Working Memory Capacity and Tasks in Processing L2 Complex Sentence: Evidence from Chinese-English Bilinguals. Front Psychol 2017; 8:595. [PMID: 28473786 PMCID: PMC5397521 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 03/31/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Two experiments aimed at investigating how working memory capacity (WMC) related to processing wh-extractions in both a grammatical judgment and a translation task by using the Operation Span task. A self-paced paradigm was used to collect response times and accuracy rates. In Experiment 1, results showed that high WMC was related to faster grammatical judgment of the critical region in subject- and object-extractions. In Experiment 2, high WMC was only related to high accuracy in translating wh-extractions. These results indicate that individual differences in WMC play a certain role during L2 sentence processing, and experimental tasks can modulate this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huixia Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
| | - Sonja Rossi
- Clinic for Hearing-, Speech- and Voice-Disorders, Medical University of InnsbruckInnsbruck, Austria
| | - Baoguo Chen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, School of Psychology, Beijing Normal UniversityBeijing, China
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15
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Han F. Applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in Foreign Language Reading: An Investigation with Chinese College English Language Learners. Front Psychol 2017; 8:681. [PMID: 28522984 PMCID: PMC5415605 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While some first language (L1) reading models suggest that inefficient word recognition and small working memory tend to inhibit higher-level comprehension processes; the Compensatory Encoding Model maintains that slow word recognition and small working memory do not normally hinder reading comprehension, as readers are able to operate metacognitive strategies to compensate for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation as long as readers process a reading task without time constraint. Although empirical evidence is accumulated for support of the Compensatory Encoding Model in L1 reading, there is lack of research for testing of the Compensatory Encoding Model in foreign language (FL) reading. This research empirically tested the Compensatory Encoding Model in English reading among Chinese college English language learners (ELLs). Two studies were conducted. Study one focused on testing whether reading condition varying time affects the relationship between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension. Students were tested on a computerized English word recognition test, a computerized Operation Span task, and reading comprehension in time constraint and non-time constraint reading. The correlation and regression analyses showed that the strength of association was much stronger between word recognition, working memory, and reading comprehension in time constraint than that in non-time constraint reading condition. Study two examined whether FL readers were able to operate metacognitive reading strategies as a compensatory way of reading comprehension for inefficient word recognition and working memory limitation in non-time constraint reading. The participants were tested on the same computerized English word recognition test and Operation Span test. They were required to think aloud while reading and to complete the comprehension questions. The think-aloud protocols were coded for concurrent use of reading strategies, classified into language-oriented strategies, content-oriented strategies, re-reading, pausing, and meta-comment. The correlation analyses showed that while word recognition and working memory were only significantly related to frequency of language-oriented strategies, re-reading, and pausing, but not with reading comprehension. Jointly viewed, the results of the two studies, complimenting each other, supported the applicability of the Compensatory Encoding Model in FL reading with Chinese college ELLs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feifei Han
- Centre for Research on Learning and Innovation, Sydney School of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, SydneyNSW, Australia
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Bartolotti J, Marian V. Bilinguals' Existing Languages Benefit Vocabulary Learning in a Third Language. LANGUAGE LEARNING 2017; 67:110-140. [PMID: 28781384 PMCID: PMC5538263 DOI: 10.1111/lang.12200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 04/10/2016] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Learning a new language involves substantial vocabulary acquisition. Learners can accelerate this process by relying on words with native-language overlap, such as cognates. For bilingual third language learners, it is necessary to determine how their two existing languages interact during novel language learning. A scaffolding account predicts transfer from either language for individual words, whereas an accumulation account predicts cumulative transfer from both languages. To compare these accounts, twenty English-German bilingual adults were taught an artificial language containing 48 novel written words that varied orthogonally in English and German wordlikeness (neighborhood size and orthotactic probability). Wordlikeness in each language improved word production accuracy, and similarity to one language provided the same benefit as dual-language overlap. In addition, participants' memory for novel words was affected by the statistical distributions of letters in the novel language. Results indicate that bilinguals utilize both languages during third language acquisition, supporting a scaffolding learning model.
