scholarly journals Better to Be Alone than in Bad Company: Cognate Synonyms Impair Word Learning

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Eneko Antón ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
New Words ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Better Than

The effects of cognate synonymy in L2 word learning are explored. Participants learned the names of well-known concrete concepts in a new fictional language following a picture-word association paradigm. Half of the concepts (set A) had two possible translations in the new language (i.e., both words were synonyms): one was a cognate in participants’ L1 and the other one was not. The other half of the concepts (set B) had only one possible translation in the new language, a non-cognate word. After learning the new words, participants’ memory was tested in a picture-word matching task and a translation recognition task. In line with previous findings, our results clearly indicate that cognates are much easier to learn, as we found that the cognate translation was remembered much better than both its non-cognate synonym and the non-cognate from set B. Our results also seem to suggest that non-cognates without cognate synonyms (set B) are better learned than non-cognates with cognate synonyms (set A). This suggests that, at early stages of L2 acquisition, learning a cognate would produce a poorer acquisition of its non-cognate synonym, as compared to a solely learned non-cognate. These results are discussed in the light of different theories and models of bilingual mental lexicon.

scholarly journals Better to Be Alone Than in Bad Company: Cognate Synonyms Impair Word Learning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eneko Antón ◽  
Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
New Words ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Better Than

The effects of cognate synonymy in L2 word learning are explored. Participants learned the names of well-known concrete concepts in a new fictional language following a picture-word association paradigm. Half of the concepts (set A) had two possible translations in the new language (i.e., both words were synonyms): one was a cognate in participants’ L1 and the other one was not. The other half of the concepts (set B) had only one possible translation in the new language, a non-cognate word. After learning the new words, participants’ memory was tested in a picture-word matching task and a translation recognition task. In line with previous findings, our results clearly indicate that cognates are much easier to learn, as we found that the cognate translation was remembered much better than both its non-cognate synonym and the non-cognate from set B. Our results also seem to suggest that non-cognates without cognate synonyms (set B) are better learned than non-cognates with cognate synonyms (set A). This suggests that, at early stages of L2 acquisition, learning a cognate would produce a poorer acquisition of its non-cognate synonym, as compared to a solely learned non-cognate. These results are discussed under the light of different theories and models of bilingual mental lexicon.

scholarly journals Differences in word learning: bilingualism or linguistic experience?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Borragan ◽  
Angela de Bruin ◽  
Viktoria Havas ◽  
Ruth de Diego-Balaguer ◽  
Mila Dimitrova Vulchanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Recall Task ◽  
Linguistic Competence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Similar Performance ◽  
Better Than

AbstractBilinguals may be better than monolinguals at word learning due to their increased experience with language learning. In addition, bilinguals that have languages that are orthotactically different could be more used to dissimilar orthotactic patterns. The current study examines how bilinguals with languages that are orthotactically similar and dissimilar and monolinguals learn novel words that violate or respect the orthotactic legality of the languages they know and how this learning may be affected by the similarity between the bilinguals’ two languages. In Experiment 1, three groups of children were tested: monolinguals, Spanish-Basque bilinguals (dissimilar orthotactic languages), and Spanish-Catalan bilinguals (similar orthotactic languages). After an initial word learning phase, they were tested in a recall task and a recognition task. Results showed that Spanish-Basque bilingual children performed differently than the other two groups. While Spanish monolinguals and Spanish-Catalan bilinguals recognized illegal words worse than legal words, Spanish-Basque bilinguals showed equal performance in learning illegal and legal patterns. A replication study conducted with two new groups of Spanish-Basque children (one group with high Basque proficiency and one group with a lower proficiency) indicated that the effects were not driven by the proficiency in the second language since a similar performance on legal and illegal patterns was observed in both groups. In Experiment 2, two groups of adults, monolinguals and Spanish-Basque bilinguals, were tested with the same task used in Experiment 1. The effect seen in children seems to be absent in adults. Spanish-Basque bilingual adults showed better overall learning performance than monolinguals, irrespective of the illegality of the items. Differences between groups could be due to the effect of having acquired literacy and linguistic competence.

scholarly journals Things are Looking up: Differential Decline in Face Recognition following Pitch and Yaw Rotation

Perception ◽  
10.1068/p5637 ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1334-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simone K Favelle ◽  
Stephen Palmisano ◽  
Ryan T Maloney
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Vertical Axis ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Human Face Recognition ◽  
Viewpoint Change ◽  
Sequential Matching ◽  
Better Than

