Automatic processing of word meaning: intralingual and interlingual interference

Automatic processing of word meaning was studied in bilingual children and children in various stages of second-language acquisition in 2 experiments. A picture-word interference task was used. The children named outlined pictures as rapidly as possible while attempting to ignore distractor words printed inside the pictures' borders. For children proficient in the 2 languages (Experiment 1), the printed distractors interfered with naming on both intralingual trials, for which the distractor and naming language were the same, and on interlingual trials, for which they were different. The pattern of interference across 6 levels of name-distractor relation was similar for the intralingual and interlingual conditions and indicated that at least part of the interference occurred at a semantic level. For children who were in various phases of learning a second language (Experiment 2), second-language words were automatically processed to the level of meaning early in the course of second-language reading instruction. As was found for the more proficient groups, both the pattern and the amount of interlingual interference matched that for intralingual interference. The results question whether an "input switch" operates for bilingual word processing.     

Pictures Block the Learning of Sightwords

Young children were taught to name 12 single words, six in the presence of appropriate pictures (compound stimuli) and six in their absence (simple stimuli). There were two compound conditions: one in which the picture was a large line drawing above a small printed word (enhanced salience condition) and one in which it was a small line drawing below a large printed word (reduced salience condition); and two corresponding simple conditions of a large word alone (enhanced salience condition) and a small word alone (reduced salience condition). Each child experienced all four conditions with three different words in each condition in a series of randomly ordered learning and test trials, until each child achieved the criterion of three consecutive correct responses for each of the words in at least one of the conditions. Two experimental studies were completed with 16 children in each, and the percentage of correct responses was calculated for each presentation condition. Comparisons of the compound (picture) and simple (no‐picture) conditions showed that twice as many words were correctly recognised in the simple (no‐picture) conditions in both experiments. No reliable differences were detected between the different levels of salience, and it was concluded that prior association between the picture and the naming response to the picture ‘blocked’ the acquisition of a new association between the written word and the naming response to it.     

Effect of Syllable Congruency in Sixth Graders in the Lexical Decision Task With Masked Priming

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the syllable in visual recognition of French words in Grade 6. To do so, the syllabic congruency effect was examined in the lexical decision task combined with masked priming. Target words were preceded by pseudoword primes sharing the first letters that either corresponded to the syllable (congruent condition) or not (incongruent condition). A reliable syllable congruency was found. Children were faster to recognize words when the prime matched for the first syllable. These results are discussed in interactive activation models including syllables and in the dual-route approach.     

Orthographic facilitation of first graders’ vocabulary learning: does directing attention to print enhance the effect?

Orthographic facilitation refers to the boost in vocabulary learning that is provided when spellings are shown during study periods, but not during testing. The current study examined orthographic facilitation in beginning readers and whether directing their attention to print enhances the effect. In an experiment, first graders (N = 45) were randomly assigned to either an attention or no attention condition. They studied two sets of novel spoken words paired with pictures and spoken definitions, one set displaying spellings of the words beneath pictures, and one set with no spellings. Tests with no spellings present revealed that children learned pronunciations of words significantly better when spellings had been seen than not seen, and the benefit was still evident 2 weeks after training ended. Superior ability to spell the words by children who saw them showed that spellings were retained in memory to support learning. More advanced readers gained more benefit from spellings over no spellings in learning the words. However, drawing children’s attention to print did not boost memory for the words, suggesting that simple exposure was sufficient to activate grapheme-phoneme connections automatically and bond spellings to pronunciations of words in memory, even in beginning readers. Memory for the meanings of words was not improved by spelling exposure, possibly because children possessed no grapho-semantic mapping system comparable to the grapho-phonemic system to enhance the formation of connections between spellings and meanings in memory.     

Preschoolers' Attention to Print During Shared Book Reading

Seventy-six children ages 3 to 5 were individually read two storybooks that had been specially formatted to contain salient printed words within the text, and illustrations and text on left or right-facing pages. The reader pointed to each word while reading to half of the children. After each book, children were asked to recognize elements of the illustrations and the specially formatted text elements from among a set of foils. Videotaped sessions were coded for the time children spent looking toward the pages with print versus illustrations. Analyses showed that the percentage of time looking at print was less than 2% in the no-pointing condition but increased with age. Pointing to the words increased print-looking time for all age groups and print target recognition for 4-year-olds. After controlling for receptive vocabulary, visual memory, and maturation associated with these scores, emergent orthography and letter-word identification predicted time looking at print and recognition of the print elements.     

An investigation of the Stroop effect among deaf signers in English and Japanese: automatic processing or memory retrieval?

Most studies on the Stroop effect (unintentional automatic word processing) have been restricted to English speakers using vocal responses. Little is known about this effect with deaf signers. The study compared Stroop task responses among four different samples: deaf participants from a Japanese-language environment and from an English-language environment; and hearing individuals from Japan and from Australia. Color words were prepared in both English and Japanese and were presented in three conditions: congruent (e.g., the word red printed in red), incongruent (e.g., red printed in blue), and neutral. The magnitude of the effect was greater with the deaf participants than with the hearing participants. The deaf individuals experienced more interference in English than in Japanese.     