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Babcock L, Capizzi M, Arbula S, Vallesi A. Short-Term Memory Improvement After Simultaneous Interpretation Training. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT 2017; 1:254-267. [PMID: 32226920 PMCID: PMC7089711 DOI: 10.1007/s41465-017-0011-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Simultaneous interpretation (SI) is a cognitively demanding process that has been associated with enhanced memory and executive functions. It is unclear, however, if the previously evidenced interpreter advantages are developed through training and/or experience with SI or rather represent inherent characteristics that allow success in the field. The present study aimed to disentangle these possibilities through a longitudinal examination of students earning a Master of Conference Interpreting and two control populations. The students were tested at the beginning and end of their programs on measures of memory and executive functioning that have previously demonstrated an interpreter advantage. The results revealed no inherent advantage among the students of interpretation. However, an SI training-specific advantage was revealed in verbal short-term memory; the students of interpretation, but not the two control groups, showed a gain between the testing sessions. This controlled longitudinal study demonstrates that training in simultaneous interpretation is associated with cognitive changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Babcock
- 1Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Retzius väg 8, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden.,2Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, via Giustiniani 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Mariagrazia Capizzi
- 2Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, via Giustiniani 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Sandra Arbula
- 2Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, via Giustiniani 5, 35128 Padova, Italy
| | - Antonino Vallesi
- 2Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, via Giustiniani 5, 35128 Padova, Italy.,3Fondazione Ospedale San Camillo, IRCCS, via Alberoni 70, 30126 Lido-Venice, Italy
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Escudero P, Mulak KE, Fu CSL, Singh L. More Limitations to Monolingualism: Bilinguals Outperform Monolinguals in Implicit Word Learning. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1218. [PMID: 27574513 PMCID: PMC4983614 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Accepted: 08/02/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
To succeed at cross-situational word learning, learners must infer word-object mappings by attending to the statistical co-occurrences of novel objects and labels across multiple encounters. While past studies have investigated this as a learning mechanism for infants and monolingual adults, bilinguals’ cross-situational word learning abilities have yet to be tested. Here, we compared monolinguals’ and bilinguals’ performance on a cross-situational word learning paradigm that featured phonologically distinct word pairs (e.g., BON-DEET) and phonologically similar word pairs that varied by a single consonant or vowel segment (e.g., BON-TON, DEET-DIT, respectively). Both groups learned the novel word-referent mappings, providing evidence that cross-situational word learning is a learning strategy also available to bilingual adults. Furthermore, bilinguals were overall more accurate than monolinguals. This supports that bilingualism fosters a wide range of cognitive advantages that may benefit implicit word learning. Additionally, response patterns to the different trial types revealed a relative difficulty for vowel minimal pairs than consonant minimal pairs, replicating the pattern found in monolinguals by Escudero et al. (2016) in a different English accent. Specifically, all participants failed to learn vowel contrasts differentiated by vowel height. We discuss evidence for this bilingual advantage as a language-specific or general advantage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Escudero
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia; Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, CanberraACT, Australia
| | - Karen E Mulak
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, PenrithNSW, Australia; Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian Research Council, CanberraACT, Australia
| | - Charlene S L Fu
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore
| | - Leher Singh
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore
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Poepsel TJ, Weiss DJ. The influence of bilingualism on statistical word learning. Cognition 2016; 152:9-19. [PMID: 27015348 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2016.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Revised: 03/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Statistical learning is a fundamental component of language acquisition, yet to date, relatively few studies have examined whether these abilities differ in bilinguals. In the present study, we examine this issue by comparing English monolinguals with Chinese-English and English-Spanish bilinguals in a cross-situational statistical learning (CSSL) task. In Experiment 1, we assessed the ability of both monolinguals and bilinguals on a basic CSSL task that contained only one-to-one mappings. In Experiment 2, learners were asked to form both one-to-one and two-to-one mappings, and were tested at three points during familiarization. Overall, monolinguals and bilinguals did not differ in their learning of one-to-one mappings. However, bilinguals more quickly acquired two-to-one mappings, while also exhibiting greater proficiency than monolinguals. We conclude that the fundamental SL mechanism may not be affected by language experience, in accord with previous studies. However, when the input contains greater variability, bilinguals may be more prone to detecting the presence of multiple structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Poepsel
- Department of Psychology and Program in Linguistics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States.