Previous research into the effects of viewpoint change on face recognition has typically dealt with rotations around the head's vertical axis (yaw). Another common, although less studied, source of viewpoint variation in faces is rotation around the head's horizontal pitch axis (pitch). In the current study we used both a sequential matching task and an old/new recognition task to examine the effect of viewpoint change following rotation about both pitch and yaw axes on human face recognition. The results of both tasks showed that recognition performance was better for faces rotated about yaw compared to pitch. Further, recognition performance for faces rotated upwards on the pitch axis was better than for faces rotated downwards. Thus, equivalent angular rotations about pitch and yaw do not produce equivalent viewpoint-dependent declines in recognition performance.

scholarly journals Word learning deficit among Chinese dyslexic children

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
CONNIE SUK-HAN HO ◽  
DAVID W. CHAN ◽  
SUK-MAN TSANG ◽  
SUK-HAN LEE ◽  
KEVIN K. H. CHUNG
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
New Words ◽  
Dyslexic Group ◽  
Word Writing ◽  
Own Name

The present study examined word learning difficulties in Chinese dyslexic children, readers of a nonalphabetic script. A total of 105 Hong Kong Chinese children were recruited and divided into three groups: Dyslexic (mean age 8;8), CA control (mean age 8;9), and RL control (mean age 6;11). They were given a word learning task and a familiar word writing task. It was found that the Dyslexic group performed less well than the RL group in learning irregular words over trials but not the regular ones. Error analyses showed that the Dyslexic group made more orthographic and word association errors but less intra-wordlist interference errors than the RL control group. The Dyslexic group also performed significantly less well than both control groups in writing familiar words (e.g. their own name). These findings suggest that Chinese dyslexic children have difficulty learning new words, especially irregular ones, and retaining overlearned words in long-term memory. We conclude that Chinese dyslexic children have a specific impairment in word learning like their alphabetic counterparts.

Effect of Motion on the Recognition of Area by Rhesus Monkeys in a Pseudo-Matching Task

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 249-249
Author(s):  
H Malecki ◽  
S G Rosolen ◽  
R Bonnier
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Visual Recognition ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
The Other ◽  
Inferior Temporal Cortex ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Target Speed ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Better Than

We examined the effect of target motion on the visual recognition of target area in rhesus monkeys. We used a pseudo-matching visual task, where ten adult monkeys were trained to recognise and point out the bigger one of two achromatic squares of different areas but having the same luminance and presented on the same background. The video screen was placed 0.5 m in front of their faces. The two areas were randomly sampled out of five areas (49, 72.25, 100, 132.25, and 169 mm2). The speed of the targets was varied in this paradigm (0, 6, 11, 16, 21, or 26 deg s−1). Performance in terms of area recognition thresholds was calculated for each monkey on the basis of 100 trials in standardised environmental conditions. Statistical analysis showed that performance with a target speed of 16 deg s−1 was significantly better than in the other conditions ( p<0.01). We conclude that this pseudo-matching task, based on a cognitive paradigm, reveals a significant effect of motion on the visual recognition of area in rhesus monkeys. The activities of specific cortical areas (V4 and V5) should be studied by other techniques in order to characterise those involved in remembering an object's qualities and those responding to motion. The links between V4, V5, and inferior temporal cortex could be tested with the aid of this pseudo-matching task.

Pragmatic directions and children's word learning

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVE V. CLARK ◽  
JAMES B. GROSSMAN
Keyword(s):  
Coping Strategies ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
New Words ◽  
Children’S Learning ◽  
Children's Learning

The present study tested the hypothesis that children as young as two use what adults tell them about meaning relations when they make inferences about new words. 18 two-year-olds (mean age 2;2) and 18 three-year-olds (mean age 3;2) learned two new terms (a) with instructions either (i) to treat one term as a superordinate to the other, or (ii) to replace one term with another; and (b) with no instruction given about how two new words might be related. Children were attentive to both kinds of instructions or pragmatic directions, and made use of them in their word-learning. When they received no instruction relating the two new words, they resorted to a range of coping strategies to assign and relate meanings to each other. These findings support the view that children's learning of new word meanings is guided by the pragmatic directions adults offer.

