scholarly journals More than words: word predictability, prosody, gesture and mouth movements in natural language comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1955) ◽  
pp. 20210500
Author(s):  
Ye Zhang ◽  
Diego Frassinelli ◽  
Jyrki Tuomainen ◽  
Jeremy I. Skipper ◽  
Gabriella Vigliocco

The ecology of human language is face-to-face interaction, comprising cues such as prosody, co-speech gestures and mouth movements. Yet, the multimodal context is usually stripped away in experiments as dominant paradigms focus on linguistic processing only. In two studies we presented video-clips of an actress producing naturalistic passages to participants while recording their electroencephalogram. We quantified multimodal cues (prosody, gestures, mouth movements) and measured their effect on a well-established electroencephalographic marker of processing load in comprehension (N400). We found that brain responses to words were affected by informativeness of co-occurring multimodal cues, indicating that comprehension relies on linguistic and non-linguistic cues. Moreover, they were affected by interactions between the multimodal cues, indicating that the impact of each cue dynamically changes based on the informativeness of other cues. Thus, results show that multimodal cues are integral to comprehension, hence, our theories must move beyond the limited focus on speech and linguistic processing.

Author(s):  
Ye Zhang ◽  
Diego Frassinelli ◽  
Jyrki Tuomainen ◽  
Jeremy I Skipper ◽  
Gabriella Vigliocco

AbstractThe ecology of human language is face-to-face interaction, comprising cues, like prosody, cospeech gestures, and mouth movements. Yet, the multimodal context is usually stripped away in experiments as dominant paradigms focus on linguistic processing only. In two studies we presented video-clips of an actress producing naturalistic passages to participants whose electroencephalographic activity was recorded. We quantified each cue and determined their effect on a well-established electroencephalographic marker of cognitive load in comprehension (N400). We found that brain responses to words were affected by informativeness of co-occurring multimodal cues, indicating that comprehension relies on linguistic and non-linguistic cues. Moreover, brain responses were affected by interactions between the multimodal cues, indicating that the impact of each cue dynamically changes based on the informativeness of other available cues. Thus, results show that multimodal cues are integral to comprehension, hence, our theories must move beyond the limited focus on speech and linguistic processing.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hinnell ◽  
Fey Parrill

When faced with an ambiguous pronoun, comprehenders use both multimodal cues (e.g., gestures) and linguistic cues to identify the antecedent. While research has shown that gestures facilitate language comprehension, improve reference tracking, and influence the interpretation of ambiguous pronouns, literature on reference resolution suggests that a wide set of linguistic constraints influences the successful resolution of ambiguous pronouns and that linguistic cues are more powerful than some multimodal cues. To address the outstanding question of the importance of gesture as a cue in reference resolution relative to cues in the speech signal, we have previously investigated the comprehension of contrastive gestures that indexed abstract referents – in this case expressions of personal preference – and found that such gestures did facilitate the resolution of ambiguous statements of preference. In this study, we extend this work to investigate whether the effect of gesture on resolution is diminished when the gesture indexes a statement that is less likely to be interpreted as the correct referent. Participants watched videos in which a speaker contrasted two ideas that were either neutral (e.g., whether to take the train to a ballgame or drive) or moral (e.g., human cloning is (un)acceptable). A gesture to the left or right side co-occurred with speech expressing each position. In gesture-disambiguating trials, an ambiguous phrase (e.g., I agree with that, where that is ambiguous) was accompanied by a gesture to one side or the other. In gesture non-disambiguating trials, no third gesture occurred with the ambiguous phrase. Participants were more likely to choose the idea accompanied by gesture as the stimulus speaker’s preference. We found no effect of scenario type. Regardless of whether the linguistic cue expressed a view that was morally charged or neutral, observers used gesture to understand the speaker’s opinion. This finding contributes to our understanding of the strength and range of cues, both linguistic and multimodal, that listeners use to resolve ambiguous references.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
DARREN TANNER ◽  
KAYO INOUE ◽  
LEE OSTERHOUT

Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we investigated the impact of a range of individual difference measures related to L2 learning on proficient L1 Spanish – L2 English bilinguals’ brain responses during L2 morphosyntactic processing. Although grand mean ERP analyses revealed a biphasic N400–P600 response to English subject–verb agreement violations, subsequent analyses showed that participants’ brain responses varied along a continuum between N400- and P600-dominance. To investigate this pattern, we introduce two novel ERP measures that independently quantify relative brain response type and overall magnitude. Multivariate analyses revealed that larger overall brain responses were associated with higher L2 proficiency, while relative brain response type (N400 or P600) was predicted by a coalition of variables, most notably learners’ motivation and age of arrival in an L2 environment. Our findings show that aspects of a learner's background can differentially impact a learner's overall sensitivity to L2 morphosyntax and qualitative use of linguistic cues during processing.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanette P. Napier ◽  
Sonal Dekhane ◽  
Stella Smith

This paper describes the conversion of an introductory computing course to the blended learning model at a small, public liberal arts college. Blended learning significantly reduces face-to-face instruction by incorporating rich, online learning experiences. To assess the impact of blended learning on students, survey data was collected at the midpoint and end of semester, and student performance on the final exam was compared in traditional and blended learning sections. To capture faculty perspectives on teaching blended learning courses, written reflections and discussions from faculty teaching blended learning sections were analyzed. Results indicate that student performance in the traditional and blended learning sections of the course were comparable and that students reported high levels of interaction with their instructor. Faculty teaching the course share insights on transitioning to the blended learning format.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 396-402
Author(s):  
Maria Florentina Rumba ◽  
Margaretha P.N Rozady ◽  
Theresia W. Mado

Abstrak: Kebiasaan manusia berubah karena adanya wabah COVID-19, hal ini berpengaruh ketika manusia masuk ke dalam fase new normal. New normal diartikan sebagai keadaan yang tidak biasa dilakukan sebelumnya, yang kemudian dijadikan sebagai standar atau kebiasaan baru yang mesti dilakukan manusia untuk dirinya sendiri maupun untuk bersosialisasi dengan orang lain. Kebiasaan baru ini pun menimbulkan pro dan kontra seiring dengan dampak yang timbul. Lembaga pendidikan tinggi merupakan salah satu yang merasakan dampak penerapan new normal. Perkuliahan yang selama ini dilakukan secara online/daring, akan kembali dilakukan secara luring/tatap muka, dengan tetap menerapkan protokol COVID-19 seperti mengenakan masker, menjaga jarak, mengenakan sarung tangan, serta tidak melakukan kontak fisik seperti berjabat tangan. Masalah yang muncul bukan hanya kecemasan orang tua terhadap anak – anaknya, tetapi bagaimana lembaga pendidikan tinggi mengatur segala sumber daya yang dimiliki agar memenuhi standar penerapan new normal. penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui penerimaan  terhadap kondisi normal yang baru menggunakan Perspektif balance score card. Abstract: Human habits change because of the COVID-19 outbreak, this affects when humans enter the new normal phase. New normal is defined as a condition that is not normally done before, which is then used as a standard or new habits that must be done by humans for themselves or to socialize with others. This new habit also raises the pros and cons along with the impact arising with the new normal. Higher education institutions are the ones who feel the impact of implementing new normal. Lectures that have been conducted online / online will be re-done offline / face to face, while still applying the COVID-19 protocol such as wearing a mask, keeping a distance, wearing gloves, and not making physical contact such as shaking hands. The problem that arises is not only parents' anxiety about their children, but how higher education institutions regulate all available resources to meet new normal implementation standards. This study aims to determine acceptance of new normal conditions using the balance score card Perspective.


1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
DENNIS ROSS-DEGNAN ◽  
STEPHEN B SOUMERAI ◽  
PRADEEP K GOEL ◽  
JAMES BATES ◽  
JOSEPH MAKHULO ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robyn Taylor ◽  
Eileen McKinlay ◽  
Caroline Morris

