scholarly journals Overlapping and distinct neural networks supporting novel word learning in bilinguals and monolinguals

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Iske Bakker-Marshall ◽  
Atsuko Takashima ◽  
Carla B. Fernandez ◽  
Gabriele Janzen ◽  
James M. McQueen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
English Word ◽  
Control Networks ◽  
Bilingual Lexicon ◽  
Word Memory ◽  
Memory Integration ◽  
New Information ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Abstract This study investigated how bilingual experience alters neural mechanisms supporting novel word learning. We hypothesised that novel words elicit increased semantic activation in the larger bilingual lexicon, potentially stimulating stronger memory integration than in monolinguals. English monolinguals and Spanish–English bilinguals were trained on two sets of written Swahili–English word pairs, one set on each of two consecutive days, and performed a recognition task in the MRI-scanner. Lexical integration was measured through visual primed lexical decision. Surprisingly, no group difference emerged in explicit word memory, and priming occurred only in the monolingual group. This difference in lexical integration may indicate an increased need for slow neocortical interleaving of old and new information in the denser bilingual lexicon. The fMRI data were consistent with increased use of cognitive control networks in monolinguals and of articulatory motor processes in bilinguals, providing further evidence for experience-induced neural changes: monolinguals and bilinguals reached largely comparable behavioural performance levels in novel word learning, but did so by recruiting partially overlapping but non-identical neural systems to acquire novel words.

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.

Effect of speaker certainty on novel word learning in monolingual and bilingual children

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 883-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
MILIJANA BUAC ◽  
AURÉLIE TAUZIN-LARCHÉ ◽  
EMILY WEISBERG ◽  
MARGARITA KAUSHANSKAYA
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds ◽  
Novel Words

In the present study, we examined the effect of speaker certainty on word-learning performance in English-speaking monolingual (MAge = 6.40) and Spanish–English bilingual (MAge = 6.58) children. No group differences were observed when children learned novel words from a certain speaker. However, bilingual children were more willing to learn novel words from an uncertain speaker than their monolingual peers. These findings indicate that language experience influences how children weigh cues to speaker credibility during learning and suggest that children with more diverse linguistic backgrounds (i.e., bilinguals) are less prone to prioritizing information based on speaker certainty.

Cognitive mechanisms of word learning in bilingual and monolingual adults: The role of phonological memory

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 470-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARGARITA KAUSHANSKAYA
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Phonological Memory ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Previous studies have indicated that bilingualism may facilitate lexical learning in adults. The goals of this research were (i) to examine whether bilingual influences on word learning diverge for phonologically-familiar and phonologically-unfamiliar novel words, and (ii) to examine whether increased phonological memory capacity can account for bilingual effects on word learning. In Experiment 1, participants learned phonologically-familiar novel words that were constructed using the phonemes of English – the native language for all participants. In Experiment 2, participants learned phonologically-unfamiliar novel words that included non-English phonemes. In each experiment, bilingual adults were contrasted with two groups of monolingual adults: a high memory-span monolingual group (that matched bilinguals on phonological memory performance) and a low-span monolingual group. Results showed that bilingual participants in both experiments outperformed monolingual participants, both high-span and low-span. High-span monolinguals outperformed low-span monolinguals when learning phonologically-unfamiliar novel words, but not when learning phonologically-familiar novel words. The findings suggest that the bilingual advantage for novel word learning is not contingent on the phonological properties of novel words, and that phonological memory capacity as measured here cannot account for the bilingual effects on learning.

scholarly journals Psychological and Electrophysiological Correlates of Word Learning Success

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-192
Author(s):  
Nadezhda A. Mkrtychian ◽  
Svetlana N. Kostromina ◽  
Daria S. Gnedykh ◽  
Diana M. Tsvetova ◽  
Evgeny D. Blagovechtchenski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Temporal Correlation ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
Alpha Oscillation ◽  
Related Potentials ◽  
Novel Words

