The Effect of Second Language Acquisition Age (AOA) on Auditory Processing Skills
Zahra Hosseini Dastgerdi1, Hasti Seifi1, Mohadese Vahabi2
1Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Summary
Early bilingual children show enhanced auditory processing skills. Learning a second language before age six positively impacts binaural and temporal pattern processing, outperforming monolingual and late bilingual peers.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Bilingualism Studies
- Child Development
Background:
- Bilingualism impacts cognitive functions, including auditory processing.
- The age of second language acquisition (AoA) may influence these effects.
- Understanding these differences is crucial for educational and clinical settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of AoA on auditory binaural and temporal processing.
- To compare early bilingual, late bilingual, and monolingual children's auditory skills.
- To identify factors influencing auditory processing in bilingual children.
Main Methods:
- Compared 63 children (9-13 years) in three groups: monolingual, early bilingual, and late bilingual.
- Administered Dichotic Digits (DD), Pitch Pattern Sequence (PPS), Duration Pattern Sequence (DPS), and Gaps-in-Noise (GIN) tests.
- Analyzed scores for binaural and temporal processing differences.
Main Results:
- Early bilingual children outperformed monolingual and late bilingual peers on DD, PPS, and DPS tests.
- No significant differences were found between late bilingual and monolingual groups.
- GIN test results showed no significant differences across the three groups.
- Age of Acquisition (AoA), Binaural Proficiency (BP), and Time Period of Learning (TPL) were key predictors.
Conclusions:
- Acquiring a second language before age six positively impacts auditory processing.
- Lower AoA, higher proficiency, and longer learning duration correlate with better auditory skills.
- Early bilingualism confers advantages in binaural and temporal auditory processing.
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