When phonology guides learning

Curtin, Suzanne; Graham, Susan

When phonology guides learning

dc.contributor.author	Curtin, Suzanne
dc.contributor.author	Graham, Susan
dc.date.accessioned	2020-04-21T22:18:01Z
dc.date.available	2020-04-21T22:18:01Z
dc.date.issued	2018-01
dc.description.abstract	Commentaries: In the keynote article, Janet Werker advances the proposal that the phonological system and semantic system develop in concert, with each system exerting influences on the other during the early language learning years. Her seminal work has beautifully demonstrated that infants track information from the signal and use visual, motor, and auditory information to make sense of their linguistic world. The account articulated in the target article, along with the supporting body of research from her lab, provides the field with a foundation for exploring the bidirectional relations between the perceptual world and early language learning.In what follows, we expand on two core themes articulated in the target article:first, we discuss how the discrimination of speech sound contrasts helps infants to identify sound categories; and second, we review research demonstrating that the developing sound system shapes early word learning and predicts later language skills. We embed our discussion in a theoretical framework, Processing Rich Information from Multidimensional Interactive Representation (PRIMIR; Werker & Curtin, 2005). This framework helped shape thinking about how infants’ processing systems and representations work in concert during early language development. Further, this framework has highlighted that the developmental level of the child, as well as the input, biases, and task demands are critical in understanding how infants in monolingual and multilingual learning environments (Curtin, Byers-Heinlein, & Werker, 2011) begin to build their linguistic system. That is, to fully understand whether an infant will or will not demonstrate an ability, the task, the specific speech sound(s), and the current state of learning system have to be considered. PRIMIR takes into account indexical information (visual, motor, etc.) contained within the context in which the task is taking place, supporting the assertion that performance and learning is situationally dependent. Couched within this framework, we can begin to explore how divergent experimental results are obtained depending on the developmental level of the child, the task, and the various stimuli used.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Curtin, S., & Graham, S. A. (2018). When phonology guides learning. "Applied Psycholinguistics", 39 (2018), 729-734. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716418000164	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0142716418000164	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111827
dc.identifier.uri	https://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/43613
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.department	Psychology	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	en_US
dc.publisher.hasversion	publishedVersion	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en_US
dc.rights	Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0	en_US
dc.title	When phonology guides learning	en_US
dc.type	journal article	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US