Use orthography in L2 auditory word learning: Who benefits?

The effect of capitalizing on orthography in auditory learning of English words was examined in 74 children who spoke Mandarin Chinese as their primary language. To use orthographic information for auditory word learning, children must recode printed words phonologically to assist the reconstruction of the speech single misheard or underspecified, an ability that may depend heavily on phonological awareness (PA). In this study, children with poorer PA of Chinese and those with better PA were taught novel English words in an auditory learning task under two exposure conditions: auditory words presented with their written forms and auditory words presented with undecodable symbols. Word learning performance was better in the written form condition than in the symbol condition, but the effect was smaller for children with poorer PA. The facilitative effect was associated with L2 PA for children with poorer PA but not for children with better PA. The results are discussed with regard to how poor PA may constrain auditory word learning in an L2 context.     

Improving Reading to Improve Math

Reading provides information across the curriculum. Thus, to the extent that fundamental (i.e., generalizable) reading comprehension strategies can be taught, the benefits should be found in multiple domains. To test this claim, children in the third and fourth grades read by simulating text content using the two-part, embodied Moved by Reading intervention. While reading six initial texts, children literally manipulated pictures on a computer screen to simulate sentence content; next, for additional texts the children imagined the manipulation of the pictures. These additional texts were in the form of mathematical story problems. Compared to a control condition, children using Moved by Reading solved more problems correctly, and this improvement is mainly attributed to a 35% reduction in the use of irrelevant numerical information in solution attempts. Thus, Moved by Reading teaches a fundamental strategy that encourages the sense-making that can aid mathematical story problem solution.     

Spongelike acquisition of sight vocabulary in beginning readers?

We report two training studies designed to investigate the relation between phonological awareness, sound‐to‐letter mapping knowledge, and printed word learning in novice five‐year‐old readers. Effects of visual memory and of teaching methods are also explored. In our first study, novice five‐year‐old readers able to segment initial phonemes and with good knowledge of mappings between sounds and letters learned words more easily from repeated exposure to texts. Results suggested that visual memory influenced word learning in non‐segmenting but not in segmenting children. Spelling regularity did not affect ease of learning. Nouns were easier to learn than function words. In the second study, although phonological awareness and sound‐to‐letter mapping knowledge still exerted a significant influence, all novice five‐year‐olds were able to learn words more easily if these were taught out‐of‐context singly on flashcards. Results support the view that mental representations of printed words are more easily formed by beginners who are able to match at least some of the phonological segments detected in the spoken word to letters in the printed word.     

Effects of Pointing Gestures on Memory for (In)Congruent Stimuli in Children and Young Adults

We investigated whether finger pointing toward picture locations can be used as an external cognitive control tool to guide attention and compensate for the immature cognitive control functions in children compared with young adults. Item and source memory performance was compared for picture‐location pairs that were either semantically congruent (e.g., a cloud presented at the upper half of the screen) or incongruent (e.g., a cloud presented at the lower part of the screen). Contrary to our expectations, pointing had an adverse effect on source memory compared to visual observation only, in both age groups. As expected, superior source memory performance was found for congruent compared to incongruent picture‐locations pairs in both age groups. These findings suggest that pointing toward pictures compared to only viewing may hamper memory, and that congruent picture locations are easier to remember than incongruent ones.     

论元刊平话之"全相"的表述功用

元代刊行的“全相平话五种”以“全相”(插图)冠名,表明“全相”为其重要特色。从构成上看,插图与文字是平话不可分割的两部分,二者共同承担起叙述故事等功能。插图填补了文字叙事的不足,增添了形象性和趣味性,使平话的阅读变得更轻松,因而为平话赢得了更多的读者。因此,研究平话者不应抛开插图专门以文字为依据来讨论其文学性。     

Learning verbs more effectively through meaning congruent action animations

The current study investigates the effectiveness of learning words while displaying meaning congruent animations. We explore whether learning words with animation is sensitive to properties known to influence action understanding. We apply an embodied cognition framework and predictions from a recent theory about language and action (Action-Based Language theory, Glenberg & Gallese, 2012). The current study aims to investigate whether dynamic animations add to word learning (Experiment 1) and what the linguistic relation between the dynamic animation and the word learning is (Experiment 2). Results indicate that meaning congruent animations improved verb learning compared to meaning incongruent animations when measured by a recognition task. When measured by an active recall task, congruent animations led to better learning than static pictures. In both measures, meaning congruent animations support word learning. Experiment 2 replicates and extends this and suggests that highlighting conceptual information related to the dynamic action (such as the goal) improves word learning further. The findings are in line with Action-Based Language theory, which suggests that children are able to make better simulations of an action during learning when supported by meaning congruent animations. Highlighting conceptual information additionally supports this learning process.     

