Long-term memory predictors of adult language learning at the interface between syntactic form and meaning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Thematic Role ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Early Stages

Recent neurocognitive models of second language learning have posited specific roles for declarative and procedural memory in the processing of novel linguistic stimuli. Pursuing this line of investigation, the present study examined the role of declarative and procedural memory abilities in the early stages of adult comprehension of sentences in a miniature language with natural language characteristics (BrocantoJ). Thirty-six native Italian young adults were aurally exposed to BrocantoJ in the context of a computer game over three sessions on consecutive days. Following vocabulary training and passive exposure, participants were asked to perform game moves described by aural sentences in the language. Game trials differed with respect to the information the visual context offered. In part of the trials processing of relationships between grammatical properties of the language (word order and morphological case marking) and noun semantics (thematic role) was necessary in order reach an accurate outcome, whereas in others nongrammatical contextual cues were sufficient. Declarative and procedural learning abilities were respectively indexed by visual and verbal declarative memory measures and by a measure of visual implicit sequence learning. Overall, the results indicated a substantial role of declarative learning ability in the early stages of sentence comprehension, thus confirming theoretical predictions and the findings of previous similar studies in miniature artificial language paradigms. However, for trials that specifically probed the learning of relationships between morphosyntax and semantics, a positive interaction between declarative and procedural learning ability also emerged, indicating the cooperative engagement of both types of learning abilities in the processing of relationships between ruled-based grammar and interpretation in the early stages of exposure to a new language in adults.

Cognitive predictors of child second language comprehension and syntactic learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Cognitive Predictors ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Declarative Learning

The present article examines the role of child cognitive abilities for implicit/procedural and declarative learning in the earliest stages of L2 exposure. Fifty-three L1 Italian monolingual children were aurally trained in a novel miniature language over three consecutive days in the context of a computerized game paradigm previously deployed in adult studies investigating relationships between L2 outcomes and long-term memory. A mixed effects model of the relationship between cognitive predictors and outcomes in morphosyntax (measured via a grammaticality judgment test) revealed that, unlike what previously observed in adults with comparable language exposure, procedural learning ability was a significant predictor of learning of word order. By contrast, declarative learning abilities predicted accuracy in sentence comprehension during the gaming task, although the model evidenced that an increasing role of procedural learning ability as practice progressed, as well as a negative interaction between declarative and procedural learning abilities, were also significant factors.

Declarative and procedural memory as individual differences in second language acquisition

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARA MORGAN-SHORT ◽  
MANDY FARETTA-STUTENBERG ◽  
KATHERINE A. BRILL-SCHUETZ ◽  
HELEN CARPENTER ◽  
PATRICK C. M. WONG
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Memory Systems ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Syntactic Development

This study examined how individual differences in cognitive abilities account for variance in the attainment level of adult second language (L2) syntactic development. Participants completed assessments of declarative and procedural learning abilities. They subsequently learned an artificial L2 under implicit training conditions and received extended comprehension and production practice using the L2. Syntactic development was assessed at both early and late stages of acquisition. Results indicated positive relationships between declarative learning ability and syntactic development at early stages of acquisition and between procedural learning ability and development at later stages of acquisition. Individual differences in these memory abilities accounted for a large amount of variance at both stages of development. The findings are consistent with theoretical perspectives of L2 that posit different roles for these memory systems at different stages of development, and suggest that declarative and procedural memory learning abilities may predict L2 grammatical development, at least for implicitly trained learners.

scholarly journals The earliest stages of second language learning: A behavioral investigation of long-term memory and age

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Pili-Moss
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Declarative Learning

