Aptitude, age and cognitive development

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 5-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria del Mar Suárez ◽  
Carmen Muñoz
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Middle Childhood ◽  
Validation Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Aptitude ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
Final Score ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Modern Language Aptitude Test

In the validation studies of the Modern Language Aptitude Test-Elementary (MLAT-E) (Carroll & Sapon 1967) and its Spanish version, the MLAT-ES (Stansfield & Reed 2005), the total scores across grades increase unsteadily. At no point, though, has this increase been discussed. Similar results are found in the present study, which addresses this issue from two viewpoints, age and the supposed stability of language aptitude. The participants in this study are bilingual Catalan-Spanish children in grades from 3 to 7. 325 participants took the MLAT-ES and 304 participants took its Catalan version (MLAT-EC). The analyses of the children’s performance in both tests suggest that the higher the grade, the higher the final score. However, the difference between the means of the total score is consistently larger between grade 3 and 4 than between the other grades. Besides, this increase seems to plateau between grade 6 and 7. Results are discussed in relation to the influence that children’s age and cognitive development in middle childhood seem to have on children’s language aptitude development.

Neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for potentially resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and the significance of Rad51 expression as a factor predictive of the treatment response.

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14601-e14601
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Saeki ◽  
Tomonori Nakanoko ◽  
Hajime Ohtsu ◽  
Hiroyuki Kawano ◽  
Koji Ando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Postoperative Complications ◽  
Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy ◽  
Pathological Response ◽  
The Other ◽  
Biopsy Specimens ◽  
Resectable Esophageal ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Grade 3

e14601 Background: The clinical significance of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT) for potentially resectable esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and its effect on the development of postoperative complications are unclear. On the other hand, the Rad51 expression is related to the sensitivity to chemotherapy or radiotherapy; however, the significance of the Rad51 expression in ESCC has not yet been clarified. Methods: 1) One hundred sixty-eight patients with clinical Stage II-III (cStageII-III) ESCC were classified into two groups consisting of 76 who received NACRT followed by esophagectomy and 92 patients who received surgery alone. The prognosis and incidence of postoperative complications were retrospectively compared between the two groups. The pathological response to NACRT as well as the patient prognosis were also analyzed for the NACRT group patients. 2) The expression of Rad51 was investigated in pretreatment biopsy specimens in 41 ESCC cases who underwent surgery after NACRT, and the findings were compared with the pathological response to NACRT. Results: 1) The 5-year survival rate was 47.7% in the surgery alone group and 56.5% in the NACRT group, and the difference was not a statistically significant (p=0.4831). However, the 5-year survival rates of patients in whom NACRT was Grade 3 (markedly effective), was obviously better than that of the other patients (Grade0/1 – ineffective/slightly effective: 36.9%, Grade 2 - moderately effective: 53.8%, Grade 3 - markedly effective: 100%). The incidence of postoperative complications was 31.5% in the surgery alone group and 40.8% in the NACRT group, and the difference was not a statistically significant (p=0.2121). 2) Grade 3 was more frequently observed in Rad51-negative cases (n=13) than Rad51-positive cases (n=28; 71.4% vs. 28.6%, p=0.0239). Conclusions: The pathological complete response of NACRT is critical for improving the survival of patients with cStageII-III ESCC. The Rad51 expression in pretreatment biopsy specimens was therefore suggested to be a useful predictive factor for the response to NACRT.

APTITUDE AS GRAMMATICAL SENSITIVITY AND THE INITIAL STAGES OF LEARNING JAPANESE AS A L2

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill VanPatten ◽  
Megan Smith
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
The Novel ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Aptitude ◽  
Modern Language ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
Basic Word ◽  
Grammatical Sensitivity ◽  
Embedded Clauses ◽  
Modern Language Aptitude Test

In this article, we challenge the notion that aptitude—operationalized as grammatical sensitivity as measured by the Words in Sentences section of the Modern Language Aptitude Test—is central to adult second language (L2) acquisition. We present the findings of a study on the acquisition of two properties of Japanese, head-final word order and case marking, by naïve learners of Japanese as a L2 who had no prior knowledge of this language or any other head-final, case-marking language. Participants underwent an input treatment in which they heard and saw basic subject-object-verb sentences in Japanese and were subsequently tested on these basic sentences and also on sentences to which they were not exposed during the treatment (i.e., polar questions and embedded clauses). Reading times on grammatical and ungrammatical sentences served as measures of underlying sensitivity to violations of grammatical word order for both the basic sentences and the novel sentences. Our results yielded three groups of learners: those who showed sensitivity to violations of basic word order, polar questions, and embedded clauses (parameter reset); those who showed sensitivity to violations of basic word order and polar questions only (partial parameter reset); and those who showed sensitivity to violations of basic word order only (no parameter reset). Because our measure of aptitude as grammatical sensitivity did not emerge as a factor distinguishing the three groups from one another, we argue that this component of aptitude is not a factor in whether learners are able to reset parameters. We also found that all participants, regardless of group, demonstrated sensitivity to case-marking violations, suggesting that aptitude as grammatical sensitivity plays no role in the acquisition of underlying features related to case or to the surface-level markings of case in Japanese.

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