| | - Daniel J Weiss
- Department of Psychology and Program in Linguistics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, United States
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Ewens S, Vrij A, Mann S, Leal S. Using the Reverse Order Technique with Non-Native Speakers or Through an Interpreter. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2015. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.3196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Ewens
- Department of Psychology; University of Portsmouth; Hants UK
| | - Aldert Vrij
- Department of Psychology; University of Portsmouth; Hants UK
| | - Samantha Mann
- Department of Psychology; University of Portsmouth; Hants UK
| | - Sharon Leal
- Department of Psychology; University of Portsmouth; Hants UK
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Antoniou M, Wong PCM, Wang S. The Effect of Intensified Language Exposure on Accommodating Talker Variability. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2015; 58:722-7. [PMID: 25811169 PMCID: PMC4610280 DOI: 10.1044/2015_jslhr-s-14-0259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 12/21/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2015] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study systematically examined the role of intensified exposure to a second language on accommodating talker variability. METHOD English native listeners (n = 37) were compared with Mandarin listeners who had either lived in the United States for an extended period of time (n = 33) or had lived only in China (n = 44). Listeners responded to target words in an English word-monitoring task in which sequences of words were randomized. Half of the sequences were spoken by a single talker and the other half by multiple talkers. RESULTS Mandarin listeners living in China were slower and less accurate than both English listeners and Mandarin listeners living in the United States. Mandarin listeners living in the United States were less accurate than English natives only in the more cognitively demanding mixed-talker condition. CONCLUSIONS Mixed-talker speech affects processing in native and nonnative listeners alike, although the decrement is larger in nonnatives and further exaggerated in less proficient listeners. Language immersion improves listeners' ability to resolve talker variability, and this suggests that immersion may automatize nonnative processing, freeing cognitive resources that may play a crucial role in speech perception. These results lend support to the active control model of speech perception.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Suiping Wang
- South China Normal University, Shipai, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
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22
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Abstract
Although working memory (WM) figures centrally in many theories of second language (L2) proficiency development and processing, some have argued that the importance of WM is overstated (e.g., Juffs, Transactions of the Philological Society, 102, 199-225, 2004). Despite many studies over the past two decades, the literature lacks a quantitative synthesis of the extant results. In this article, we report a meta-analysis of data from 79 samples involving 3,707 participants providing 748 effect sizes. The results indicate that WM is positively associated with both L2 processing and proficiency outcomes, with an estimated population effect size (ρ) of .255. In additional analyses, we assessed whether the WM-criterion relationship was modulated by potential covariates identified in the literature search (i.e., participant characteristics, WM measure features, criterion measure factors, and publication status). The results of the covariate analyses indicated larger effect sizes for the executive control (vs. storage) component of WM, and for verbal (vs. nonverbal) measures of WM. Minimal publication bias was detected, suggesting that WM has a robust, positive relationship with L2 outcomes. We discuss the implications of these results for models of WM and theories of L2 processing and L2 proficiency development.