A study with 40 L1 Italian 8-9 year old children and its replication with 36 L1 Italian adults investigated the role of declarative and procedural learning ability in the early stages of language learning.The studies investigated: (1) the extent to which memory-related abilities predicted L2 learning of form-meaning mapping between syntax and thematic interpretation, word order and case marking; and (2) the nature of the acquired L2 knowledge in terms of the implicit/explicit distinction.Deploying a computer game in incidental instruction conditions, the participants were aurally trained in the artificial language BrocantoJ over three sessions. Standardized memory tasks, vocabulary learning ability, and an alternating serial reaction time task provided measures of visual/verbal declarative and procedural learning ability. Language learning was assessed via a measure of comprehension during practice and a grammaticality judgment test.Generalized mixed-effects models fitted to both experimental datasets revealed that, although adults attained higher accuracy levels and were faster learners compared to children, the two groups did not differ qualitatively in what they learned. However, by the end of the experiment, adults displayed higher explicit knowledge of syntactic and semantic regularities. During practice, declarative learning ability predicted accuracy in both groups, but procedural learning ability became an increasingly stronger predictor of L2 comprehension only in children. The role of procedural learning ability emerged again only in the child grammaticality judgment test dataset, where it was a statistically significant predictor of learning of word order. In the practice data declarative learning ability and vocabulary learning ability interacted negatively with procedural learning ability in children, whereas declarative learning ability interacted positively with procedural learning ability in adults. Moreover, the positive interaction in adults only obtained for a subset of practice stimuli, i.e. sentences where the processing of linking between morphosyntax and thematic interpretation was required. Overall, the findings support age-related differences and linguistic target differences in the way abilities related to long-term memory predict language learning.

Deficits in Explicit Language Problem Solving Rather Than in Implicit Learning in Specific Language Impairment: Evidence From Learning an Artificial Morphological Rule

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3790-3807 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Ferman ◽  
Liat Kishon-Rabin ◽  
Hila Ganot-Budaga ◽  
Avi Karni
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Procedural Memory ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Language Problems ◽  
Morphological Rule ◽  
Semantic Distinction

Purpose The purpose of this study was to delineate differences between children with specific language impairment (SLI), typical age–matched (TAM) children, and typical younger (TY) children in learning and mastering an undisclosed artificial morphological rule (AMR) through exposure and usage. Method Twenty-six participants (eight 10-year-old children with SLI, 8 TAM children, and ten 8-year-old TY children) were trained to master an AMR across multiple training sessions. The AMR required a phonological transformation of verbs depending on a semantic distinction: whether the preceding noun was animate or inanimate. All participants practiced the application of the AMR to repeated and new (generalization) items, via judgment and production tasks. Results The children with SLI derived significantly less benefit from practice than their peers in learning most aspects of the AMR, even exhibiting smaller gains compared to the TY group in some aspects. Children with SLI benefited less than TAM and even TY children from training to judge and produce repeated items of the AMR. Nevertheless, despite a significant disadvantage in baseline performance, the rate at which they mastered the task-specific phonological regularities was as robust as that of their peers. On the other hand, like 8-year-olds, only half of the SLI group succeeded in uncovering the nature of the AMR and, consequently, in generalizing it to new items. Conclusions Children with SLI were able to learn language aspects that rely on implicit, procedural learning, but experienced difficulties in learning aspects that relied on the explicit uncovering of the semantic principle of the AMR. The results suggest that some of the difficulties experienced by children with SLI when learning a complex language regularity cannot be accounted for by a broad, language-related, procedural memory disability. Rather, a deficit—perhaps a developmental delay in the ability to recruit and solve language problems and establish explicit knowledge regarding a language task—can better explain their difficulties in language learning.

scholarly journals Az aktuális teljesítmény és a mögötte álló tudás disszociációja: az idői tényezők szerepének áttekintése a procedurális tanulás példáján keresztül

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-491
Author(s):  
Kiss Mariann ◽  
Németh Dezső ◽  
Janacsek Karolina
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Review Paper ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Skill Learning ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Temporal Factors ◽  
Learning Language

