Forming associations between language and sensorimotor traces during novel word learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
BIRGIT ÖTTL ◽  
CAROLIN DUDSCHIG ◽  
BARBARA KAUP
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Arm Movement ◽  
Learning Phase ◽  
Movement Direction ◽  
Lower Visual Field ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Multisensory Environment ◽  
Novel Word Learning

abstractEmbodied models of language comprehension are based on the assumption that words become associated with sensorimotor experiences during initial word learning. To test this hypothesis, adult participants learned artificial words as labels for novel objects in a multisensory environment. In a word learning phase, novel objects were located in the participant’s upper or lower visual field and participants learned the objects’ names by interacting with them. In a test phase, participants responded to the color of the words with either an upwards or a downwards directed arm movement in a Stroop-like paradigm. Responses were fastest when the movement direction was compatible with the word’s referent location (i.e., the location of the novel object in vertical space) during the learning phase. This finding suggests that sensorimotor experiences become associated with words during initial word learning. The results of the current study and implications for language learning are discussed.

scholarly journals Consistency of co-occurring actions influences young children’s word learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 190097 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah F. V. Eiteljoerge ◽  
Maurits Adam ◽  
Birgit Elsner ◽  
Nivedita Mani
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Simultaneous Presentation ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Multimodal Learning ◽  
Growth Curve Models ◽  
Consistent Condition ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Perceptual Abilities

Communication with young children is often multimodal in nature, involving, for example, language and actions. The simultaneous presentation of information from both domains may boost language learning by highlighting the connection between an object and a word, owing to temporal overlap in the presentation of multimodal input. However, the overlap is not merely temporal but can also covary in the extent to which particular actions co-occur with particular words and objects, e.g. carers typically produce a hopping action when talking about rabbits and a snapping action for crocodiles. The frequency with which actions and words co-occurs in the presence of the referents of these words may also impact young children’s word learning. We, therefore, examined the extent to which consistency in the co-occurrence of particular actions and words impacted children’s learning of novel word–object associations. Children (18 months, 30 months and 36–48 months) and adults were presented with two novel objects and heard their novel labels while different actions were performed on these objects, such that the particular actions and word–object pairings always co-occurred ( Consistent group) or varied across trials ( Inconsistent group). At test, participants saw both objects and heard one of the labels to examine whether participants recognized the target object upon hearing its label. Growth curve models revealed that 18-month-olds did not learn words for objects in either condition, and 30-month-old and 36- to 48-month-old children learned words for objects only in the Consistent condition, in contrast to adults who learned words for objects independent of the actions presented. Thus, consistency in the multimodal input influenced word learning in early childhood but not in adulthood. In terms of a dynamic systems account of word learning, our study shows how multimodal learning settings interact with the child’s perceptual abilities to shape the learning experience.

scholarly journals Word Learning in Adults With Second-Language Experience: Effects of Phonological and Referent Familiarity

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 667-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Kaushanskaya ◽  
Jeewon Yoo ◽  
Stephanie Van Hecke
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Learning Condition ◽  
Experience Effects ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Purpose The goal of this research was to examine whether phonological familiarity exerts different effects on novel word learning for familiar versus unfamiliar referents and whether successful word learning is associated with increased second-language experience. Method Eighty-one adult native English speakers with various levels of Spanish knowledge learned phonologically familiar novel words (constructed using English sounds) or phonologically unfamiliar novel words (constructed using non-English and non-Spanish sounds) in association with either familiar or unfamiliar referents. Retention was tested via a forced-choice recognition task. A median-split procedure identified high-ability and low-ability word learners in each condition, and the two groups were compared on measures of second-language experience. Results Findings suggest that the ability to accurately match newly learned novel names to their appropriate referents is facilitated by phonological familiarity only for familiar referents but not for unfamiliar referents. Moreover, more extensive second-language learning experience characterized superior learners primarily in one word-learning condition: in which phonologically unfamiliar novel words were paired with familiar referents. Conclusions Together, these findings indicate that phonological familiarity facilitates novel word learning only for familiar referents and that experience with learning a second language may have a specific impact on novel vocabulary learning in adults.

scholarly journals Semantic consistency of actions influences young children’s word learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah F V Eiteljoerge ◽  
Maurits Adam ◽  
Birgit Elsner ◽  
Nivedita Mani
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Dynamic Systems ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Multimodal Learning ◽  
Semantic Consistency ◽  
Consistent Group ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Perceptual Abilities

Communication with young children is often multimodal in nature, involving, for example, language and actions. This multimodal input supports language learning when it highlights the connection of word and object. But multimodal input can also guide the child’s attention away from the language input, and thus, exacerbate learning. In the current study, we therefore examined the influence of semantic consistency of actions on early word learning. Children (18 months, 30 months, 36 - 48 months) and adults were presented with two novel objects and their novel labels while different actions were performed on these objects, such that the pairing of actions and objects was either consistent (Consistent group) or varied across trials (Inconsistent group). At test, participants saw both objects and heard one of the labels to examine participants’ target looking upon hearing its label. Only 3- to 4-year-olds and adults learned word-object associations with the children benefiting from consistent and adults from the inconsistent action presentations. Thus, consistency in the multimodal input facilitated word learning in early childhood. In terms of a dynamic systems account of word learning, our study shows how multimodal learning settings interact with the child’s perceptual abilities, and how the interaction can therefore shape the learning experience.

scholarly journals Novel word learning at 21 months predicts receptive vocabulary outcomes in later childhood

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (04) ◽  
pp. 617-631
Author(s):  
Vinaya RAJAN ◽  
Haruka KONISHI ◽  
Katherine RIDGE ◽  
Derek M. HOUSTON ◽  
Roberta Michnick GOLINKOFF ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Parent Report ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Language Outcomes ◽  
Phoneme Discrimination ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Novel Word Learning

