Delayed Retention of New Word-Forms Is Better in Children than Adults Regardless of Language Ability: A Factorial Two-Way Study (original) (raw)
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Journal of Communication Disorders, 2011
Purpose-The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of time to response in a fastmapping word learning task for children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) and children with typically-developing language skills (TD). Manipulating time to response allows us to examine decay of the memory trace, the use of vocal rehearsal, and their effects on word learning. Method-Participants included 40 school-age children: half with SLI and half with TD. The children were asked to expressively and receptively fast-map 24 novel labels for 24 novel animated dinosaurs. They were asked to demonstrate learning either immediately after presentation of the novel word or after a 10-second delay. Data were collected on the use of vocal rehearsal and for recognition and production accuracy. Results-Although the SLI group was less accurate overall, there was no evidence of decay of the memory trace. Both groups used vocal rehearsal at comparable rates, which did not vary when learning was tested immediately or after a delay. Use of vocal rehearsal resulted in better accuracy on the recognition task, but only for the TD group. Conclusions-A delay in time to response without interference was not an undue burden for either group. Despite the fact that children with SLI used a vocal rehearsal strategy as often as unimpaired peers, they did not benefit from the strategy in the same way as their peers. Possible explanations for these findings and clinical implications will be discussed.
Children retain implicitly learned phonological sequences better than adults: a longitudinal study
Developmental science, 2017
Whereas adults often rely on explicit memory, children appear to excel in implicit memory, which plays an important role in the acquisition of various cognitive skills, such as those involved in language. The current study aimed to test the assertion of an age-dependent shift in implicit versus explicit learning within a theoretical framework that explains the link between implicit sequence memory and word-form acquisition, using the Hebb repetition paradigm. We conducted a one-year, multiple-session longitudinal study in which we presented auditory sequences of syllables, co-presented with pictures of aliens, for immediate serial recall by a group of children (8-9 years) and by an adult group. The repetition of one Hebb sequence was explicitly announced, while the repetition of another Hebb sequence was unannounced and, therefore, implicit. Despite their overall inferior recall performance, the children showed better offline retention of the implicit Hebb sequence, compared with ad...
Research in developmental disabilities
Sensitivity to perceptual context (anchoring) has been suggested to contribute to the development of both oral- and written-language skills, but studies of this idea in children have been rare. To determine whether deficient anchoring contributes to the phonological memory and word learning deficits of children with specific language impairment (SLI). 84 preschool children with and without SLI participated in the study. Anchoring to repeated items was evaluated in two tasks - a phonological memory task and a pseudo-word learning task. Compared to children with typical development, children with SLI had poorer phonological memory spans and learned fewer words during the word learning task. In both tasks the poorer performance of children with SLI reflected a smaller effect of anchoring that was manifested in a smaller effect of item repetition on performance. Furthermore, across the entire sample anchoring was significantly correlated with performance in vocabulary and grammar tasks....
Phonological Short-Term Memory and New Word Learning in Children
Sixty-five 5-year old children participated in 4 experimental tasks of word learning that varied systematically in the amounts of phonological and nonphonological learning required. Measures of the children's performances on 2 measures of phonological memory (digit span and nonword repetition), vocabulary knowledge, and nonverbal ability were also obtained. Learning of the sound structures of new words was significantly, and to some degree independently, associated with aspects of both phonological memory skill and vocabulary knowledge. Learning of pairs of familiar words was linked with current vocabulary knowledge, although not with phonological memory scores. The findings suggest that both existing lexical knowledge and phonological short-term memory play significant roles in the long-term learning of the sounds of new words. The study also provides evidence of both shared and distinct processes contributing to nonword repetition and digit span tasks.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2012
Purpose: This study investigates the relative contributions of phonological short-term memory and phonological representations to nonword repetition (NWR). This was evaluated in children with specific language impairment (SLI) and/or reading impairment (RI); it was also studied from a developmental perspective by comparing 2 groups of typically developing (TD) children who differed in age. Method: NWR, digit span, vocabulary, and word and nonword discrimination were tested in 2 groups of TD children: one group matched on chronological age (CA TD group: n = 41, mean age = 7;8 [months;years]), and one language age-matched control group (LA TD group: n = 16, mean age = 5;8). Also, 10 children with SLI, 14 children with RI, and 23 children with SLI and RI (hereafter, SLI + RI) participated and were matched to the age of the CA TD group.
Applied Psycholinguistics, 2006
proposal on a double deficit in children with specific language impairment (SLI). The author suggests that these children have a limited phonological storage combined with a particular problem of processing novel speech, stimuli. According to Gathercole, there are three areas of skill contributing to memory for nonwords: general cognitive abilities, phonological storage, and an unidentified skill specific to nonword repetition The focus of this Commentary is to examine whether these children's nonword repetition performance is influenced by an unidentified skill or some other processes. An alternative hypothesis is that the nonword repetition errors observed in children with SLI are related to one of their main weaknesses, to their difficulties in simultaneous processing of information. Evidence for this argument comes from our recent studies: from error analyses data and from findings on nonword repetition with stimuli that included meaningful parts (monosyllabic real words).