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Wakebe T, Hidaka S, Watamura E. Resource-Independent Negative Effects of Foreign Language on Analogical Problem Solving. Psychol Rep 2015; 116:207-18. [DOI: 10.2466/28.pr0.116k11w9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
It has been shown that analogical problem solving is more difficult when a target problem is written in a foreign language than in one's native language. Possible resource-independence of this negative effect of a foreign language was investigated. After reading an analog or a filler story, participants solved a target problem written in their native or a foreign language. Those who read the problem in their native language performed a concurrent task to reduce their available processing resources. Nevertheless, they were better able to solve it than those who read the problem in a foreign language after reading the analog. This indicates that reading the problem in a foreign language decreases analogical problem-solving ability in a resource-independent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sho Hidaka
- Department of Psychology, The University of Tokyo
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24
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Wang T, Saffran JR. Statistical learning of a tonal language: the influence of bilingualism and previous linguistic experience. Front Psychol 2014; 5:953. [PMID: 25232344 PMCID: PMC4153027 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2014] [Accepted: 08/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
While research shows that adults attend to both segmental and suprasegmental regularities in speech, including syllabic transitional probabilities as well as stress and intonational patterns, little is known about how statistical learning operates given input from tonal languages. In the current study, we designed an artificial tone language to address several questions: can adults track regularities in a tonal language? Is learning enhanced by previous exposure to tone-marking languages? Does bilingualism affect learning in this task? To address these questions, we contrasted the performance of English monolingual adults (Experiment 1), Mandarin monolingual and Mandarin–English bilingual adults (Experiment 2), and non-tonal bilingual adults (Experiment 3) in a statistical learning task using an artificial tone language. The pattern of results suggests that while prior exposure to tonal languages did not lead to significant improvements in performance, bilingual experience did enhance learning outcomes. This study represents the first demonstration of statistical learning of an artificial tone language and suggests a complex interplay between prior language experience and subsequent language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianlin Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, USA
| | - Jenny R Saffran
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, WI, USA
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25
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Yamasaki BL, Prat CS. The Importance of Managing Interference for Second Language Reading Ability: An Individual Differences Investigation. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2014. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2014.913415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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26
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Evans JR, Michael SW. Detecting Deception in Non-Native English Speakers. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.2990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline R. Evans
- Department of Psychology and Counseling; University of Texas at Tyler; Tyler USA
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Francis WS, Baca Y. Effects of language dominance on item and order memory in free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction. Memory 2013; 22:1060-9. [PMID: 24303779 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2013.866253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 144) performed free recall, serial recall and order reconstruction tasks in both English and Spanish. Long-term memory for both item and order information was worse in the less fluent language (L2) than in the more fluent language (L1). Item scores exhibited a stronger disadvantage for the L2 in serial recall than in free recall. Relative order scores were lower in the L2 for all three tasks, but adjusted scores for free and serial recall were equivalent across languages. Performance of English-speaking monolinguals (N = 72) was comparable to bilingual performance in the L1, except that monolinguals had higher adjusted order scores in free recall. Bilingual performance patterns in the L2 were consistent with the established effects of concurrent task performance on these memory tests, suggesting that the cognitive resources required for processing words in the L2 encroach on resources needed to commit item and order information to memory. These findings are also consistent with a model in which item memory is connected to the language system, order information is processed by separate mechanisms and attention can be allocated differentially to these two systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wendy S Francis
- a Department of Psychology , University of Texas at El Paso , El Paso , TX , USA
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28
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Morishima Y. Allocation of Limited Cognitive Resources During Text Comprehension in a Second Language. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2013.846964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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29
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Working memory capacity, inhibitory control and the role of l2 proficiency in aging l1 dutch speakers of near-native l2 english. Brain Sci 2013; 3:1261-81. [PMID: 24961529 PMCID: PMC4061883 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci3031261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2013] [Revised: 07/17/2013] [Accepted: 07/26/2013] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper examines the intricate relationship between working memory (WM) capacity and inhibitory control as a function of both L2 proficiency and age. In both its design and research questions, this study closely follows Gass & Lee’s work, where both L1 and L2 Reading Span Tasks (as measures of WM capacity) and L1 and L2 Stroop interference tasks (to measure inhibitory control) were administered. In this study, the test battery is augmented by both an L1 and L2 C-test of overall language proficiency. Participants were 63 L1 Dutch speakers of L2 English, who had been immersed in an L2 environment for a considerable amount of time. Their data were set off against those of 54 monolingual Dutch speakers and 56 monolingual English speakers. At the time of testing, all the bilingual participants had a near-native command of English and their L1 and L2 WM scores were not found to be significantly different. However, discrepancies did occur in Stroop test scores of inhibition, where the bilinguals performed better in their L2 English than L1 Dutch. These main effects often contradicted the results found in Gass & Lee’s study, who examined less proficient L2 learners. An aging effect was furthermore found: older subjects consistently performed more poorly on WM and inhibition tasks than their younger peers. These results can shed light on how individual factors like WM capacity and inhibitory control interact in successful late bilinguals and how these dynamics shift with advanced age.
