Task 8

Question 1

How does language develop?

Answer 1

• Birth to 6 months infants are highly sensitive to sounds and can discriminate phonetic contrasts even if it is not from their native language.
• 6-8 months listen equally to phonotactic constrains from their native language
• 9-10 months show a preference for words that conform to phonotactic patterns
• 10-12 months there is a reorganization of phonetic perception and they can no longer discriminate phonetic contrasts.
• The components of language develop at different stages and influence previously learned language while also influence the emergence of new components.

Question 2

At what age are infants most sensitive to phonetic constrasts?

Answer 2

birth to 6 months

Question 3

Newborns are highly sensitive to phonetic contrasts during the first six months of life. However, at 10-12 months they can no longer discriminate phonetic constrasts?

Why is that?

Answer 3

Because they have gained more experience with the phonemes of their native language - their brain has become more specialized for their native language. So there is a reorganization that occurs which means that now they are only sensitive to the phones from their native language.

Question 4

What are phonotactic constraints?

Answer 4

Rules about where a sequence of letters should be placed to form a word (e.g. str can only appear at the start whereas rst can only appear at the end).

Question 5

What are critical periods?

Answer 5

Critical periods are fixed developmental periods for which language learning occurs

Question 6

What are optimal periods?

Answer 6

Optimal periods are flexible time windows for language learning.

Question 7

What is the difference between critical and optimal period?

Answer 7

Critical period assumes that there is a predetermined time window where language learning can occur. Outside this window means that it is not possible to learn certain aspects of language.

Optimal period also specificy that there are time windows for language learning but they are flexible in their onset and offset. For example, it is possible for children with hearing impairment to learn language after receiving cochlear implants but only if they do so before 3.5 years.

Question 8

How is language development measured?

Answer 8

• Direct: EEG/ERP
• Standardized tests: CDI, REEL, PLS-3, BSID-3
• Behavioural experiments: odd ball, head conditioned turning, habituation

Question 9

What is the Communicative Development Inventory?

Answer 9

checklist for parents to provide infor about pre and early linguistic skills of their children

Question 10

What is the Receptive-Expressive Emergent Language scale?

Answer 10

Assessment of language dev in premature or children with disabilities in early life
measures pre-linguistic & linguistic performance from 0-36 months
receptive/expressive langauge
observation, elicited, or self-reports.

Question 11

Homn et al. conducted a longitudinal study where he assessed 10 month old infants’ language development using the REEL, then later assessed their academic performance and cognition at age 11.

What did they find?

Answer 11

Better early language abilities are related to better cognition and academic performance at 11 years old.

Both language types are associated with non-verbal and spelling skills.

Question 12

One paper described an onset and offset period for language learning. State the age of these periods and describe them.

Answer 12

First year of life is the onset period for language learning where infants are tuned to the phonetic categories of their language. If relevant experience is witheld then OP/CP is delayed

4-8 years is the offset period where phonetic perception declines.

Question 13

What is rapid auditory processing and why is it important?

Answer 13

Being able to detect & discriminate sounds rapidly is needed for language development since oral uses of language are made up of sounds (phones).

Question 14

What is mismatch negativity?

Answer 14

Ability to discriminate sounds; identification of deviant sound

Question 15

One study investigated the rapid auditory processing of 6 month old infants with or without risk for language impairments. There were two conditions: in one condition the sound appeared after 300ms and in the other it appeared at 70ms.

What did they find?

Answer 15

• Sound appearing at 300ms: 6 months old TDC and those at risk for language impairments have equal sound discrimination abilities
• Sound appearing at 70ms: TBC are faster at detecting sound change compared to those at risk for language impairments

Question 16

What is the neural underpinning of auditory processing for infants with and without risk for language impairment?

Answer 16

• At risk infants have more right hemispheric activations of frontal, temporal and occipital regions during 70ms auditory processing
• Normal infants have more bilateral activations of frontal and temporal regions.