Language Behavior Research Articles

Testing the predictions of Chapman's five love languages theory: Does speaking a partner's primary love language predict relationship quality?

Chapman's claim that the key to marital happiness is "speaking" your partner's primary "love language" has been highly influential in pop culture and incorporated into therapeutic practice. However, the theory has not yet been empirically validated. The current study tests his theory, examining the hypothesis that satisfaction with one's partner's primary love language behavior predicts relationship satisfaction better than satisfaction with one's partner's nonprimary love language behavior. We recruited a sample (n = 696, M = 43.8 years, 70% married, 97.3% cohabitating) through Amazon CloudResearch. Chapman's hypothesis was not supported. Participants' satisfaction with their partners' primary love language behavior no better-predicted relationship satisfaction or perceived love than the lower-ranked love languages. Words of Affirmation and Quality Time better predicted perceived love and relationship satisfaction than participants' primary love language. These results replicate previous research and suggest that these should remain targets of intervention for relationship therapists.

Characteristics of early cognitive development in children with Williams syndrome: a prospective cohort study

To investigate the early cognitive development characteristics of children with Williams syndrome (WS) at different age stages. From September 2018 to June 2023, 106 children diagnosed with WS at the Department of Pediatric Health Care, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, aged 1 to <5 years, were prospectively enrolled. All children underwent Gesell developmental diagnostic assessments to analyze the cognitive development characteristics of WS children across different age groups. The average age of the 106 WS children was (3.1±1.2) years; 58 were male, and 48 were female. There were no significant differences in developmental levels between males and females in the five domains of gross motor skills, fine motor skills, language, personal-social skills, and adaptive behavior (P>0.05). The incidence rates of mild, moderate, severe, and profound developmental disabilities among children of different age groups showed no significant differences (P>0.05). Comparisons of developmental levels in gross motor skills, language, personal-social skills, and adaptive behavior among different age groups were also not statistically significant (P>0.05). With the increase of age, the developmental level of fine motor skills showed a decreasing trend (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in verbal IQ and non-verbal IQ within each age group of WS children (P>0.05). The overall developmental level of WS children stabilizes with age, and their early language abilities do not significantly exceed their non-verbal abilities.

Bridging the gap between preservice teachers’ theoretical and practical knowledge through simulations of teacher-parent interactions

ABSTRACT Teacher-parent communication is one of the domains in teacher education where the gap between theory and practice is evident. Although teacher-education programmes are responsible for developing preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) effective parent-teacher communication skills, such interactions are rarely practiced during the training. Simulation-Based Learning (SBL) is one of the ways to connect theory to practice. The current study analysed a PST’s language behaviour during an SBL lesson involving a parent-teacher interaction, to consider whether and in what way the SBL experience helped bridge the gap between PSTs’ theoretical and practical knowledge. A qualitative methodology was selected using a case-study approach. The PST whose language behaviour was examined was a 33-year-old woman retraining to become a kindergarten teacher. The data were collected via a workshop transcript, an interview, and a written reflection and were analysed using linguistic and content analyses. The findings demonstrate the role of SBL in advancing the crucial aspect of effective teacher-education programmes, namely, addressing the connection between theory and practice. The study’s theoretical contribution lies in underscoring the way in which simulation contributes to bridging the gap between PSTs’ theoretical and practical knowledge.

The effect of speech and non-speech noise on comprehension of storybook reading for elementary school children

Children are generally more affected by surrounding noise than are adults, and are more disturbed by speech than by non-speech noise. Storybook reading, which is one of the main activities in school curricula, is known to improve children's language skills, social abilities, and behavior. However, classrooms are generally noisy environments, and the effectiveness of storybook reading in noise is unclear. This study aimed to investigate how noise affects storybook reading comprehension among elementary schoolchildren. A practiced speaker read picture books to 11 elementary school schoolchildren (age range, 6-9 years) under three listening conditions: quiet, speech noise (babble noise), and non-speech noise (noise recorded in a boiler room). A comprehension test (e.g., story flow, character behaviors, keywords) was conducted after each book was read. No significant difference in story comprehension scores was found among the listening conditions, likely because the visual information helped the children understand the stories even in noise. However, the story comprehension score under the speech noise condition was significantly higher for children who frequently played outside as compared with inside. These results suggest that children's comprehension of storybook reading in noise is affected by not only surrounding noise, but also the play area.

