Early Acquisition Research Articles

Exploring The Effects of English as a Foreign Language on First Language Development of Young Children: The Case of Greece

This study meticulously investigates the interplay between Early Second Language Acquisition (ESLA) and the potential emergence of first language disorders in the unique context of Greece. Embedded in the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) paradigm, it aims to untangle existing ambiguities and explore implications for Greek society and education. Employing a Concurrent Mixed Methods Approach, the study attempts to unveil the intricate impacts of ESLA on First Language Development (FLD).Grounded in CDST's framework emphasizing linguistic system complexity, and interconnectedness, the research design employs a Descriptive Exploratory orientation through a Case Study Methodology. This facilitates comprehensive research into two cohorts of children aged four, representing monolingual Greek kindergartens (Cohort A) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL)-focused kindergartens (Cohort B).The research inquiries delve into multifaceted language development aspects amidst intricate linguistic dynamics. This involves nuanced analysis of potential performance disparities in the primary language pre- and post-interventions in early foreign language pedagogy, meticulous comparative assessment of both cohorts, and insightful exploration of EFL's implications on young children's nascent language development.Methodologically, data collection employs a language development assessment tool (Logometro®). The collection of both quantitative and qualitative data in this study is contingent upon the application of the Logometro® language assessment instrument. Thematic Analysis shapes the qualitative corpus, complemented by statistical analyses for quantitative data.Anticipated outcomes aim to enhance understanding among Greek educational authorities and the scientific community about intricate, adaptive ESLA impacts on FLD. Findings could influence enduring, impactful EFL policies shaped by Greek authorities. Overall, the research deepens comprehension of latent consequences tied to ESLA's effects on FLD, set within Greece’s intricate context. Nested within CDST's theoretical framework, the amalgamation of research methodology and insights provides a robust foundation for future inquiries and invaluable guidance for policymakers navigating English language education decisions among young learners.

Brain gray matter morphometry relates to onset age of bilingualism and theory of mind in young and older adults

Lifelong bilingualism may result in neural reserve against decline not only in the general cognitive domain, but also in social cognitive functioning. In this study, we show the brain structural correlates that are associated with second language age of acquisition (L2AoA) and theory of mind (the ability to reason about mental states) in normal aging. Participants were bilingual adults (46 young, 50 older) who completed a theory-of-mind task battery, a language background questionnaire, and an anatomical MRI scan to obtain cortical morphometric features (i.e., gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area). Findings indicated a theory-of-mind decline in older adults compared to young adults, controlling for education and general cognition. Importantly, earlier L2AoA and better theory-of-mind performance were associated with larger volume, higher thickness, and larger surface area in the bilateral temporal, medial temporal, superior parietal, and prefrontal brain regions. These regions are likely to be involved in mental representations, language, and cognitive control. The morphometric association with L2AoA in young and older adults were comparable, but its association with theory of mind was stronger in older adults than young adults. The results demonstrate that early bilingual acquisition may provide protective benefits to intact theory-of-mind abilities against normal age-related declines.

Modeling early phonetic acquisition from child-centered audio data

Infants learn their native language(s) at an amazing speed. Before they even talk, their perception adapts to the language(s) they hear. However, the mechanisms responsible for this perceptual attunement and the circumstances in which it takes place remain unclear. This paper presents the first attempt to study perceptual attunement using ecological child-centered audio data. We show that a simple prediction algorithm exhibits perceptual attunement when applied on unrealistic clean audio-book data, but fails to do so when applied on ecologically-valid child-centered data. In the latter scenario, perceptual attunement only emerges when the prediction mechanism is supplemented with inductive biases that force the algorithm to focus exclusively on speech segments while learning speaker-, pitch-, and room-invariant representations. We argue these biases are plausible given previous research on infants and non-human animals. More generally, we show that what our model learns and how it develops through exposure to speech depends exquisitely on the details of the input signal. By doing so, we illustrate the importance of considering ecologically valid input data when modeling language acquisition.

