Abstract
A controversial issue in the field of language acquisition is the extent to which general attentional or cognitive abilities play a role in individual differences in early language outcomes. Here we report a longitudinal study where we examined whether processing efficiency in a novelty detection task predicted later vocabulary size in a stable manner across time. We found that the novelty detection ability measured at 9 months was significantly predictive of later vocabulary size at 12, 14, 18, and 24 months. This study, therefore, emphasizes the importance of controlling for non-linguistic factors when assessing individual variability in language development. A more accurate assessment of language development may be obtained if general attentional and cognitive abilities are also taken into account in addition to linguistic factors.
Highlights
Acquiring language is one of the characteristics that makes human beings unique
These individual variations are more often studied with atypical participants (e.g., Rose et al, 2005), and it is often assumed that language development is homogeneous in typically developing, healthy infants
A better understanding of the basic developmental trajectories of language development might be achieved. We focus on these general cognitive skills, as their contribution to later language outcomes is controversial in the literature
Summary
Acquiring language is one of the characteristics that makes human beings unique. young learners achieve this task quite and effortlessly. Infants across different languages uniformly go through the same sequence of large developmental milestones (e.g., Kuhl, 2004) suggesting that language development shows a universal overall trajectory. Within this broadly universal pattern, individual variability is present in the timing, quality, rate and efficiency of early linguistic abilities. These individual variations are more often studied with atypical participants (e.g., Rose et al, 2005), and it is often assumed that language development is homogeneous in typically developing, healthy infants. A growing body of evidence has revealed individual differences in speech perception and production in typically developing infants, as well (e.g., Slobin and Bever, 1982; Newman et al, 2006; Cristia and Seidl, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
