Accepted author manuscript, 548 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version, 565 KB, PDF document
Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 15/04/2025 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Bilingualism: Language and Cognition |
Issue number | 3 |
Volume | 28 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Pages (from-to) | 716-727 |
Publication Status | Published |
Early online date | 12/12/24 |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
Statistical learning, that is, our ability to track and learn from distributional information in the environment, plays a fundamental role in language acquisition, yet little research has investigated this process in older language learners. In the present study, we address this gap by comparing the cross-situational learning of foreign words in younger and older adults. We also tested whether learning was affected by previous experience with multiple languages. We found that both age groups successfully learned the novel words after a short exposure period, confirming that statistical learning ability is preserved in late adulthood. However, the two groups differed in their learning trajectories, with the younger group outperforming the older group during the later stages of learning. Previous language experience did not predict learning outcomes. Given that implicit language learning mechanisms are shown to be preserved over the lifespan, the present data provide crucial support for the assumptions underlying claims that language learning interventions in older age could be leveraged as a targeted intervention to help build or maintain resilience to age-related cognitive decline.