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30
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Sungmook Choi. Working Memory Capacity, Vocabulary Knowledge, and Reading Comprehension of EFL Learners. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.17936/pkelt.2013.25.1.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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31
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Validating a new assessment method for deception detection: Introducing a Psychologically Based Credibility Assessment Tool. JOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN MEMORY AND COGNITION 2013. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jarmac.2013.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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32
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Mann C, Canny BJ, Reser DH, Rajan R. Poorer verbal working memory for a second language selectively impacts academic achievement in university medical students. PeerJ 2013; 1:e22. [PMID: 23638357 PMCID: PMC3628612 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2012] [Accepted: 01/08/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is often poorer for a second language (L2). In low noise conditions, people listening to a language other than their first language (L1) may have similar auditory perception skills for that L2 as native listeners, but do worse in high noise conditions, and this has been attributed to the poorer WM for L2. Given that WM is critical for academic success in children and young adults, these speech in noise effects have implications for academic performance where the language of instruction is L2 for a student. We used a well-established Speech-in-Noise task as a verbal WM (vWM) test, and developed a model correlating vWM and measures of English proficiency and/or usage to scholastic outcomes in a multi-faceted assessment medical education program. Significant differences in Speech-Noise Ratio (SNR50) values were observed between medical undergraduates who had learned English before or after five years of age, with the latter group doing worse in the ability to extract whole connected speech in the presence of background multi-talker babble (Student-t tests, p < 0.001). Significant negative correlations were observed between the SNR50 and seven of the nine variables of English usage, learning styles, stress, and musical abilities in a questionnaire administered to the students previously. The remaining two variables, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and the Age of Acquisition of English (AoAoE) were significantly positively correlated with the SNR50, showing that those with a poorer capacity to discriminate simple English sentences from noise had learnt English later in life and had higher levels of stress – all characteristics of the international students. Local students exhibited significantly lower SNR50 scores and were significantly younger when they first learnt English. No significant correlation was detected between the SNR50 and the students’ Visual/Verbal Learning Style (r = −0.023). Standard multiple regression was carried out to assess the relationship between language proficiency and verbal working memory (SNR50) using 5 variables of L2 proficiency, with the results showing that the variance in SNR50 was significantly predicted by this model (r2 = 0.335). Hierarchical multiple regression was then used to test the ability of three independent variable measures (SNR50, age of acquisition of English and English proficiency) to predict academic performance as the dependent variable in a factor analysis model which predicted significant performance differences in an assessment requiring communications skills (p = 0.008), but not on a companion assessment requiring knowledge of procedural skills, or other assessments requiring factual knowledge. Thus, impaired vWM for an L2 appears to affect specific communications-based assessments in university medical students.
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Affiliation(s)
- Collette Mann
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences , Monash University , Clayton, VIC , Australia
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33
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Ferrari M, Palladino P. A Longitudinal Study of English as Foreign Language Learning: L1 Predictors in Italian Students. APPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2012. [DOI: 10.1002/acp.2839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marcella Ferrari
- Department of Psychology; University of Pavia; Piazza Botta 6; 27100; Pavia; Italy
| | - Paola Palladino
- Department of Psychology; University of Pavia; Piazza Botta 6; 27100; Pavia; Italy
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Kaushanskaya M, Blumenfeld HK, Marian V. The relationship between vocabulary and short-term memory measures in monolingual and bilingual speakers. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUALISM : CROSS-DISCIPLINARY, CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDIES OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR 2011; 15:408-425. [PMID: 22518091 PMCID: PMC3328198 DOI: 10.1177/1367006911403201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that bilingualism may influence the efficiency of lexical access in adults. The goals of this research were (1) to compare bilingual and monolingual adults on their native-language vocabulary performance, and (2) to examine the relationship between short-term memory skills and vocabulary performance in monolinguals and bilinguals. In Experiment 1, English-speaking monolingual adults and simultaneous English-Spanish bilingual adults were administered measures of receptive English vocabulary and of phonological short-term memory. In Experiment 2, monolingual adults were compared to sequential English-Spanish bilinguals, and were administered the same measures as in Experiment 1, as well as a measure of expressive English vocabulary. Analyses revealed comparable levels of performance on the vocabulary and the short-term memory measures in the monolingual and the bilingual groups across both experiments. There was a stronger effect of digit-span in the bilingual group than in the monolingual group, with high-span bilinguals outperforming low-span bilinguals on vocabulary measures. Findings indicate that bilingual speakers may rely on short-term memory resources to support word retrieval in their native language more than monolingual speakers.