Low-Dose Oral Wheat Challenge Contributes to Early Tolerance Acquisition in Children with Wheat Allergy: A Propensity Score Matched Retrospective Cohort Study

Low-Dose Oral Wheat Challenge Contributes to Early Tolerance Acquisition in Children with Wheat Allergy: A Propensity Score Matched Retrospective Cohort Study

Communicative development inventory in type 1 and presymptomatic infants with spinal muscular atrophy: a cohort study

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess early language acquisitions in treated individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1 and in infants identified by newborn screening (NBS).MethodsParents of...

Missense mutation of NRAS is associated with malignant progression in neurocutaneous melanosis

Neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) is a rare congenital neurocutaneous syndrome characterized by congenital melanocytic nevus of skin and abnormal proliferation of leptomeningeal melanocytes. Early acquisition of post-zygotic somatic mutations has been postulated to underlie the pathogenesis of NCM. The pathogenesis of NCM remains to be fully elucidated, and treatment options have not been established. Here, we report for the first time, multiregional genomic analyses in a 3-year-old autopsied girl with leptomeningeal melanomatosis associated with NCM, in which a ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt was inserted for the treatment of hydrocephalus. The patient expired six months after the onset due to respiratory failure caused by abdominal dissemination via VP shunt. We performed multiregional exome sequencing to identify genomic differences among brain and abdominal tumors, nevus, and normal tissues. A total of 87 somatic mutations were found in 71 genes, with a significantly large number of gene mutations found in the tumor site. The genetic alterations detected in the nevus were only few and not shared with other sites. Three mutations, namely GNAQ R183Q, S1PR3 G89S and NRAS G12V, considered pathogenic, were found, although S1PR3 mutations have not been previously reported in melanocytic tumors. GNAQ and S1PR3 mutations were shared in both tumor and normal sites. Moreover, the mutant allele frequencies of the two mutations were markedly higher in tumor sites than in normal sites, with copy-neutral loss-of-heterozygosity (CN-LOH) occurring in tumor. NRAS mutation was found only in the abdominal tumor and was thought to be responsible for malignant progression in the present case. Multiregional comprehensive genetic analysis may lead to discovering novel driver mutations associated with tumorigenesis and targeted therapy.

Early M-protein immune reconstitution after autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a good prognostic marker for patients with high-risk cytogenetic multiple myeloma.

The presence of transient abnormal protein banding (M-protein immune reconstitution) in serum immunofixation electrophoresis after autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with multiple myeloma has been reported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of post-transplant M-protein immune reconstitution on the prognosis of patients with multiple myeloma. M-protein immune reconstitution was observed in 25.9% (75/290) of patients. The CR rate and MRD negativity were higher in the M-protein immune reconstitution group (85.3% vs. 69.3%, p = 0.013, 81.9% vs. 66.5%, p = 0.014). Although there were no significant differences between the groups, the overall median survival time was longer in the M-protein immune reconstruction group (80 vs. 72 m, p = 0.076; not reached vs. 105 m, p = 0.312). Among patients in the cytogenetic high-risk group, the occurrence of M-protein immune reconstitution predicted better PFS and OS (80 vs. 31 m, p = 0.010; not reached vs. 91 m, p = 0.026). Additionally, in revised-International Staging System stage III patients, PFS and OS were better in those who achieved M-protein immune reconstitution (80 vs. 20 m, p = 0.025; 57 vs. 32 m, p = 0.103). The better prognosis of M-protein immune reconstitution patients may be associated with the acquisition of a deeper response. In high-risk patients, early acquisition of M-protein immune reconstitution may suggest a better prognosis.