Monitorowanie procesu pisania w języku obcym. Analiza przerw z perspektywy Teorii Systemów Dynamicznych

The paper investigates the dynamic character of pausing behaviour in foreign language writing. In a longitudinal study on Polish learners of Swedish, pause length and frequency, as well as the interplay between pause length and the development of lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, accuracy, and fluency, were investigated. According to the assumptions of Dynamic Systems Theory, intra- and inter-subject variability were analysed. The study has shown that the mean length of pauses did not change during the three-year period of second language learning; however, the frequency of pauses significantly decreased, as demonstrated by the increasing number of words written between pauses. There was a considerable variation within subjects during the entire period, and even moderate inter-subject variability was noticed. The occurrence of longer pauses was almost always interconnected with a higher level of accuracy, syntactic complexity, and fluency. This interplay, however, could only be confirmed at the individual level, showing the necessity of following the development of a second language in individuals rather than for the entire group.

Intervention studies with group design targeting expressive phonology for children with developmental speech and language disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Phonological difficulties are prevalent in children with speech and/or language disorders and may hamper their later language outcomes and academic achievements. These children often form a significant proportion of speech and language therapists' caseloads. There is a shortage of information on evidence-based interventions for improving phonological skills in children and adolescents with speech and language disorder. The aim of this systematic literature review and meta-analysis was to systematically examine the effects of different intervention approaches on speech production accuracy and phonological representation skills in children with speech and language disorders. A preregistered systematic review (International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews ID: CRD42017076075) adhering to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was completed. Seven electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, ERIC, PsychINFO, Cochrane Library, SCOPUS and Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts) were searched for studies related to oral language interventions with children with developmental speech and/or language disorder (mean age ranging from 3-18 years) published between January 2006 and August 2022. The included articles reported intervention studies with a group design in which speech production accuracy was the outcome measure. Studies were appraised using the Cochrane risk of bias tool, and individual effect sizes were calculated using standardised means differences when enough data was available. A meta-analysis was conducted obtaining the average standardised mean difference d. Heterogeneity, influence of possible moderator variables and publication bias were explored. The 23 studies that met the inclusion criteria presented low-medium risk of bias. Nine effect sizes were obtained from seven of these studies that presented a pre-post-test with a control group design. Medium-high average effect sizes were found in phonological accuracy. Heterogeneity was found between individual effect sizes. Significant moderator variables and publication bias were not detected. The results of this meta-analysis indicate positive effects on speech production accuracy. Based on this review, further improvements in the quality of reporting for intervention research are required in developing the evidence base for practice. What is already known on the subject An increasing number of interventions is available for children and adolescents with developmental speech and/or language disorders. Previous reviews suggest relatively low levels of evidence of interventions having phonology as an outcome measure. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This review and meta-analysis summarise the intervention evidence from a substantial body of group design studies, indicating positive results from a range of interventions with phonological outcomes. It highlights the need to systematically implement and replicate different intervention procedures to understand factors that will maximise positive outcomes and to grow the evidence base for best practice. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this study? Tentative evidence is emerging for the effectiveness of various approaches in enhancing speech production accuracy skills of children and adolescents with developmental speech and/or language disorder.

The Appropriation of Religiousity in the 2024 Indonesian Presidential

Religious appropriation is a phenomenon that is continually reproduced in every electoral contestation. However, this context has not been discussed comprehensively in previous studies. In addition to responding to the shortcomings of previous studies, this study also focuses on explaining the characteristics, factors, and latent dangers of religious appropriation that occured in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. This study reveals three important findings regarding the religious appropriation in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. First, religious appropriation frequently manifests in the context of doctrine, language, and religious behaviors expressed outside the values and norms of religion. Second, cultural, spiritual, and structural factors have dominantly influenced the occurance of religious appropriation in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. Third, the latent dangers of religious appropriation in the 2024 Indonesian presidential election often leads to intolerance, polarization, and persecution against religious communities even after the 2024 Indonesian presidential election. This study also recommends the importance of further studies that explain the attitudes of both formal and informal authorities in responding to religious appropriation in political contestation by conducting intensive interviews.

