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Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

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Effect of explicit dimensional instruction on speech category learning.

Bharath Chandrasekaran^1,2, Han-Gyol Yi³, Kirsten E Smayda⁴

¹Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Texas at Austin, 2504A Whitis Ave., Austin, TX, 78712, USA. bchandra@utexas.edu.

Attention, Perception & Psychophysics

|November 7, 2015

Summary

Learning Mandarin tones is difficult for English speakers due to underweighted pitch direction. Explicitly focusing on pitch direction or ignoring pitch height significantly improved Mandarin tone learning, enhancing implicit learning strategies.

Keywords:

Category learning Computational modeling Dual-learning systems Instruction

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Area of Science:

Linguistics
Psychology
Speech Science

Background:

Adults find learning nonnative speech categories challenging due to cross-language differences in auditory dimension weighting.
Mandarin tonal categories require attention to pitch height and direction; English speakers under-weight pitch direction compared to Mandarin speakers.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of explicit dimension instructions on native English speakers' Mandarin tone category learning.
To examine these effects within the dual-learning systems (DLS) model framework.

Main Methods:

Participants (native English speakers) received explicit instructions to focus on or ignore pitch height or pitch direction, or received no explicit prime.
Computational modeling was used to analyze participant responses and learning strategies.

Main Results:

Instructions to focus on pitch direction or ignore pitch height enhanced Mandarin tone categorization.
Computational modeling indicated that pitch direction instruction promoted faster, more frequent use of multidimensional reflexive strategies.
Enhanced perceptual selectivity was observed along the pitch direction dimension.

Conclusions:

Explicit instructions can effectively guide attention to critical auditory dimensions for nonnative speech category learning.
Findings support the DLS model, suggesting explicit instruction can modulate the shift towards implicit, multidimensional learning strategies.