Comprehensive approach to controlling chronic hepatitis B in China.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was highly endemic in China, where the prevalence of HBsAg was 9.7% in 1992. Comprehensive strategies, including universal infant hepatitis B vaccination with emphasis on timely birth-dose and 3-dose coverage, dramatically reduced the mother-to-infant transmission and early childhood acquisition of HBV, resulting in estimated HBsAg prevalence rates of 5.6% and 0.1% in the general population and among children aged <5 years in 2022, respectively. Clinical guidelines on the prevention and treatment of chronic hepatitis B have been periodically updated based on emerging evidence from clinical research. The continuously improved reimbursement policy and the massively reduced price of antiviral drugs through government negotiation and central procurement have increased treatment accessibility and affordability. However, due to the low rates of diagnosis and treatment, China still faces a large challenge in achieving the 2030 goal of lowering HBV-related mortality by 65%. A public health approach involving concerted efforts from the government, medical community, industry, and society as a whole would be necessary to increase the uptake of HBV tests and treatment to achieve the global goal of eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.

Sign language support in an inclusive environment: Educational sign language interpreting services in Taiwan

ABSTRACT Educational sign language interpreting services (SLIS) are vital for ensuring equal access to classroom information for mainstreamed deaf students. This study conducted interviews with 12 stakeholders, including deaf students and their parents, sign language interpreters, and resource room teachers, to comprehensively explore the status of educational SLIS in Taiwan, utilising the ecological systems theory as the framework. The findings underscore the critical importance of deaf students’ sign language proficiency in the personal system. Sign language interpreters play a crucial role in enhancing their skills through additional time and support, leading to improved learning, motivation, and attitudes. At the microsystem level, parents of deaf students are key persons in advocating for the SLIS of primary school, while resource room teachers assist at the university level during the application process. In the mesosystem, interpreter stability is crucial for parents and students. Close collaboration between sign language interpreters and teachers is essential for adjusting teaching methods and seating arrangements, and interpreters should possess qualities like enthusiasm, patience, and an understanding of students’ psychological development. At the exosystem level, higher education institutions offer established systems for educational SLIS, but primary schools lack clear regulations. Budget constraints limit comprehensive provision, making it challenging to attract qualified professionals. Increased funding and improved incentives are necessary. In the macrosystem, deaf parents expect early intervention with sign language learning resources to create a conducive environment for early sign language acquisition.

Vocabulary size predicts behavioral problems in emotionally reactive children

Internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems place children at an increased risk for low academic achievement and socioemotional maladjustment. Children's language skills and level of emotional reactivity have been shown to predict behavioral problems later in development. Yet, there is an absence of research investigating vocabulary by negative emotionality interactions with respect to the development of behavioral problems during early childhood. Our study sought to fill this gap by examining whether the relation between preschool (age 3) vocabulary size and internalizing/externalizing problems during the early school years (age 6) is moderated by preschool negative emotional reactivity, even after controlling for preschool behavioral problems as well as children's socioeconomic background. Longitudinal data was collected from 256 typically developing children (129 girls, 75% White) and their mothers (64% held a college degree). Linear regression analyses revealed moderate rank-order stability in children's internalizing and externalizing problems across this period of development. Evidence of an interaction effect emerged in both the internalizing and externalizing problems regression models. That is, age 3 vocabulary was negatively related to age 6 behavioral problems, but only among children exhibiting higher levels of negative emotional reactivity. Our results indicate that early vocabulary acquisition may serve as a buffer against adverse behavioral outcomes in children with a natural propensity toward expressing negative emotions. These findings point to a more nuanced picture of the relations between language, emotional reactivity, and behavioral problems in childhood, which are discussed in greater detail to inform future intervention and educational research.

Beyond age: exploring ultimate attainment in heritage speakers and late L2 learners.

