Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 19, 2025
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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
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Development of Mandarin Chinese Vowel Perception in Young Children With Normal Hearing and Cochlear Implants
Changxin Zhang1, Mingying Li1,2, Jie Yu1
1Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research : JSLHR
|September 23, 2021
Summary
Children with normal hearing (NH) develop Mandarin vowel perception faster than those with cochlear implants (CIs). NH children reach peak performance by age six, while CI users may need more time for auditory rehabilitation.
Area of Science:
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Audiology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Understanding speech sound development is crucial for auditory rehabilitation in children.
- Vowel perception is a foundational skill for language acquisition.
- Limited research exists on Mandarin Chinese vowel perception development in children with cochlear implants (CIs).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the developmental trajectory of Mandarin Chinese vowel perception in preschool-aged children with normal hearing (NH) and CIs.
- To compare vowel identification abilities between NH children and CI users aged 4-6 years.
- To provide insights for clinicians and educators in auditory rehabilitation planning.
Main Methods:
- A picture identification task was used to assess vowel identification in Mandarin Chinese.
- Participants included Mandarin-speaking children aged 4-6 years, with and without CIs (CI users received implants before age 4).
- Stimuli comprised 16 monophthongs, 22 diphthongs, and 9 triphthongs spoken by a native female talker.
Main Results:
- Children with NH demonstrated significantly better monophthong and diphthong identification than CI users at age 6.
- NH children outperformed CI users in triphthong identification across all age groups (4-6 years).
- NH children showed rapid development between ages 4-5 (all vowels) and 5-6 (monophthongs); CI users showed rapid development between 4-5 (diphthongs, triphthongs) with no significant gains by age 6.
Conclusions:
- Mandarin vowel perception development differs significantly between NH children and CI users.
- CI users may require extended auditory rehabilitation to reach age-matched NH peers' performance levels.
- Spectral processing deficits in CIs likely contribute to the observed differences in vowel perception development.
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