A hétköznapok során gyakran előfordul, hogy gyengén teljesítünk egy olyan helyzetben, amelyben korábban már bizonyítottuk tudásunkat. A pszichológián belül elméleti és empirikus eredmények is alátámasztják ezt a hétköznapi jelenséget, mely szerint egy adott időpontban mérhető teljesítmény (performancia) nem feltétlenül tükrözi hűen a mögötte álló tudást (kompetencia). Jelen rövid, célzott összefoglaló tanulmánnyal az a célunk, hogy felhívjuk a fi gyelmet a performancia-kompetencia disszociációra a procedurális tanulás területét használva példaként. Fontos azonban kiemelni, hogy ez a jelenség más kognitív funkciók esetén is jelen lehet (pl. nyelvi teljesítmény, döntéshozatal, észlelés), ezért tanulmányunk új kutatásokat ösztönözhet számos kognitív funkció esetén. A korábbi empirikus eredmények áttekintésekor külön hangsúlyt fektetünk a tanulás idői faktoraira, amelyek meghatározhatják, hogy disszociáció lép-e fel adott esetben a performancia és kompetencia között vagy nem. Ezután kitérünk azokra az elméleti magyarázatokra is, amelyek az idői faktorok tanulásra, illetve performancia-kompetencia disszociációra kifejtett hatását próbálják magyarázni. A tanulmány végén kitekintést nyújtunk a disszociáció kutatásmódszertani vonatkozásaira és olyan alkalmazott helyzetekre is, ahol ez a disszociáció jelentősen befolyásolhatja a levont következtetéseket: ilyen például az oktatási-tanulási környezet (készségtanulás, nyelvtanulás), illetve a kognitív tesztek használata a klinikai diagnosztikában. It often occurs in our daily life that we perform weaker in a task in which we have previously shown good knowledge and understanding. In psychology, both theoretical and empirical evidence supports this phenomenon: that is, on certain occasions, our momentary performance does not accurately refl ect our underlying knowledge (competence). The aim of our short, focused review paper is to draw attention to this performance vs. competence dissociation using the fi eld of procedural learning as an example. It is important to note, however, that this phenomenon may occur for a wide range of cognitive functions (e.g., aspects of language performance, decision-making, perception), and therefore, our paper can stimulate research in these areas. In this paper, we review previous empirical fi ndings that focused on the role of temporal factors in procedural learning as these factors can affect whether or not dissociation occurs in a certain case. Then, we briefl y present the explanatory accounts of the role of the temporal factors in learning and in performance vs. competence dissociation. Finally, our review discusses the implications of the presented fi ndings both from a methodological and an applied perspective, highlighting that the dissociation between performance and competence can substantially alter the outcomes and our interpretations in various situations such as in education (e.g., skill learning, language learning) and when applying cognitive tests in clinical settings.

THE ROLE OF PROCEDURAL LEARNING ABILITY IN AUTOMATIZATION OF L2 MORPHOLOGY UNDER DIFFERENT LEARNING SCHEDULES

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 923-937 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuichi Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Short Spacing ◽  
Oral Production ◽  
Learning Conditions ◽  
Two Measures

AbstractThis paper reports on the reanalysis of Suzuki’s (2017) experiment and investigated the extent to which learning schedules influence automatization of second language (L2) morphology. Sixty participants were separated into two groups, which studied morphological rules for oral production under short-spacing (3.3-day intervals) and long-spacing learning conditions (7-day intervals). Their oral production test performance resulted in two measures of automatization: reaction time (RT) as an index of speedup and coefficient of variance (CV) as an index of stability/restructuring. The results showed that, while RT of both groups declined significantly after the training, the 3.3-day group exhibited greater propensity for restructuring than the 7-day group. Furthermore, procedural learning ability measured by the Tower of London task was significantly associated with RT, but not with CV, in the 3.3-day group only. These findings suggest that learning schedules and procedural learning ability influence different stages of automatization of L2 morphological learning.

scholarly journals Exploration of Serial Structure Procedural Learning in Children with Language Impairment

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 336-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Gabriel ◽  
Christelle Maillart ◽  
Melody Guillaume ◽  
Nicolas Stefaniak ◽  
Thierry Meulemans
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Procedural Learning ◽  
Similar Sequence ◽  
Language Deficits ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Serial Reaction ◽  
Normal Language ◽  
Specific Learning

AbstractRecent studies on specific language impairment (SLI) have suggested that language deficits are directly associated with poor procedural learning abilities. Findings from our previous work are contrary to this hypothesis; we found that children with SLI were able to learn eight-element-long sequences as fast and as accurately as children with normal language (NL) on a serial reaction time (SRT) task. A probabilistic rather than a deterministic SRT paradigm was used in the current study to explore procedural learning in children with SLI to mimic real conditions of language learning. Fifteen children with or without SLI were compared on an SRT task including a probabilistic eight-element-long sequence. Results show that children with SLI were able to learn this sequence as fast and as accurately as children with NL, and that similar sequence-specific learning was observed in both groups. These results are novel and suggest that children with SLI do not display global procedural system deficits. (JINS, 2011, 17, 336–343)

scholarly journals Sensory Emotion in Words: Evidence From an ERP Study in Light of the Emotioncy Model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Tabatabaee Farani ◽  
◽  
Reza Pishghadam ◽  
Azin Khodaverdi ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
Materials Development ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
Critical Words