According to the Critical Period Hypothesis, successful language learning is optimal during early childhood, whereas language learning outside of this time window is unsuccessful. In this respect, early language acquisition is viewed as convergent and reliable but late acquisition is not. The present study revisits the idea of a critical period by investigating the grammatical attainment of early bilinguals/heritage speakers (HSs), late second/foreign language (L2) learners, and comparable groups of monolinguals by testing Greek-English bilinguals in the two languages they speak by means of a grammaticality judgment task. Our findings show that in English, HSs performed on par with monolinguals, both groups surpassing the late L2 learners, who performed about 2 SDs below the HSs and the monolinguals. In Greek, late L2 learners and monolinguals exhibited comparable performance, contrasting sharply with the HSs' significantly lower proficiency, which was on average about 5 SDs below the late L2 learners and the monolinguals. Consequently, our results show that the performance gaps between HSs and Greek monolinguals/late L2 learners were more pronounced than the differences between late L2 learners and English monolinguals/HSs, suggesting that the early bilinguals' success in English may come at the expense of their heritage language (Greek). Furthermore, we observe substantially more individual variation within HSs in their heritage language than within the late L2 learners for their second language. Thus, testing bilinguals in both of their languages allows us to unveil the complexity of grammatical ultimate attainment and prompt a re-thinking of age as the major determining factor of (un)successful attainment.

Three-Periods Lesson: A practical way in introducing English Vocabulary Using Realia and Flashcards

This experimental study examines the use of the Three-Period Lesson, a teaching methodology commonly employed in early childhood education, to introduce English vocabulary to young learners. The study focuses on incorporating realia and flashcards as instructional tools to enhance language acquisition and retention. The research analyzes three stages of the Three-Period Lesson: introduction, association, and recall/reinforcement. The data were collected by interviewing two teachers and giving pre-test and post-test to the students. The data was analyzed by t-test table. The result of the post-test scores were better than the pre-test scores and formative scores. It could be seen by comparing their means. The means of the pre-test score was 51,92. The means of formative test score was 72, 76 while the post-test score was 74,57. It means that there is a significance difference in students‟ scores after they were given treatments using realia and flashcards. This study contributes to the field of early childhood education and language acquisition. The findings showed that the provide practical insights for educators seeking effective methods to introduce vocabulary to young learners, aiming to build a strong foundation in English language skills.

Overt and null subjects in Bulgarian: comparing monolingual adults and children to child heritage speakers in Germany in their use of Bulgarian

ABSTRACT This study investigates the use of overt and null subjects in Bulgarian in child heritage speakers with L2 German. The alternation of overt and null pronominal subjects in null-subject languages like Bulgarian depends on grammatical and discourse conditions and contrasts with German. Oral narratives were elicited in Bulgarian, comparing the performance of the heritage children to that of monolingual children and adults. Overall 68 Bulgarian narratives of 39 speakers were analysed as to the use of overt and null pronominal subjects in topic-continuity and topic-shift contexts. The results reveal similar subject realisation for all speakers, supporting early acquisition of null-subject grammars. Analyses of topic-continuity and -shift contexts showed similar overall patterns in children’s and adults’ subject use, with children producing somewhat more overt subjects in topic-continuity and ambiguous overt pronouns in topic-shift contexts than adults. However, the bilinguals used significantly more ambiguous null subjects than monolinguals. These results suggest that fine-grained discourse constraints of null-subject grammars are more difficult for bilinguals to acquire and maintain. The near adult-like performance of the bilinguals in some contexts can be attributed to the fact that most of them were Bulgarian-dominant and received non-attrited parental input. Differences are also attributable to cross-linguistic influence.

How cognitive selection affects language change

Like biological species, words in language must compete to survive. Previously, it has been shown that language changes in response to cognitive constraints and over time becomes more learnable. Here, we use two complementary research paradigms to demonstrate how the survival of existing word forms can be predicted by psycholinguistic properties that impact language production. In the first study, we analyzed the survival of words in the context of interpersonal communication. We analyzed data from a large-scale serial-reproduction experiment in which stories were passed down along a transmission chain over multiple participants. The results show that words that are acquired earlier in life, more concrete, more arousing, and more emotional are more likely to survive retellings. We reason that the same trend might scale up to language evolution over multiple generations of natural language users. If that is the case, the same set of psycholinguistic properties should also account for the change of word frequency in natural language corpora over historical time. That is what we found in two large historical-language corpora (Study 2): Early acquisition, concreteness, and high arousal all predict increasing word frequency over the past 200 y. However, the two studies diverge with respect to the impact of word valence and word length, which we take up in the discussion. By bridging micro-level behavioral preferences and macro-level language patterns, our investigation sheds light on the cognitive mechanisms underlying word competition.