AbstractSeveral aspects of early language skills, including parent-report measures of vocabulary, phoneme discrimination, speech segmentation, and speed of lexical access predict later childhood language outcomes. To date, no studies have examined the long-term predictive validity of novel word learning. We examined whether individual differences in novel word learning at 21 months predict later childhood receptive vocabulary outcomes rather than generalized cognitive abilities. Twenty-eight 21-month-olds were taught novel words using a modified version of the Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm. Seventeen children (range 7–10 years) returned to participate in a longitudinal follow-up. Novel word learning in infancy uniquely accounted for 22% of the variance in childhood receptive vocabulary but did not predict later childhood visuospatial ability or non-verbal IQ. These results suggest that the ability to associate novel sound patterns to novel objects, an index of the process of word learning, may be especially important for long-term language mastery.

A growth curve analysis of novel word learning by sequential bilingual preschool children

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
PUI FONG KAN ◽  
KATHRYN KOHNERT
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Growth Curve Analysis ◽  
New Words ◽  
Weekly Training ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
L1 And L2

Longitudinal word learning studies which control for experience can advance understanding of language learning and potential intra- and inter-language relationships in developing bilinguals. We examined novel word learning in both the first (L1) and the second (L2) languages of bilingual children. The rate and shape of change as well as the role of existing vocabulary in new word learning were of primary interest. Participants were 32 three-to-five-year old children. All participants had Hmong as their L1 and English as their L2. A novel word learning paradigm was used to measure children's acquisition of new form–meaning associations in L1 and L2 over eight weekly training sessions (four in each language). Two-level hierarchical linear models were used to analyze change in the comprehension and production of new words in Hmong and English over time. Results showed that there were comparable linear gains in novel word comprehension and production in both the L1 and the L2, despite different starting points. Success in novel word learning was predicted to some extent by existing vocabulary knowledge within each language. Between-language relationships were both positive and negative. These findings are consistent with highly interactive dynamic theories of sequential bilingual language learning.

Understanding Bilingual Word Learning: The Role of Phonotactic Probability and Phonological Neighborhood Density

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (12) ◽  
pp. 3551-3560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu KK Nair ◽  
Britta Biedermann ◽  
Lyndsey Nickels
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
Learning Mechanisms ◽  
Phonotactic Probability ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood Density ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Phonological Neighborhood

Purpose Previous research has shown that the language-learning mechanism is affected by bilingualism resulting in a novel word learning advantage for bilingual speakers. However, less is known about the factors that might influence this advantage. This article reports an investigation of 2 factors: phonotactic probability and phonological neighborhood density. Method Acquisition of 15 novel words varying in phonotactic probability and phonological neighborhood density was examined in high-proficiency, early onset, Mandarin–English bilinguals and English monolinguals. Results Both bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrated a significant effect of phonotactic probability and phonological neighborhood density. Novel word learning improved when the phonological neighborhood density was higher; in contrast, higher phonotactic probability resulted in worse learning. Although the bilingual speakers showed significantly better novel word learning than monolingual speakers, this did not interact with phonotactic probability and phonological neighborhood density manipulations. Conclusion Both bilingual and monolingual word learning abilities are constrained by the same learning mechanisms. However, bilingual advantages may be underpinned by more effective allocation of cognitive resources due to their dual language experience.

Quantifying the Effects of Background Speech Babble on Preschool Children's Novel Word Learning in a Multisession Paradigm: A Preliminary Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 345-356
Author(s):  
Meital Avivi-Reich ◽  
Megan Y. Roberts ◽  
Tina M. Grieco-Calub
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Exposure Condition ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Verbal Recall ◽  
Referent Selection ◽  
Main Effect ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Novel Word Learning

Purpose This study tested the effects of background speech babble on novel word learning in preschool children with a multisession paradigm. Method Eight 3-year-old children were exposed to a total of 8 novel word–object pairs across 2 story books presented digitally. Each story contained 4 novel consonant–vowel–consonant nonwords. Children were exposed to both stories, one in quiet and one in the presence of 4-talker babble presented at 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio. After each story, children's learning was tested with a referent selection task and a verbal recall (naming) task. Children were exposed to and tested on the novel word–object pairs on 5 separate days within a 2-week span. Results A significant main effect of session was found for both referent selection and verbal recall. There was also a significant main effect of exposure condition on referent selection performance, with more referents correctly selected for word–object pairs that were presented in quiet compared to pairs presented in speech babble. Finally, children's verbal recall of novel words was statistically better than baseline performance (i.e., 0%) on Sessions 3–5 for words exposed in quiet, but only on Session 5 for words exposed in speech babble. Conclusions These findings suggest that background speech babble at 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio disrupts novel word learning in preschool-age children. As a result, children may need more time and more exposures of a novel word before they can recognize or verbally recall it.

Measuring Word Learning Ability in Sequential Bilingual Children

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pui Fong Kan
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Learning Skills ◽  
Word Forms ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract The purpose of this article is to look at the word learning skills in sequential bilingual children—children who learn two languages (L1 and L2) at different times in their childhood. Learning a new word is a process of learning a word form and relating this form to a concept. For bilingual children, each concept might need to map onto two word forms (in L1 and in L2). In case studies, I present 3 typically developing Hmong-English bilingual preschoolers' word learning skills in Hmong (L1) and in English (L2) during an 8-week period (4 weeks for each language). The results showed gains in novel-word knowledge in L1 and in L2 when the amount of input is equal for both languages. The individual differences in novel word learning are discussed.

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