Background. A rich vocabulary supports human achievements in socio-economic activities, education, and communication. It is therefore important to clarify the nature of language acquisition as a complex multidimensional process. However, both the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning language learning, as well as the links between them, are still poorly understood. Objective. This study aims to explore the psychological and neurophysiological correlates of successful word acquisition in a person’s native language. Design. Thirty adults read sentences with novel nouns, following which the participants’ electroencephalograms were recorded during a word-reading task. Event-related potentials in response to novel words and alpha oscillation parameters (amplitude, variability, and long-range temporal correlation dynamics) were analyzed. Learning outcomes were assessed at the lexical and semantic levels. Psychological variables measured using Amthauer’s test (verbal abilities), BIS/BAS scales (motivation), and the MSTAT-1 (ambiguity tolerance) and alpha oscillation parameters were factored. Results. Better recognition of novel words was related to two factors which had high factor loadings for all measured alpha oscillation parameters, indicating the role of attention networks and respective neural activity for enabling information processing. More successful learners had lower P200 amplitude, which also suggests higher attention-system involvement. Another factor predicted better acquisition of word meanings for less ambiguity-tolerant students, while the factor which pooled logical conceptual thinking ability and persistence in goal-reaching, positively correlated with acquisition of both word forms and meanings. Conclusion. The psychological factors predominantly correlated with word-learning success in semantic tasks, while neurophysiological variables were linked to performance in the recognition task.

Word learning in monolingual and bilingual children: The influence of speaker eye-gaze

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ishanti Gangopadhyay ◽  
Margarita Kaushanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Word Retention ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Novel Words

Abstract The current study examined the impact of a speaker's gaze on novel-word learning in 4-5-year old monolingual (N = 23) and bilingual children (N = 24). Children were taught novel words when the speaker looked at the object both times while labeling it (consistent) and when the speaker looked at the object only the first time (inconsistent). During teaching, bilingual children differentiated between the target object (that matched the label) and non-target object (that did not match the label) earlier than the monolingual children on trials without eye-gaze information. However, during testing, monolingual children showed more robust retention of novel words than bilingual children in both conditions. Findings suggest that bilingualism shapes children's attention to eye-gaze during word learning, but that, ultimately, there is no bilingual advantage for utilizing this cue in the service of word retention.

scholarly journals Professional Music Training and Novel Word Learning: From Faster Semantic Encoding to Longer-lasting Word Representations

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1584-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Dittinger ◽  
Mylène Barbaroux ◽  
Mariapaola D'Imperio ◽  
Lutz Jäncke ◽  
Stefan Elmer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Experimental Session ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Music Training ◽  
N400 Component ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

On the basis of previous results showing that music training positively influences different aspects of speech perception and cognition, the aim of this series of experiments was to test the hypothesis that adult professional musicians would learn the meaning of novel words through picture–word associations more efficiently than controls without music training (i.e., fewer errors and faster RTs). We also expected musicians to show faster changes in brain electrical activity than controls, in particular regarding the N400 component that develops with word learning. In line with these hypotheses, musicians outperformed controls in the most difficult semantic task. Moreover, although a frontally distributed N400 component developed in both groups of participants after only a few minutes of novel word learning, in musicians this frontal distribution rapidly shifted to parietal scalp sites, as typically found for the N400 elicited by known words. Finally, musicians showed evidence for better long-term memory for novel words 5 months after the main experimental session. Results are discussed in terms of cascading effects from enhanced perception to memory as well as in terms of multifaceted improvements of cognitive processing due to music training. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that music training influences semantic aspects of language processing in adults. These results open new perspectives for education in showing that early music training can facilitate later foreign language learning. Moreover, the design used in the present experiment can help to specify the stages of word learning that are impaired in children and adults with word learning difficulties.

scholarly journals Learning to live with interfering neighbours: the influence of time of learning and level of encoding on word learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 181842 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Walker ◽  
L. M. Henderson ◽  
F. E. Fletcher ◽  
V. C. P. Knowland ◽  
S. A. Cairney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Explicit Memory ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Exposure Level ◽  
Lexical Competition ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Word Memory ◽  
Exposure Levels ◽  
Novel Word Learning