“It's not just what we say or do, but how we say and do it”

Infant-directed speech (IDS) and infant-directed actions (IDA) represent specific behavioural modifications of adults when they communicate with infants and young children. Infant-directed modifications (IDMs) have specific behavioural representations marked by high positive affection, greater expressiveness, simplification, and increased repetition. Both IDS and IDA appear as part of the same larger behavioural system of IDMs. However, so far, studies have analysed the features and functions of these behaviours separately. Compared to adult-directed speech, IDS is characterised by longer pauses, a slower tempo, more prosodic repetition, higher fundamental frequency, longer vowels, repetitive intonation structures, and greater melodiousness. In IDA, compared to adult-directed actions, the amplitude of movements, simplification, and number of repetitions tend to increase as the distance between communication partners decrease. In this review, we draw a parallel between IDS and IDA to show that adults change both their speech and actions in similar ways and that both actions and speech change depending on the infant’s age and/or developmental stage. We discuss possible (biological) mechanisms that elicit the use of IDS and IDA and argue that this specific type of adult behaviour has a unique impact on how infants perceive and process information. Insights on biological, behavioural, and functional aspects of IDMs could provide a new perspective on the importance of early interactions and knowledge acquisition in both typically developing children and those with developmental disorders.

Feats: A database of semantic features for early produced noun concepts.

Semantic feature production norms have several desirable characteristics that have supported models of representation and processing in adults. However, several key challenges have limited the use of semantic feature norms in studies of early language acquisition. First, existing norms provide uneven and inconsistent coverage of early-acquired concepts that are typically produced and assessed in children under the age of three, which is a time of tremendous growth of early vocabulary skills. Second, it is difficult to assess the degree to which young children may be familiar with normed features derived from these adult-generated datasets. Third, it has been difficult to adopt standard methods to generate semantic network models of early noun learning. Here, we introduce Feats-a tool that was designed to make headway on these challenges by providing a database, the Language Learning and Meaning Acquisition (LLaMA) lab Noun Norms that extends a widely used set of feature norms McRae et al. Behavior Research Methods 37, 547-559, (2005) to include full coverage of noun concepts on a commonly used early vocabulary assessment. Feats includes several tools to facilitate exploration of features comprising early-acquired nouns, assess the developmental appropriateness of individual features using toddler-accessibility norms, and extract semantic network statistics for individual vocabulary profiles. We provide a tutorial overview of Feats. We additionally validate our approach by presenting an analysis of an overlapping set of concepts collected across prior and new data collection methods. Furthermore, using network graph analyses, we show that the extended set of norms provides novel, reliable results given their enhanced coverage.

Abstract processing of syllabic structures in early infancy

Syllables are one of the fundamental building blocks of early language acquisition. From birth onwards, infants preferentially segment, process and represent the speech into syllable-sized units, raising the question of what type of computations infants are able to perform on these perceptual units. Syllables are abstract units structured in a way that allows grouping phonemes into sequences. The goal of this research was to investigate 4-to-5-month-old infants' ability to encode the internal structure of syllables, at a target age when the language system is not yet specialized on the sounds and the phonotactics of native languages. We conducted two experiments in which infants were first familiarized to lists of syllables implementing either CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) or CCV (consonant-consonant-vowel) structures, then presented with new syllables implementing both structures at test. Experiments differ in the degree of phonological similarity between the materials used at familiarization and test. Results show that infants were able to differentiate syllabic structures at test, even when test syllables were implemented by combinations of phonemes that infants did not hear before. Only infants familiarized with CVC syllables discriminated the structures at test, pointing to a processing advantage for CVC over CCV structures. This research shows that, in addition to preferentially processing the speech into syllable-sized units, during the first months of life, infants are also capable of performing fine-grained computations within such units.