The influence of pictures on the derivation of meaning from children's reading materials

This discussion is a review of experimental work designed to determine whether pictures have an effect upon the derivation of meaning from the text printed in children's reading materials. Many reading schemes emphasize the use of illustration, but for a number of different purposes ranging from the provision of a referent for a specific word, to the provision of' contextual support, and the generation of motivation for reading. Experimental studies of the interactions between pictures arid words in the cognitive system go some way to supporting three uses of illustration in (a) the provision of meanings against which the print may be compared, (b) in the development of an organized understanding of the meaning of the text, and (c) in the enhancement of subsequent recall. The danger of distraction arising from the pictures has also been investigated, and been found to lead to decoding errors in young children presented with one word at a time. An analysis of mutual interference effects between pairs of pictures and words leads to the conclusion that the cognitive representations of meanings arc organized in a semantic system common to pictures and words. Thus, any decoding errors due to interference effects are of more than local importance—they can affect comprehension and influence the stored representation.     

The Role of Semantic Context and Memory in the Acquisition of Novel Nouns

Three studies assessed the ability of 2-year-olds to use semantic context to infer the meanings of novel nouns and to retain those meanings a day later. In the first experiment, 24 2-year-olds heard novel nouns in sentences that contained semantically constraining verbs (e.g., "Mommy feeds the ferret"). They chose from a set of four novel object pictures to indicate the referent. Children learned a majority of the novel words. However, they occasionally failed to choose the correct object even when they understood the verb. Experiment 2 examined whether this was due to an inability to identify some of the pictures of novel objects. Experiment 3 tested 24 2-year-olds' memory for the newly learned nouns following a 24 hr delay and found significant retention. Results are discussed in terms of learning mechanisms that facilitate vocabulary acquisition in young children.     

Mother-child conversations about pictures and objects: referring to categories and individuals

The distinction between individuals (e.g., Rin-Tin-Tin) and categories (e.g., dogs) is fundamental in human thought. Two studies examined factors that influence when 2- to 3-year-old children and adults focus on individuals versus categories. Mother-child dyads were presented with pictures and toys (e.g., a picture of a boat or a toy boat). Conversations were coded for references to generic categories ("Dogs are furry"), ostensive labels ("This is a dog"), or specific individuals ("Lassie"). Overall, pictures generated more talk about categories; objects generated more talk about individuals. However, when objects could not be manipulated, speakers expressed relatively more category references. These results suggest that representations (in the form of pictures or objects-on-display) encourage young children and parents alike to think about categories.     

Do deaf children use phonological syllables as reading units?

This study aimed at examining whether deaf children process written words on the basis of phonological units. In French, the syllable is a phonologically and orthographically well-defined unit. French deaf children and hearing children matched on word recognition level were asked to copy written words and pseudo-words. The number of glances at the item, copying duration, and the locus of the first segmentation (i.e., after the first glance) within the item were measured. The main question was whether the segments copied by the deaf children corresponded to syllables as defined by phonological and orthographic rules.The results showed that deaf children, like hearing children, used syllables as copying units when the syllable boundaries were marked both by orthographic and phonological criteria. However, in a condition in which orthographic and phonological criteria were differentiated, the deaf children did not perform phonological segmentations while the hearing children did. We discuss two explanatory hypotheses. First, items in this condition were difficult to decode for deaf children; second, orthographic units were probably easier to process for deaf children than phonological units because of a lack of automaticity in their phonological conversion processes for pseudo-words. Finally, incidental observations during the experimental task raised the question of the use of fingerspelled units.     

The Production Effect Improves Memory in 7- to 10-Year-Old Children

The production effect—whereby reading words aloud improves memory for those words relative to reading them silently—was investigated in two experiments with 7- to 10-year-old children residing in Brisbane, Australia. Experiment 1 (n = 41) involved familiar printed words, with words read aloud or silently appearing either in mixed- or blocked-list formats in a within-subject design. Recognition for words read aloud was better than for those read silently, an effect consistent across both list formats. These results were confirmed in Experiment 2 (n = 40) using longer lists of printed novel nonwords. Final analyses indicated that the production effect was comparable for words and nonwords. Findings are discussed in relation to the distinctiveness account and the use of production as a mnemonic in children.     

Learning from Multimedia Materials: The relative impact of individual differences

This paper explores whether the principles of cognitive load and multimedia theory are mediated by cognitive style, gender, and prior knowledge. Participants were 91 children aged 10–11 years (54 boys, 37 girls), each assigned to one of two presentation modes. In Condition 1 children were presented with diagrams supported by printed textual material. In Condition 2 the same diagrams were supported by narrated text. Condition 1 was designed in the conventional manner but Condition 2 was designed to adhere to cognitive load and multimedia theory. Then the children were asked a number of comprehension questions, an outcome measure requiring assimilation of information from both pictures and words. The Cognitive Style Analysis was administered to measure wholist–analytic style and verbal–imagery style. Results from national achievement tests were used as indicators of prior knowledge. Results indicate that outcome is differentiated by style, gender, and prior knowledge, and not just instructional design.