scholarly journals Online Learning From Input Versus Offline Memory Evolution in Adult Word Learning: Effects of Neighborhood Density and Phonologically Related Practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1708-1721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holly L. Storkel ◽  
Daniel E. Bontempo ◽  
Natalie S. Pak
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Neighborhood Density ◽  
High Density ◽  
Learning Effects ◽  
Spline Regression ◽  
Density Condition ◽  
New Words ◽  
Naming Test ◽  
Better Than

Purpose In this study, the authors investigated adult word learning to determine how neighborhood density and practice across phonologically related training sets influence online learning from input during training versus offline memory evolution during no-training gaps. Method Sixty-one adults were randomly assigned to learn low- or high-density nonwords. Within each density condition, participants were trained on one set of words and then were trained on a second set of words, consisting of phonological neighbors of the first set. Learning was measured in a picture-naming test. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling and spline regression. Results Steep learning during input was observed, with new words from dense neighborhoods and new words that were neighbors of recently learned words (i.e., second-set words) being learned better than other words. In terms of memory evolution, large and significant forgetting was observed during 1-week gaps in training. Effects of density and practice during memory evolution were opposite of those during input. Specifically, forgetting was greater for high-density and second-set words than for low-density and first-set words. Conclusion High phonological similarity, regardless of source (i.e., known words or recent training), appears to facilitate online learning from input but seems to impede offline memory evolution.

The other way to learn the meaning of a word

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1117-1118
Author(s):  
Sam Scott
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Context ◽  
New Words

Bloom's book can be viewed as a long argument for an anti-Whorfian conclusion. According to Bloom, word learning is usually a process of mapping new words to pre-existing concepts. But an exception to this generalization – the learning of words from linguistic context – poses a problem for Bloom's anti-Whorfian argument.

The effect of second-language orthographic input on the phonological encoding of Mandarin words

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Yen-Chen Hao ◽  
Chung-Lin Martin Yang
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
The Other ◽  
Matching Task ◽  
English Speakers ◽  
Chinese Characters ◽  
Phonological Encoding ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Character Group ◽  
Unique Nature ◽  
Target Words

Abstract Previous studies have yielded mixed findings regarding the effect of familiar and novel L2 graphemes on learners’ phonological encoding. The current study investigated this topic by comparing the effect of Pinyin and Chinese characters on English speakers’ Mandarin word learning. Different from previous research, this study examined both segmental and tonal encoding and compared participants from different Mandarin proficiency levels. Seventeen Advanced learners, 29 Intermediate learners, and 21 Naïve English speakers participated in a word-learning experiment in which half of the participants were exposed to the Pinyin spelling of the target words while the other half to characters. After the learning phase, they did a meaning – auditory stimulus matching task. Half of the stimuli were complete matches, while in the other half the stimulus mismatched the target either in segments or tones. The results revealed that at the Advanced level, the Character group was more accurate than the Pinyin group in rejecting tonal mismatches to the target words, while the opposite tendency was observed at the Naïve level. This study suggests that novel graphemes facilitate advanced L2 learners’ tonal encoding more than familiar graphemes, which is probably due to the unique nature of Chinese characters.

In hand and in mind: Effects of gesture production and viewing on second language word learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
LAURA M. MORETT
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Learning ◽  
Word Recall ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Spontaneous Production ◽  
L2 Word Learning ◽  
Gesture Production ◽  
Do So

ABSTRACTTo date, within the context of second language (L2) word learning, nonspontaneous representational gesture viewing's impact on memory and spontaneous gesture production's impact on communication have been examined separately. Thus, it is unclear whether and how these effects interact, particularly in the same individuals. The present study addresses this question by comparing these effects and by examining their influence on one another. To do so, a dialogic task was employed in which participants learned words from a novel L2 and taught them to other similar participants. The results show that viewing nonspontaneous representational gesture did not affect L2 word recall whereas spontaneous production of different gesture types affected communication and memory of L2 word meanings in varying ways. Furthermore, the results provide evidence that gesture viewing primes production of similar types of gestures, and that the quantity and types of gestures produced differ based on the context of communication. These results indicate that the effects of spontaneous gesture production on communication are stronger than the effects of nonspontaneous gesture viewing on memory, and that these effects influence one another. Together, these results demonstrate that spontaneous gesture production and nonspontaneous gesture viewing play distinct but interrelated roles in L2 acquisition.

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