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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning to generalise but not segment an artificial language at 17 months predicts children’s language skills 3 years later
AU - Monaghan, Padraic
AU - Donnelly, Seamus
AU - Alcock, Katie
AU - Bidgood, Amy
AU - Cain, Kate
AU - Durrant, Samantha
AU - Frost, Rebecca
AU - Jago, Lana
AU - Peter, Michelle
AU - Pine, Julian M.
AU - Turnbull, Heather
AU - Rowland, Caroline
PY - 2023/12/31
Y1 - 2023/12/31
N2 - We investigated whether learning an artificial language at 17 months was predictive of children’s natural language vocabulary and grammar skills at 54 months. Children at 17 months listened to an artificial language containing non-adjacent dependencies, and were then tested on their learning to segment and to generalise the structure of the language. At 54 months, children were then tested on a range of standardised natural language tasks that assessed receptive and expressive vocabulary and grammar. A structural equation model demonstrated that learning the artificial language generalisation at 17 months predicted language abilities – a composite of vocabulary and grammar skills – at 54 months, whereas artificial language segmentation at 17 months did not predict language abilities at this age. Artificial language learning tasks – especially those that probe grammar learning – provide a valuable tool for uncovering the mechanisms driving children’s early language development.
AB - We investigated whether learning an artificial language at 17 months was predictive of children’s natural language vocabulary and grammar skills at 54 months. Children at 17 months listened to an artificial language containing non-adjacent dependencies, and were then tested on their learning to segment and to generalise the structure of the language. At 54 months, children were then tested on a range of standardised natural language tasks that assessed receptive and expressive vocabulary and grammar. A structural equation model demonstrated that learning the artificial language generalisation at 17 months predicted language abilities – a composite of vocabulary and grammar skills – at 54 months, whereas artificial language segmentation at 17 months did not predict language abilities at this age. Artificial language learning tasks – especially those that probe grammar learning – provide a valuable tool for uncovering the mechanisms driving children’s early language development.
KW - Artificial language learning
KW - Generalisation
KW - Grammar
KW - Non-adjacent dependencies
KW - Segmentation
KW - Vocabulary
U2 - 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2023.101607
DO - 10.1016/j.cogpsych.2023.101607
M3 - Journal article
VL - 147
JO - Cognitive Psychology
JF - Cognitive Psychology
SN - 0010-0285
IS - 101607
M1 - 101607
ER -