New vocabulary is consolidated offline, particularly during sleep; however, the parameters that influence consolidation remain unclear. Two experiments investigated effects of exposure level and delay between learning and sleep on adults' consolidation of novel competitors (e.g. BANARA) to existing words (e.g. BANANA). Participants made speeded semantic decisions (i.e. a forced choice: natural versus man-made) to the existing words, with the expectation that novel word learning would inhibit responses due to lexical competition. This competition was observed, particularly when assessed after sleep, for both standard and high exposure levels (10 and 20 exposures per word; Experiment 1). Using a lower exposure level (five exposures; Experiment 2), no post-sleep enhancement of competition was observed, despite evidence of consolidation when explicit knowledge of novel word memory was tested. Thus, when encoding is relatively weak, consolidation-related lexical integration is particularly compromised. There was no evidence that going to bed soon after learning is advantageous for overnight consolidation; however, there was some preliminary suggestion that longer gaps between learning and bed-onset were associated with better explicit memory of novel words one week later, but only at higher levels of exposure. These findings suggest that while lexical integration can occur overnight, weaker lexical traces may not be able to access overnight integration processes in the sleeping brain. Furthermore, the finding that longer-term explicit memory of stronger (but not weaker) traces benefit from periods of wake following learning deserves examination in future research.

scholarly journals A comparison of homonym and novel word learning: the role of phonotactic probability and word frequency

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 827-853 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLY L. STORKEL ◽  
JUNKO MAEKAWA
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Phonotactic Probability ◽  
Visual Support ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

This study compares homonym learning to novel word learning by three- to four-year-old children to determine whether homonyms are learned more rapidly or more slowly than novel words. In addition, the role of form characteristics in homonym learning is examined by manipulating phonotactic probability and word frequency. Thirty-two children were exposed to homonyms and novel words in a story with visual support and learning was measured in two tasks: referent identification; picture naming. Results showed that responses to homonyms were as accurate as responses to novel words in the referent identification task. In contrast, responses to homonyms were more accurate than responses to novel words in the picture-naming task. Furthermore, homonyms composed of common sound sequences were named more accurately than those composed of rare sound sequences. The influence of word frequency was less straightforward. These results may be inconsistent with a one-to-one form–referent bias in word learning.

scholarly journals Evidence for Enhanced Long-term Memory in Professional Musicians and Its Contribution to Novel Word Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Eva Dittinger ◽  
Betina Korka ◽  
Mireille Besson
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Transfer Effects ◽  
Music Training ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Previous studies evidenced transfer effects from professional music training to novel word learning. However, it is unclear whether such an advantage is driven by cascading, bottom–up effects from better auditory perception and attention to semantic processing or by top–down influences from cognitive functions on perception. Moreover, the long-term effects of novel word learning remain an open issue. To address these questions, we used a word learning design, with four different sets of novel words, and we neutralized the potential perceptive and associative learning advantages in musicians. Under such conditions, we did not observe any advantage in musicians on the day of learning (Day 1), at neither a behavioral nor an electrophysiological level; this suggests that the previously reported advantages in musicians are likely to be related to bottom–up processes. Nevertheless, 1 month later (Day 30 [D30]) and for all types of novel words, the error increase from Day 1 to D30 was lower in musicians compared to nonmusicians. In addition, for the set of words that were perceptually difficult to discriminate, only musicians showed typical N400 effects over parietal sites on D30. These results demonstrate that music training improved long-term memory and that transfer effects from music training to word learning (i.e., semantic levels of speech processing) benefit from reinforced (long-term) memory functions. Finally, these findings highlight the positive impact of music training on the acquisition of foreign languages.

The influence of iconic and arbitrary gestures on novel word learning in children with and without SLI

Gesture ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carina Lüke ◽  
Ute Ritterfeld
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Clinical Sample ◽  
Intervention Period ◽  
Fast Mapping ◽  
Subject Design ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Novel Words

Two experiments were conducted to investigate the role of gestures on novel word learning in preschoolers. In Study 1, 20 children at the average age of 4;9 years were given novel words under 3 conditions: with support of iconic gestures; arbitrary gestures; no gestures, exemplifying a within-subject design. Results indicate scaffolding effects of both types of gestures in comparison to the control condition. No indication of gesture type effects could be observed even in children who were old enough to understand the iconicity of iconic gestures. Study 2 was implemented to further test the scaffolding effect of gestures vs. no gestures in children with SLI (n = 20) — but this time only iconic gestures were used. A between-subjects design was followed, using matched groups. Slow mapping was observed in addition to fast mapping within a 5-week-intervention period. Results confirm the scaffolding effect of iconic gestures on slow mapping in the clinical sample.

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