Introduction: Delving into the prominent role of emotions and senses in the realm of language is not something new in the field. Thereupon, the newly developed notion of emotioncy has been introduced to the foreign language education to underscore the role of sense-induced emotions in the process of language learning and teaching. Methods: The present study implemented ERPs to provide evidence to the significance of employing emosensory instructional strategies in teaching vocabulary items. Hence, eighteen female participants were randomly instructed six English nouns toward which they had no prior knowledge and received no instruction for the other three words. Then, while the participants’ EEG was being recorded, they took a sentence comprehension task. Results: Behavioral results demonstrated significant differences among the avolved, the exvolved, and the involved nouns. However, ERP analyses of target words indicated the modulations of N100 and N480 components while no significant effect was observed at P200. Further, the analysis of sensory N100 for the critical words revealed no significant effect. Conclusion: In conclusion, the emotioncy-based language instruction could affect neural correlates of emotional word comprehension from the early stages of EEG recording. The findings of this study can shed light on the importance of including senses and emotions in language teaching, learning, and testing, along with materials development.

scholarly journals Properties of vocalization- and gesture-combinations in the transition to first words

2015 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 890-913 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVA MURILLO ◽  
ALMUDENA CAPILLA
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Acoustic Parameters ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
First Words ◽  
Structured Play

ABSTRACTGestures and vocal elements interact from the early stages of language development, but the role of this interaction in the language learning process is not yet completely understood. The aim of this study is to explore gestural accompaniment's influence on the acoustic properties of vocalizations in the transition to first words. Eleven Spanish children aged 0;9 to 1;3 were observed longitudinally in a semi-structured play situation with an adult. Vocalizations were analyzed using several acoustic parameters based on those described by Olleret al.(2010). Results indicate that declarative vocalizations have fewer protosyllables than imperative ones, but only when they are produced with a gesture. Protosyllables duration andf(0) are more similar to those of mature speech when produced with pointing and declarative function than when produced with reaching gestures and imperative purposes. The proportion of canonical syllables produced increases with age, but only when combined with a gesture.

scholarly journals Mini Pinyin: a modified miniature language for studying language learning and incremental sentence processing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachariah Reuben Cross ◽  
Lena Zou-Williams ◽  
Erica Wilkinson ◽  
Matthias Schlesewsky ◽  
Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Native English Speakers ◽  
English Word ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Moderate Degree

Artificial grammar learning (AGL) paradigms are used extensively to characterise (neuro-)cognitive bases of language learning. However, despite their effectiveness in characterising the capacity to learn complex structured sequences, AGL paradigms lack ecological validity and typically do not account for cross-linguistic differences in sentence comprehension. Here, we describe a new modified miniature language paradigm – Mini Pinyin – that mimics natural language as it is based on an existing language (Mandarin Chinese) and includes both structure and meaning. Mini Pinyin contains a number of cross-linguistic elements, including varying word orders and classifier-noun rules. To evaluate the effectiveness of Mini Pinyin, 76 (mean age = 24.9; 26 female) monolingual native English speakers completed a learning phase followed by a sentence acceptability judgement task. Generalised mixed effects modelling revealed that participants attained a moderate degree of accuracy on the judgement task, with performance scores ranging from 25% - 100% accuracy depending on the word order of the sentence. Further, sentences compatible with the canonical English word order were learned more efficiently than non-canonical word orders. We controlled for inter-individual differences in statistical learning ability, which accounted for ~20% of the variance in performance on the sentence judgement task. We provide stimuli and statistical analysis scripts as open source resources and discuss how future research can utilise this paradigm to study the neurobiological basis of language learning. Mini Pinyin affords a convenient tool for improving the future of language learning research by building on the parameters of traditional AGL or existing miniature language paradigms.

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