Language use in depressed and non-depressed mothers and their adolescent offspring

BackgroundApproximately 10% of mothers experience depression each year, which increases risk for depression in offspring. Currently no research has analysed the linguistic features of depressed mothers and their adolescent offspring during dyadic interactions. We examined the extent to which linguistic features of mothers' and adolescents' speech during dyadic interactional tasks could discriminate depressed from non-depressed mothers. MethodsComputer-assisted linguistic analysis (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count; LIWC) was applied to transcripts of low-income mother-adolescent dyads (N = 151) performing a lab-based problem-solving interaction task. One-way multivariate analyses were conducted to determine linguistic features hypothesized to be related to maternal depressive status that significantly differed in frequency between depressed and non-depressed mothers and higher and lower risk offspring. Logistic regression analyses were performed to classify between dyads belonging to the two groups. ResultsThe results showed that linguistic features in mothers' and their adolescent offsprings' speech during problem-solving interactions discriminated between maternal depression status. Many, but not all effects, were consistent with those identified in previous research using primarily written text, highlighting the validity and reliability of language behaviour associated with depressive symptomatology across lab-based and natural environmental contexts. LimitationsOur analyses do not enable to ascertain how mothers' language behaviour may have influenced their offspring's communication patterns. We also cannot say how or whether these findings generalize to other contexts or populations. ConclusionThe findings extend the existing literature on linguistic features of depression by indicating that mothers' depression is associated with linguistic behaviour during mother-adolescent interaction.

Dynamic degree centrality in stroke-induced Broca's aphasia varies based on first language: A functional MRI study.

This study sought to explore dynamic degree centrality (DC) variability in particular regions of the brain in patients with poststroke Broca aphasia (BA) using a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) approach, comparing differences between Uyghur and Chinese BA patients. This study investigated two factors, language and BA status, and divided patients into four groups: Uyghur aphasia patients (UA), Uyghur normal control subjects (UN), Chinese aphasia patients (CA), and Chinese normal subjects (CN) who underwent rs-fMRI analysis. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to calculate the comprehensive differences in dynamic DC among these four groups. Correlations between DC and language behavior were assessed with partial correlation analyses. Two-way ANOVA revealed comparable results for the results of pairwise comparisons of dynamic DC variability among the four groups in the right middle frontal gyrus/orbital part (ORBmid.R), right superior frontal gyrus/dorsolateral, and right precuneus (PCUN.R), with results as follows: UA<UN, CA>CN, UA<CA, and UN>CN (p<.05, with the exception of the p-values for UA and UN in superior frontal gyrus/dorsolateral). In contrast, the opposite results were observed for the right calcarine fissure and surrounding cortex (CAL.R, p<.05). The observed enhancement of dynamic DC variability in ORBmid.R and PCUN.R among Chinese BA patients and in CAL.R in Uyghur BA patients may be attributable to language network restructuring. Overall, these results suggest that BA patients who use different language families may exhibit differences in the network mechanisms that characterize observed impairments of language function.

Mapping the dimensions of family language policy for young children: the case of Emirati families

ABSTRACT The United Arab Emirates has a unique multilingual landscape with over 100 languages considered as the first languages of its population, English as the dominant lingua franca for communication among virtually all residents, and Arabic as the official language. The Emirati (native Arab citizens) families with young children have been in a unique sociolinguistic dilemma, and little is known about how they deal with the dilemma. This study aimed to address the gap. Individual ethnographic interviews were conducted with 20 Emirati families by trained Emirati ethnographic interviewers. Focused open and axial coding generated three dimensions of family literacy policy (FLP). Language ideology encapsulates the parents’ perception, assumption, and aspiration about Arabic and English and the child’s learning of the two languages. Language behavior features environmental control, motivational control, and task control concerning language education. Language metacognition foregrounds the parents’ evaluation of their child’s language learning and reflection on their own language behaviour. The three dimensions of FLP are reciprocally related. The three-dimensional model may serve as a useful conceptual framework for future investigation into FLP.

Orientation towards the vernacular and style-shifting as language behaviours in speech of first-generation Polish migrant communities speaking Norwegian in Norway.

This study describes the patterns of dialect use among L3 Norwegian speakers born in Poland who have migrated to Norway. We collected the data in the form of sociolinguistic interviews recorded in Tromsø and Oslo, two different dialect regions, in order to examine potential differences in acquisition of two dissimilar dialects in Norwegian by L3 speakers. The analyses focus on dialectal and accentual variation in their speech, and whether frequency of dialect use is dependent on selected sociocultural factors. We have found that some speakers, especially those scoring high for overall dialect use, also display style-shifting, i.e. they use dialect features from the region more frequently in unscripted speech as opposed to in more formal speech styles elicited through reading tasks or the wordlist reading tasks. This demonstrates that language learners are capable of developing sensitivity towards the vernacular form in an L3. Moreover, it shows that first-generation migrant communities in fact may be capable of developing their L2/L3/L4 language competencies in a similar way to L1 speakers, including at the level of sociolinguistic variation.

