scholarly journals Preserved Implicit Knowledge of a Forgotten Childhood Language

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1064-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey S. Bowers ◽  
Sven L. Mattys ◽  
Suzanne H. Gage
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Explicit Memory ◽  
Implicit Knowledge ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Previous Exposure ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Young Control ◽  
Language Exposure

Previous research suggests that a language learned during early childhood is completely forgotten when contact to that language is severed. In contrast with these findings, we report leftover traces of early language exposure in individuals in their adult years, despite a complete absence of explicit memory for the language. Specifically, native English individuals under age 40 selectively relearned subtle Hindi or Zulu sound contrasts that they once knew. However, individuals over 40 failed to show any relearning, and young control participants with no previous exposure to Hindi or Zulu showed no learning. This research highlights the lasting impact of early language experience in shaping speech perception, and the value of exposing children to foreign languages even if such exposure does not continue into adulthood.

scholarly journals The Language Exposure Assessment Tool: Quantifying Language Exposure in Infants and Children

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 1346-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie DeAnda ◽  
Laura Bosch ◽  
Diane Poulin-Dubois ◽  
Pascal Zesiger ◽  
Margaret Friend
Keyword(s):  
Exposure Assessment ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efficient Tool ◽  
French And English ◽  
High Internal Consistency ◽  
Language Exposure

Purpose The aim of this study was to develop the Language Exposure Assessment Tool (LEAT) and to examine its cross-linguistic validity, reliability, and utility. The LEAT is a computerized interview-style assessment that requests parents to estimate language exposure. The LEAT yields an automatic calculation of relative language exposure and captures qualitative aspects of early language experience. Method Relative language exposure as reported on the LEAT and vocabulary size at 17 months of age were measured in a group of bilingual language learners with varying levels of exposure to French and English or Spanish and English. Results The LEAT demonstrates high internal consistency and criterion validity. In addition, the LEAT's calculation of relative language exposure explains variability in vocabulary size above a single overall parent estimate. Conclusions The LEAT is a valid and efficient tool for characterizing early language experience across cultural settings and levels of language exposure. The LEAT could be a useful tool in clinical contexts to aid in determining whether assessment and intervention should be conducted in one or more languages.

scholarly journals Variability and stability in early language acquisition: Comparing monolingual and bilingual infants' speech perception and word recognition

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Höhle ◽  
Ranka Bijeljac-Babic ◽  
Thierry Nazzi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
The State ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Human Infants ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Language Exposure

AbstractMany human infants grow up learning more than one language simultaneously but only recently has research started to study early language acquisition in this population more systematically. The paper gives an overview on findings on early language acquisition in bilingual infants during the first two years of life and compares these findings to current knowledge on early language acquisition in monolingual infants. Given the state of the research, the overview focuses on research on phonological and early lexical development in the first two years of life. We will show that the developmental trajectory of early language acquisition in these areas is very similar in mono- and bilingual infants suggesting that these early steps into language are guided by mechanisms that are rather robust against the differences in the conditions of language exposure that mono- and bilingual infants typically experience.

From Ear to Cortex

2002 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 237-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Nittrouer
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Young Child ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Developmental Changes ◽  
Learning Problems ◽  
Basic Unit ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Acoustic Speech Signal ◽  
Perceptual Changes

Phoneme-sized phonetic segments are often defined as the most basic unit of language organization. Two common inferences made from this description are that there are clear correlates to phonetic segments in the acoustic speech stream, and that humans have access to these segments from birth. In fact, well-replicated studies have shown that the acoustic signal of speech lacks invariant physical correlates to phonetic segments, and that the ability to recognize segmental structure is not present from the start of language learning. Instead, the young child must learn how to process the complex, generally continuous acoustic speech signal so that phonetic structure can be derived. This paper describes and reviews experiments that have revealed developmental changes in speech perception that accompany improvements in access to phonetic structure. In addition, this paper explains how these perceptual changes appear to be related to other aspects of language development, such as syntactic abilities and reading. Finally, evidence is provided that these critical developmental changes result from adequate language experience in naturalistic contexts, and accordingly suggests that intervention strategies for children with language learning problems should focus on enhancing language experience in natural contexts.

scholarly journals Speech perception at birth: The brain encodes fast and slow temporal information

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (30) ◽  
pp. eaba7830
Author(s):  
Laurianne Cabrera ◽  
Judit Gervain
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
The Brain

Speech perception is constrained by auditory processing. Although at birth infants have an immature auditory system and limited language experience, they show remarkable speech perception skills. To assess neonates’ ability to process the complex acoustic cues of speech, we combined near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain responses to syllables differing in consonants. The syllables were presented in three conditions preserving (i) original temporal modulations of speech [both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM)], (ii) both fast and slow AM, but not FM, or (iii) only the slowest AM (<8 Hz). EEG responses indicate that neonates can encode consonants in all conditions, even without the fast temporal modulations, similarly to adults. Yet, the fast and slow AM activate different neural areas, as shown by NIRS. Thus, the immature human brain is already able to decompose the acoustic components of speech, laying the foundations of language learning.

Interpreting phonological memory performance in bilinguals

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 1333-1336
Author(s):  
Margarita Kaushanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Memory ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
The Relationship

The central hypothesis in the Pierce, Genesee, Delcenserie, and Morgan article is that phonological memory is key to explaining the relationship between early language experience (more specifically, less and more optimal ends of the language-experience continuum) and language learning outcomes. One piece of evidence offered is that phonological memory skills are enhanced by bilingualism, with bilingualism representing enriched experience. Here, I propose that data from bilingual children may contradict Pierce et al.’s central hypothesis, rather than support it.

scholarly journals Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 1784-1795 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan R. Swanson ◽  
Kevin Donovan ◽  
Sarah Paterson ◽  
Jason J. Wolff ◽  
Julia Parish‐Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Skills ◽  
Early Language ◽  
Language Exposure
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