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35
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Bilingual recognition memory: Stronger performance but weaker levels-of-processing effects in the less fluent language. Mem Cognit 2011; 40:496-503. [DOI: 10.3758/s13421-011-0163-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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36
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Paradis M. Principles underlying the Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) and its uses. CLINICAL LINGUISTICS & PHONETICS 2011; 25:427-443. [PMID: 21675824 DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2011.560326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The Bilingual Aphasia Test (BAT) is designed to be objective (so it can be administered by a lay native speaker of the language) and equivalent across languages (to allow for a comparison between the languages of a given patient as well as across patients from different institutions). It has been used not only with aphasia but also with any condition that results in language impairment (Alzheimer's, autism, cerebellar lesions, developmental language disorders, mild cognitive impairment, motor neuron disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, vascular dementia, etc.). It has also been used for research purposes on non-brain-damaged unilingual and bilingual populations. By means of its 32 tasks, it assesses comprehension and production of implicit linguistic competence and metalinguistic knowledge (which provide indications for apposite rehabilitation strategies). Versions of the BAT are available for free download at www.mcgill.ca/linguistics/research/bat/.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel Paradis
- Department of Linguistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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37
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Akca C, Elkilic G. The effects of age and production mode on the bilingual performance of Turkish learners of English in a serial recall task. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2011; 46:9-17. [DOI: 10.1080/00207594.2010.503762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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38
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Andersson U. The contribution of working memory capacity to foreign language comprehension in children. Memory 2010; 18:458-72. [DOI: 10.1080/09658211003762084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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39
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Vejnovic D, Milin P, Zdravkovic S. Effects of proficiency and age of language acquisition on working memory performance in bilinguals. PSIHOLOGIJA 2010. [DOI: 10.2298/psi1003219v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
This study examined language proficiency and age of language acquisition influences on working memory performance in bilinguals. Bilingual subjects were administered reading span task in parallel versions for their first and second language. In Experiment 1, language proficiency effect was tested by examination of low and highly proficient second language speakers. In Experiment 2, age of language acquisition was examined by comparing the performance of proficient second language speakers who acquired second language either early or later in their lives. Both proficiency and age of language acquisition were found to affect bilingual working memory performance, and the proficiency effect was observed even at very high levels of language competence. The results support the notion of working memory as a domain that is influenced both by a general pool of resources and certain domain specific factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dusan Vejnovic
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Novi Sad%SR23-01.02.14
| | - Petar Milin
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Novi Sad + Laboratory for Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade%SR61-99
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40
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Palladino P, Ferrari M. Phonological sensitivity and memory in children with a foreign language learning difficulty. Memory 2008; 16:604-25. [DOI: 10.1080/09658210802083072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Lindgrén SA, Laine M. The adaptation of an adult group screening test for dyslexia into Finland-Swedish: normative data for university students and the effects of language background on test performance. Scand J Psychol 2007; 48:419-32. [PMID: 17877557 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2007.00592.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
We present a Finland-Swedish adaptation of the Sweden-Swedish group screening test for dyslexia for adults and young adults DUVAN (Lundberg & Wolff, 2003) together with normative data from 143 Finland-Swedish university students. The test is based on the widely held phonological deficit hypothesis of dyslexia and consists of a self-report and five subtests tapping phonological working memory, phonological representation, phonological awareness, and orthographic skill. We describe the test adaptation procedure and show that the internal reliability of the new test version is comparable to the original one. Our results indicate that the language background (Swedish, Finnish, early simultaneous Swedish-Finnish bilingualism) should be taken into account when interpreting the results on the Finland-Swedish DUVAN test. We show that the FS-DUVAN differentiates a group of students with dyslexia diagnosis from normals, and that a low performance on the FS-DUVAN correlates with a positive self-report on familial dyslexia and with a history of special education in school. Finally, we analyze the sensitivity and specificity of the FS-DUVAN for dyslexia among university students.
