In an upcoming study in Current Biology, published online Aug. 16, researchers at the Arizona State University Department of Psychology and the Waisman Center report a factor that is important for language learning in children: the predictability of the learning environment.
Language Development
Jenny Saffran, PhD – Slide of the Week
Children use the presence of familiar objects with known names to identify the correct referents of novel words. In natural environments, objects vary widely in salience. The presence of familiar objects may sometimes hinder rather than help word learning.
Here is how a cat can hinder children learning new words
Say you are shown an apple, a banana and a fruit you have never seen before. Then you are asked to pick the “pifo.” Which fruit would you choose? Chances are you would select the novel fruit.
Jenny Saffran, PhD
Language is used to identify objects in many different ways. For example, an apple can be identified using its name, color, and other attributes. Skilled language comprehension requires listeners to flexibly shift between different dimensions.
Paul Rathouz, PhD
85 children with cerebral palsy (43 girls, 42 boys) were followed longitudinally between 18 and 54 months. Children were seen between 2-8 times, for a total of 322 data points.
Background Noise May Hinder Toddlers’ Ability To Learn Words
The environments children are in, including how much and what kinds of stimulation they are exposed to, influence what and how they learn. One important task for children is zeroing in on the information that’s …
A bone to speak and to swallow
Only one out of the more than 200 bones in our bodies is free-floating, with no local attachment to other bones, but it’s no freeloader. The hyoid bone is located in the front of the neck, just below the lower jaw, carrying the weight of the tongue and playing a vital role in speech and swallowing.
Research tackles communication disorders in kids
It has been said that communication is the essence of human life.
In fact, our ability to communicate an unlimited number of thoughts and ideas separates humans from all other creatures.
Jenny Saffran, PhD
Legend: Results of a study in which toddlers learned new words in environments with different levels of background noise. The solid vertical line marks the onset of the target word. The dashed vertical line marks …
Margarita Kaushanskaya, PhD
Title: Effects of classroom bilingualism on task-shifting, verbal memory, and word learning in children Legend: Children who experienced two years of Spanish exposure in a dual-immersion classroom outperformed monolingual children when learning new made-up words …