Seni Helah dan Perbahasan Belanjawan 2024: Analisis Pragmatik

The integrity of the administration of any governmentlargely depends on relevant and clear financial policies, for instance, Short-Term Plans or Annual Budgets. Periodically, the Annual Budget, the most important component of Parliamentary discourse, will be tabled for discussion, either to gain support or face criticism in both Houses of Representatives. Certainly, discussions and debates require politicians to master the art of rhetoric, analysis, and inference to navigate the dynamics of political legitimacy. For this purpose, the important document known as the Hansard serves as a substantial source, recording the strategies and art of Evasive Language in challenging-defending policies, addressing-mitigating issues, and strengthening-undermining the image that determines the integrity of the legitimacy of both the Governmentand and Opposition. However, previous corpus studies by Hansard on the topic of Evasive Response have focused only on the structural forms of debate. Therefore, employing three Pragmatic models, namely Harris’s Framework of Respons (1991), Thomas’s Notion of Implicator (1995), and Claymen’s Dimension of Resistance (2012), this qualitative study aims to analyse more complex, intense, and natural debate sessions, specifically the policy debate on the 2024 Budget. The findings reveal that all three types of Responses have some distinctive features, and their selection correlates with the scale of their impact on the image of the Government-Opposition. In addition, adhering to the Gricean Maxims (1975), the configuration of Evasive Language behavior is more easily defined and justified. Lastly, the discourse background at the policy level is more heterogeneous, thereby enriching the performative nature of Evasive Language.

Assessing Relative Linguistic Impairment With Model-Based Item Selection.

A picture naming test is presented that reveals impairment to specific mechanisms involved in the naming process, using accuracy scores on curated item sets. A series of psychometric validation experiments are reported. Using a computational model that enables estimation of item difficulty at the lexical and sublexical stages of word retrieval, two complimentary sets of items were constructed that challenge the respective psycholinguistic levels of representation. The difference in accuracy between these item sets yields the relative linguistic impairment (RLI) score. In a cohort of 91 people with chronic left-hemisphere stroke who enrolled in a clinical trial for anomia, we assessed psychometric properties of the RLI score and then used the new scale to make predictions about other language behaviors, lesion distributions, and functional activation during naming. RLI scores had adequate psychometric properties for clinical significance. RLI scores contained predictive information about spontaneous speech fluency, over and above accuracy. A dissociation was observed between performance on the RLI item sets and performance on the subtests of an independent language battery. Sublexical RLI was significantly associated with apraxia of speech and with lesions encompassing perisylvian regions, while lexical RLI was associated with lesions to deep white matter. The RLI construct was reflected in functional brain activity during naming, independent of overall accuracy, with a respective shift of activation between dorsal and ventral networks responsible for different aspects of word retrieval. The RLI assessment satisfies the psychometric requirements to serve as a useful clinical measure.

Modelling child comprehension: A case of suffixal passive construction in Korean

The present study investigates a computational model's ability to capture monolingual children's language behaviour during comprehension in Korean, an understudied language in the field. Specifically, we test whether and how two neural network architectures (LSTM, GPT-2) cope with a suffixal passive construction involving verbal morphology and required interpretive procedures (i.e., revising the mapping between thematic roles and case markers) driven by that morphology. To this end, we fine-tune our models via patching (i.e., pre-trained model + caregiver input) and hyperparameter adjustments, and measure their binary classification performance on the test sentences used in a behavioural study manifesting scrambling and omission of sentential components to varying degrees. We find that, while these models’ performance converges with the children's response patterns found in the behavioural study to some extent, the models do not faithfully simulate the children's comprehension behaviour pertaining to the suffixal passive, yielding by-model, by-condition, and by-hyperparameter asymmetries. This points to the limits of the neural networks’ capacity to address child language features. The implications of this study invite subsequent inquiries on the extent to which computational models reveal developmental trajectories of children's linguistic knowledge that have been unveiled through corpus-based or experimental research.

