Cognitive Predictors of Child Second Language Comprehension and Syntactic Learning

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

This study examined the role of child cognitive abilities for procedural and declarative learning in the earliest stages of second language (L2) exposure. In the context of a computer game, 53 first language Italian monolingual children were aurally trained in a novel miniature language over 3 consecutive days. A mixed effects model analysis of the relationship between cognitive predictors and outcomes in morphosyntax measured via a grammaticality judgment test (GJT) was performed. Relative to adults trained in the same paradigm, children with higher procedural learning ability (measured via an alternate serial reaction time task) showed significantly better learning of word order, although the effect size was small. Modeling accuracy in online sentence comprehension during the game also evidenced that higher procedural learning ability was positively associated with significantly better outcomes as practice progressed. By contrast, a composite measure of verbal and visual declarative learning ability did not predict L2 outcomes in either the GJT or the online measure. © 2021 The Authors. Language Learning published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan
Original languageEnglish
JournalLanguage Learning - a journal of research in language studies
Volume71
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)907-945
Number of pages39
ISSN0023-8333
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 09.2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The present study is based on an analysis of data from the author's PhD dissertation. I thank the audiences of AAAL 2018 (Chicago) and of the Child Language Symposium 2018 (Reading) for their discussion. I am grateful to Kara Morgan‐Short, Michael Ullman, and Judit Kormos for comments on a previous draft, to Jarrad Lum and Kara Morgan‐Short for generously sharing parts of their experimental paradigms with me, to Michael Ratajczak for discussion on aspects of the data analysis, and to the editor and three anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. All errors remain my own. Preparation of the manuscript was supported by an ESRC postdoctoral grant awarded to the author.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Language Learning published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Language Learning Research Club, University of Michigan

Documents

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Using CNNs to Detect Graphical Representations of Structural Equation Models in IS Papers
  2. A MODEL FOR QUANTIFICATION OF SOFTWARE COMPLEXITY
  3. Single Robust Proportional-Derivative Control for Friction Compensation in Fast and Precise Motion Systems With Actuator Constraint
  4. PLM ‑supported automated process planning and partitioning for collaborative assembly processes based on a capability analysis
  5. Kit based motion generator for a soft walking robot
  6. Errors, error taxonomies, error prevention, and error management
  7. Appendix A: Design, implementation, and analysis of the iGOES project
  8. Graph-Based Early-Fusion for Flood Detection
  9. On the utility of indirect methods for detecting faking
  10. Effects of linguistic demands of reality-based mathematical tasks
  11. Obstacle Coordinates Transformation from TVS Body-Frame to AGV Navigation-Frame
  12. Spectral Early-Warning Signals for Sudden Changes in Time-Dependent Flow Patterns
  13. Effectiveness of the world network of biosphere reserves in maintaining forest ecosystem functions
  14. Understanding european union law
  15. Frame Diffusion and Institutional Choice in Regional Economic Cooperation
  16. Sozialkybernetik in statu nascendi
  17. Learning from Indigenous Populations and Local Communities
  18. Einführung in das Buch
  19. Zootechnologies
  20. Groupware und Workflow- Konzepte und Systemvergleich
  21. Sufficiency as relations of enoughness
  22. Teaching Provenance to AI
  23. Challenges in calculating two-year college student transfer rates to four-year colleges
  24. Variational pragmatics
  25. Why husbands matter
  26. Sex differences in mental rotation strategy
  27. Slowing resource loops in the clothing industry through Circular Business Model Experimentation
  28. Building capacities for transformative change towards sustainability
  29. Analphabetismus
  30. Toward a modular evaluation approach of real-world laboratories
  31. Multi-level Governance, Policy Implementation and Participation
  32. The potential impacts of insecticides on the life-history traits of bees and the consequences for pollination
  33. Do Online Training offer an effective Option for the Prevention and Health Promotion of Professionals? A systematic Overview and Meta-analysis
  34. Study of intrinsic and extrinsic size effects on shear bands in metallic glasses
  35. Maritime strategies of rising powers
  36. A new approach to semantic sustainability assessment