Speech and Nonspeech Predictors of Later Language Development

University Of Maryland, College Park, College Park MD

Investigators

Abstract

A great deal of research has investigated how infants learn their native language. Such research has suggested that a number of early perceptual skills and experiences pave the way for language acquisition, and might be considered as critical underpinnings for developing language skills. In particular, research has suggested that infants? ability to separate streams of speech into individual words, and their ability to track statistical relationships in the input (statistical learning) might be prerequisite skills for language-learning, and that the maternal input an infant receives may also play a substantial role. The current research aims to test this hypothesis experimentally. The investigators will test the same group of infants on both segmentation and statistical learning between 7 and 11 months of age, while appraising maternal input to them. The investigators will also evaluate these same children a year later, on a range of language and cognitive measures. In so doing, we will be able to evaluate whether differences in infants' early abilities and experiences might predict distinct patterns of more and less successful language development. Given the substantial emphasis on statistical learning and segmentation in the literature, the insights gained from these studies will have profound implications for research in the area of language acquisition. A better understanding of the relationship between segmentation and statistical learning will inform the debate on the relative importance of each or both to language development, both theoretically and practically. This research will greatly enhance our understanding of the relationship among different infant abilities and later language development, and lead to more nuanced theories of how language acquisition builds on early perceptual skills and experiences. Finally, results could eventually lead to earlier identification of children at known-risk for language delay and in turn provide guidance to researchers and interventionists about potential next steps in designing and testing intervention programs. This project also will provide educational opportunities for a large number of undergraduate and graduate students. The impact of this research will be enhanced by broad dissemination of the results. In addition to publication in research journals and at conferences, the PI's prior research on this topic has appeared on a variety of television and radio news reports across the country and the world, and has appeared in several parenting magazines intended for broad audiences.