A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES IN L1 LEARNERS DUE TO L2 NONVERBAL CUES

This systematic review explores the influence of second language (L2) nonverbal cues on first language (L1) behaviours among learners. While existing research has primarily focused on verbal proficiency, the integration of nonverbal communication—encompassing gestures, facial expressions, body posture, and vocal tone—into L2 learning remains under examined. This study investigates the phenomenon of superimposition, where L2 learners adopt nonverbal cues that subsequently shape their L1 interactions. Through an interdisciplinary lens incorporating psycholinguistics, cross-cultural communication, and second language acquisition theories, we identify significant behavioural changes in L1 communication patterns, emotional expressiveness, and social interaction styles. Key areas of impact include alterations in facial expressions, gestural behaviours, eye contact, and paralanguage. Utilizing psychometric tools such as self-report surveys, observational studies, and vocal analysis, this review highlights the complexities of nonverbal communication across languages and cultures. Ultimately, our findings underscore the necessity of understanding nonverbal cue integration to enhance cross-cultural communication and support multilingual individuals in navigating diverse interaction contexts.

A Ten-Year Systematic Review on Linguistic BehaviorsOral and Written Communication as Predictors of Anxiety

The purpose of this article is to conduct a systematic review of the literature over the past decade on the relationship between linguistic behavior and anxiety-related mental disorders. Anxiety is a universal and complex mental health problem with significant societal implications, and it has been one of the focuses of extensive attention, investigation and research in the psychological community. Many psychiatric disorders, especially anxiety disorders, are associated with severe anxiety. In recent years, as more and more scholars began to focus on the link between verbal behavior and anxiety, certain unique linguistic features have been identified in people with anxiety disorders, such as using less positive emotional words and fewer long sentences. However, some issues remain to be addressed. For instance, the majority of studies conducted in this field have not employed long-term observational experimental designs, which has hindered researchers from exploring the deeper effects of language behavior on the onset and development of anxiety symptoms. Additionally, in-depth research is challenging because some studies focus on specific populations, have limited sample selection, and rarely make cross-cultural comparisons. Anxiety disorders associated with decreasing quality of life and impairing social functioning. Therefore, it is crucial to study the relationship between anxiety and linguistic behavior from practical perspective. Future research should focus on solving the limitations of existing studies, exploring the mechanism of linguistic behavior's influence on anxiety symptoms, and exploring the relationship between anxiety and language in different cultures, to provide more effective strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of anxiety disorders.

Similar gaze behaviour during dialogue perception in congenitally deaf children with cochlear Implants and normal hearing children.

Perceptual and speech production abilities of children with cochlear implants (CIs) are usually tested by word and sentence repetition or naming tests. However, these tests are quite far apart from daily life linguistic contexts. Here, we describe a way of investigating the link between language comprehension and anticipatory verbal behaviour promoting the use of more complex listening situations. The setup consists in watching the audio-visual dialogue of two actors. Children's gaze switches from one speaker to the other serve as a proxy of their prediction abilities. Moreover, to better understand the basis and the impact of anticipatory behaviour, we also measured children's ability to understand the dialogue content, their speech perception and memory skills as well as their rhythmic skills, that also require temporal predictions. Importantly, we compared children with CI performances with those of an age-matched group of children with normal hearing (NH). While children with CI revealed poorer speech perception and verbal working memory abilities than NH children, there was no difference in gaze anticipatory behaviour. Interestingly, in children with CI only, we found a significant correlation between dialogue comprehension, perceptual skills and gaze anticipatory behaviour. Our results extend to a dialogue context of previous findings showing an absence of predictive deficits in children with CI. The current design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory language behaviour in a more ecological linguistic context also with young children. What is already known on the subject Children with cochlear implants seem to have difficulties extracting structure from and learning sequential input patterns, possibly due to signal degradation and auditory deprivation in the first years of life. They also seem to have a reduced use of contextual information and slow language processing among children with hearing loss. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Here we show that when adopting a rather complex linguistic context such as watching a dialogue of two individuals, children with cochlear implants are able to use the speech and language structure to anticipate gaze switches to the upcoming speaker. What are the clinical implications of this work? The present design seems an interesting avenue to provide an accurate and objective estimate of anticipatory behaviour in a more ecological and dynamic linguistic context. Importantly, this measure is implicit and it has been previously used with very young (normal-hearing) children, showing that they spontaneously make anticipatory gaze switches by age two. Thus, this approach may be of interest to refine the speech comprehension assessment at a rather early age after cochlear implantation where explicit behavioural tests are not always reliable and sensitive.