Japanese scientists’ English for research publication purposes

Abstract Error Analysis was developed by early Second Language Acquisition (SLA) researchers as a way to investigate interlanguage and better understand the second-language learning processes. While it is no longer an active branch of research in SLA, it remains a useful tool for those concerned with accuracy in language use. Given the elevated importance of accuracy in English for Research and Publication Purposes (ERPP), this may be one area where Error Analysis may continue to inform research and praxis. The high degree of language precision demanded in ERPP contexts can be a source of frustration for many engaged in scholarly publication, especially those for whom English is an additional language, such as the Japanese scientists studied in this paper. For Japanese scientists and possibly others, an empirical profile of their most frequent error patterns may help them to better deal with accuracy in research writing. With this motivation, this study applies a corpus-assisted error analysis framework to quantify sentence-level grammar errors and identify the most frequent error patterns in the research article manuscripts of Japanese scientists. A corpus of 53 research article manuscripts with 4,495 errors comprises the primary data. Additionally, two raters and a comparison of errors from scientists from six different L1 backgrounds are employed to triangulate the data and investigate the reliability and generalizability of the findings. Findings reveal that the top ten most frequent errors comprise 52.9%, or half of all errors in the corpus, and are dominated by errors with determiners and prepositions.

Understanding How Home Conditions Shape Early Grade Learners Literacy Acquisition Skills: A Tanzanian Perspective

Literacy skills are essential in children’s future learning and development. Studies indicate that literacy skills among early grade learners in Tanzania are below the required standards. This study explored the contribution of home factors that hinder acquisition of reading and writing skills among early grades learners in Tanzania. The study was informed by a qualitative methodology which involved a total of 92 participants, including 80 parents and 12 standard one and two teachers from four primary schools in two districts of Morogoro region. The study employed purposive sampling technique to select teachers and convenience sampling technique to obtain parents who were involved in interview and focus group discussion. Data was collected using semi-structured interview, focused group discussion and documentary review. The data were analysed thematically based on themes and sub-themes emerged in the study. The findings revealed that most factors that hinder early grade learners from acquiring reading and writing skills included (poor parents follow up, engaging children in many home activities, low parents’ education and parent’s income) It was suggested that there should be cooperation between parents and teachers to assist the children in developing their reading and writing skills. The study concludes that parents and teachers should work collaboratively to develop reading and writing in children. Lastly, it is recommended that parents should buy materials like books, and assist their children to practice reading and writing skills at home.

10141-GMC-13 MULTIREGIONAL GENOMIC ANALYSIS: A NOVEL APPROACH FOR DETECTING PATHOGENIC DRIVER MUTATION ASSOCIATED WITH MALIGNANT PROGRESSION IN NEUROCUTANEOUS MELANOSIS

Abstract Neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) is a rare congenital neurocutaneous syndrome characterized by congenital melanocytic nevus of skin and abnormal proliferation of leptomeningeal melanocytes. Early acquisition of post-zygotic somatic mutations has been postulated to underlie the pathogenesis of NCM. The pathogenesis of NCM remains to be fully elucidated and treatment options have not been established. Here, we report for the first time, multiregional genomic analyses in a 3-year-old autopsied girl with leptomeningeal melanomatosis associated with NCM, in which a ventriculo-peritoneal shunt was inserted for the treatment of hydrocephalus. The patient expired six months after the onset due to respiratory failure caused by abdominal dissemination via ventriculo-peritoneal shunt. We performed multiregional exome sequencing to identify genomic differences among brain and abdominal tumors, nevus, and normal tissues. A total of 87 somatic mutations were found in 71 genes, with a significantly large number of gene mutations found in the tumor site. The genetic alterations detected in the nevus were only few and not shared with other sites. Three pathogenic mutations, GNAQ R183Q, S1PR3 G89S and NRAS G12V were found. GNAQ and S1PR3 mutations were shared in both tumor and normal sites. Moreover, the mutant allele frequencies of the two mutations were markedly higher in tumor sites than in normal sites. NRAS mutation was found only in the abdominal tumor and was thought to be responsible for malignant progression in the present case. Multiregional comprehensive genetic analysis may lead to discover novel driver mutations associated with tumorigenesis and targeted therapy.