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Ferrari M, Palladino P. Foreign language learning difficulties in Italian children: are they associated with other learning difficulties? JOURNAL OF LEARNING DISABILITIES 2007; 40:256-69. [PMID: 17518217 DOI: 10.1177/00222194070400030601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
A group of seventh- and eighth-grade Italian students with low achievement (LA) in learning English as a foreign language (FL) was selected and compared to a group with high achievement (HA) in FL learning. The two groups were matched for age and nonverbal intelligence. Two experiments were conducted to examine the participants' verbal and nonverbal learning skills, such as native language reading accuracy, speed and comprehension, calculation, and attention and self-regulation. Both experiments showed that the LA group seemed at risk for reading comprehension difficulties, but its reading speed and accuracy were within the average range according to Italian norms. The results also excluded the possibility that FL learning difficulties of LA participants could be associated with a deficit in calculation. Furthermore, according to teachers' ratings, children with LA appeared at risk for attention-deficit disorder (ADD). The pattern of learning difficulties of seventh- and eighth-grade participants with LA appeared to be not completely comparable with that of high school students at risk of FL learning difficulties as described in the literature.
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Leinonen A, Laine M, Laine M, Krause CM. Electrophysiological correlates of memory processing in early Finnish–Swedish bilinguals. Neurosci Lett 2007; 416:22-7. [PMID: 17353093 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2006.12.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2006] [Revised: 11/01/2006] [Accepted: 12/14/2006] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) of the 1-30 EEG frequencies were studied in eight early Finnish-Swedish bilinguals during an auditory bilingual Sternberg memory task using Finnish-Swedish cognates as stimuli. Only subtle differences between languages were expected, since cognates have been assumed to have shared conceptual representations in the bilingual memory. Encoding elicited theta and alpha frequency ERS and beta frequency ERD responses in both languages. Retrieval elicited theta ERS and alpha and beta ERD responses. Some statistically significant differences between encoding and retrieval in Finnish versus Swedish emerged: greater theta and alpha ERS responses were observed during encoding in Swedish than during encoding in Finnish. During between-language retrieval, later-appearing theta ERS and alpha ERD responses were elicited as compared to within-language retrieval. These delayed oscillatory responses might reflect the involvement of central executive attentional functions in relation to language switching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alina Leinonen
- Cognitive Science Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Clahsen H, Felser C. How native-like is non-native language processing? Trends Cogn Sci 2006; 10:564-70. [PMID: 17071131 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2006.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2006] [Revised: 09/19/2006] [Accepted: 10/11/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Following several decades of research on native language (L1) processing, psycholinguists have more recently begun to investigate how non-native language (L2) speakers comprehend and process language in real time. Regarding the traditional assumption that L2 learners have 'difficulty with grammar', this new research has revealed some unexpected similarities and differences between L1 and L2 processing. Specifically, it appears that L2 processing can become native-like in some linguistic subdomains (including certain aspects of grammar) but that L1 and L2 processing differences persist in the domain of complex syntax, even in highly proficient L2 speakers. Thus, more subtle linguistic distinctions seem to be required to understand the nature of non-native language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harald Clahsen
- Department of Linguistics, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.
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van den Noort MW, Bosch P, Hugdahl K. Foreign Language Proficiency and Working Memory Capacity. EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2006. [DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040.11.4.289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In this study, the hypothesis that working memory capacity interacts with (foreign) language proficiency was tested on multilinguals, who were native (L1) Dutch speakers, were fluent in their second (L2) language, German, and had recently started the acquisition of their third (L3) language, Norwegian. So far, the results of second-language studies on simple and complex working-memory tasks are mixed. In previous second-language studies, however, languages that belong to different linguistic groups were used. The question arises whether the interaction between working memory capacity and language proficiency is language-specific. In our multilingualism study we, therefore, controlled for this. Both simple (digit-span) and complex working-memory tasks (reading-span task and letter-number ordering) were used. The general results show that differences in performance between L1, L2, and L3 can be found on both simple and complex working-memory tasks, supporting the working memory capacity interaction hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peggy Bosch
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Section for Psychiatry, University of Bergen, Norway
- Department of Psychiatry, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kenneth Hugdahl
- Department of Biological and Medical Psychology, University of Bergen, Norway
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Lanfranchi S, Swanson HL. Short-term memory and working memory in children as a function of language-specific knowledge in English and Spanish. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2005. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2005.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Palladino P, Cornoldi C. Working memory performance of Italian students with foreign language learning difficulties. LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2004. [DOI: 10.1016/j.lindif.2004.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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