What difficulties do children learning English in addition to another language experience with English oral language? A systematic review

ABSTRACT Within the majority of English-speaking settings, children learning English as an additional language (CLEAL) underperform academically relative to their monolingual, English-speaking peers. This systematic review (preregistration: https://archive.org/details/osf-registrations-zgmha-v1) identifies the elements of the English oral language where these children experience difficulty. We focused on research measuring an English oral language outcome for CLEAL between the ages of 3 and 7 and their age-matched, monolingual English-speaking peers. We searched PsycINFO, Web of Science, British Education Index and Linguistics and Language Behaviour s, for studies published between 2015 and 2024, written in English. Of the 2125 records identified, 20 were eligible for inclusion, with a low-to-moderate risk of bias. Overall, our target group performed significantly worse in tests of English receptive and expressive vocabulary, syntactic knowledge, listening comprehension, embedding, collocational knowledge and areas of narrative skill and phonological production. However, these children were comparable with their peers in other areas of narrative skill, lexical and pragmatic understanding, elements of morphological production and areas of phonological production and processing. Overall, while the picture is mixed, highlighting the need for further study of oral English in CLEAL, this review strengthens existing arguments for vocabulary and syntax acquisition as appropriate targets for intervention.

A Systematic Review of Empirical Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Studies through a Perception–Production Lens

The communicative approach to language learning, a teaching method commonly used in second language (L2) classrooms, places little to no emphasis on pronunciation training. As a result, mobile-assisted pronunciation training (MAPT) platforms provide an alternative to classroom-based pronunciation training. To date, there have been several meta-analyses and systematic reviews of mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) studies, but only a few of these meta-analyses have concentrated on pronunciation. To better understand MAPT’s impact on L2 learners’ perceptions and production of targeted pronunciation features, this study conducted a systematic review of the MAPT literature following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Potential mobile-assisted articles were identified through searches of the ERIC, Educational Full Text, Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstract, MLI International, and Scopus databases and specific journal searches. Criteria for article inclusion in this study included the following: the article must be a peer-reviewed empirical or quasi-empirical research study using both experimental and control groups to assess the impact of pronunciation training. Pronunciation training must have been conducted via MALL or MAPT technologies, and the studies must have been published between 2014 and 2024. A total of 232 papers were identified; however, only ten articles with a total of 524 participants met the established criteria. Data pertaining to the participants used in the study (nationality and education level), the MPAT applications and platforms used, the pronunciation features targeted, the concentration on perception and/or production of these features, and the methods used for training and assessments were collected and discussed. Effect sizes using Cohen’s d were also calculated for each study. The findings of this review reveal that only two of the articles assessed the impact of MAPT on L2 learners’ perceptions of targeted features, with results indicating that the use of MPAT did not significantly improve L2 learners’ abilities to perceive segmental features. In terms of production, all ten articles assessed MPAT’s impact on L2 learners’ production of the targeted features. The results of these assessments varied greatly, with some studies indicating a significant and large effect of MAPT and others citing non-significant gains and negligible effect sizes. The variation in these results, in addition to differences in the types of participants, the targeted pronunciation features, and MAPT apps and platforms used, makes it difficult to conclude that MAPT has a significant impact on L2 learners’ production. Furthermore, the selected studies’ concentration on mostly segmental features (i.e., phoneme and word pronunciation) is likely to have had only a limited impact on participants’ intelligibility. This paper provides suggestions for further MAPT research, including increased emphasis on suprasegmental features and perception assessments, to further our understanding of the effectiveness of MAPT for pronunciation training.

Effects of Donepezil on Clinical Symptoms, Language, and Executive Skills in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review

Background. This study assessed the potential efficacy of donepezil in treating autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by social communication difficulties and repetitive behaviors. Donepezil, primarily used to treat Alzheimer’s disease as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, has gained attention as a potential treatment for ASD symptoms. Methods. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted to investigate the effects of donepezil on individuals with ASD. Outcome measures assessed various aspects of ASD, including language skills, executive function, behavior, and core symptoms. Nine studies were identified, including four randomized controlled trials (RCTs), three retrospective studies, one open-label trial, and one case report. Results. One RCT reported significant improvements in expressive and receptive language skills, especially in younger children. Another study combining donepezil with choline supplementation showed enhanced receptive language skills, particularly in younger participants. An open-label trial indicated improved rapid eye movement sleep patterns in autistic children treated with donepezil. Several retrospective studies reported improvements in behavioral symptoms, such as aggression and hyperactivity. However, other RCTs did not find statistically significant improvements in executive functioning. Conclusion. In general, donepezil use in ASD demonstrates promise in specific areas, notably language development and behavioral symptom management. However, the results are contradictory, requiring further research to clarify its role, optimal dosing, long-term effects, and potential side effects in individuals with ASD. Practical Implications. Donepezil can be used to improve the clinical global impression and language skills of people with ASD.