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Standing orders are used by many general practices in New Zealand. They allow a practice nurse to assess patients and administer and/or supply medicines without needing intervention from a general practitioner. AIM To explore organisational strategic stakeholders’ views of standing order use in general practice nationally. METHODS Eight semi-structured, qualitative, face-to-face interviews were conducted with participants representing key primary care stakeholder organisations from nursing, medicine and pharmacy. Data were analysed using a qualitative inductive thematic approach. RESULTS Three key themes emerged: a lack of understanding around standing order use in general practice, legal and professional concerns, and the impact on workforce and clinical practice. Standing orders were perceived to extend nursing practice and seen as a useful tool in enabling patients to access medicines in a safe and timely manner. DISCUSSION The variability in understanding of the definition and use of standing orders appears to relate to a lack of leadership in this area. Leadership should facilitate the required development of standardised resources and quality assurance measures to aid implementation. If these aspects are addressed, then standing orders will continue to be a useful tool in general practice and enable patients to have access to health care and, if necessary, to medicines without seeing a general practitioner.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 786-787
Author(s):  
Hyunjin Noh

Abstract This qualitative study explored the impact of pain and discomfort on the lives of cognitively impaired older adults and their caregivers from the caregiver perspective. Forty-three individuals of age 19+, who identified themselves as primary caregiver to a chronically or seriously ill older adult (age 50+) with cognitive impairment, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia, were recruited at various community settings. Individual, face-to-face interviews were conducted to ask participants how they thought their care-recipient’s pain and discomfort affected the care-recipient’s and the caregiver’s life respectively. Inductive, thematic analysis of interview transcripts revealed several key themes: compromised mobility, limited social interaction or activities, and depressive symptoms in both care-recipients and caregivers; aggravated cognitive decline in care-recipients; and poorer physical health in caregivers. Participants wanted more information on the disease trajectory and available services, particularly home-based therapies and social activities for care-recipients, which provides future program/practice implications.


Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 558
Author(s):  
David Valiente ◽  
Héctor Campello-Vicente ◽  
Emilio Velasco-Sánchez ◽  
Fernando Rodríguez-Mas ◽  
Nuria Campillo-Davo

University education approaches related to the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), have generally particularized on teaching activity and learning programs which are commonly understood as reoriented lessons that fuse theoretic concepts interweaved with practical activities. In this context, team work has been widely acknowledged as a means to conduct practical and hands-on lessons, and has been revealed to be successful in the achievement of exercise resolution and design tasks. Besides this, methodologies sustained by ICT resources such as online or blended approaches, have also reported numerous benefits for students’ active learning. However, such benefits have to be fully validated within the particular teaching context, which may facilitate student achievement to a greater or lesser extent. In this work, we analyze the impact of attendance modalities on the learning performance of a STEM-related course on “Machines and Mechanisms Theory”, in which practical lessons are tackled through a team work approach. The validity of the results is reinforced by group testing and statistical tests with a sample of 128 participants. Students were arranged in a test group (online attendance) and in a control group (face-to-face attendance) to proceed with team work during the practical lessons. Thus, the efficacy of distance and in situ methodologies is compared. Moreover, additional variables have also been compared according to the historical record of the course, in regards to previous academic years. Finally, students’ insights about the collaborative side of this program, self-knowledge and satisfaction with the proposal have also been reported by a custom questionnaire. The results demonstrate greater performance and satisfaction amongst participants in the face-to-face modality. Such a modality is prooven to be statistically significant for the final achievement of students in detriment to online attendance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4105
Author(s):  
Yupei Jiang ◽  
Honghu Sun

Leisure walking has been an important topic in space-time behavior and public health research. However, prior studies pay little attention to the integration and the characterization of diverse and multilevel demands of leisure walking. This study constructs a theoretical framework of leisure walking behavior demands from three different dimensions and levels of activity participation, space-time opportunity, and health benefit. On this basis, through a face-to-face survey in Nanjing, China (N = 1168, 2017–2018 data), this study quantitatively analyzes the characteristics of leisure walking demands, as well as the impact of the built environment and individual factors on it. The results show that residents have a high demand for participation and health benefits of leisure walking. The residential neighborhood provides more space opportunities for leisure walking, but there is a certain constraint on the choice of walking time. Residential neighborhood with medium or large parks is more likely to satisfy residents’ demands for engaging in leisure walking and obtaining high health benefits, while neighborhood with a high density of walking paths tends to limit the satisfaction of demands for space opportunity and health benefit. For residents aged 36 and above, married, or retired, their diverse demands for leisure walking are more likely to be fulfilled, while those with high education, medium-high individual income, general and above health status, or children (<18 years) are less likely to be fulfilled. These finding that can have important implications for the healthy neighborhood by fully considering diverse and multilevel demands of leisure walking behavior.


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