Adriel John Orena

Language exposure facilitates talker learning prior to language comprehension, even in adults

Adults show a native language advantage for talker identification, which has been interpreted as evidence that phonological knowledge mediates talker learning. However, infants also show a native language benefit for talker discrimination, suggesting that sensitivity to linguistic structure due to systematic language exposure promotes talker learning, even in the absence of functional phonological knowledge or language comprehension. We tested this hypothesis by comparing two groups of English-monolingual adults on their ability to learn English and French voices. One group resided in Montréal with regular exposure to spoken French; the other resided in Storrs, Connecticut and did not have French exposure. Montréal residents showed faster learning and better retention for the French voices compared to their Storrs-residing peers. These findings demonstrate that systematic exposure to a foreign language bolsters talker learning in that language, expanding the gradient effect of language experience on talker learning to perceptual learning that precedes sentence comprehension.

Segmenting words from fluent speech during infancy - challenges and opportunities in a bilingual context.

Previous research shows that word segmentation is a language-specific skill. Here, we tested segmentation of bi-syllabic words in two languages (French; English) within the same infants in a single test session. In Experiment 1, monolingual 8-month-olds (French; English) segmented bi-syllabic words in their native language, but not in an unfamiliar and rhythmically different language. In Experiment 2, bilingual infants acquiring French and English demonstrated successful segmentation for French when it was tested first, but not for English and not for either language when tested second. There were no effects of language exposure on this pattern of findings. In Experiment 3, bilingual infants segmented the same English materials used in Experiment 2 when they were tested using the standard segmentation procedure, which provided more exposure to the test stimuli. These findings show that segmenting words in both their native languages in the dual-language task poses a distinct challenge for bilingual 8-month-olds acquiring French and English. Further research exploring early word segmentation will advance our understanding of bilingual acquisition and expand our fundamental knowledge of language and cognitive development.

Evaluating the LENA recording system for investigating speech input in a French-English bilingual context

The Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) recording system is rapidly gaining acceptance as a useful tool for assessing a child’s speech input. The success of this tool is due to LENA algorithms which provide automated measures of the child’s auditory environment, including the amount of words. The adult word count (AWC) measure has been validated in several monolingual language contexts, including English, French, Dutch, and Mandarin. Here, we evaluate LENA performance in counting words when two languages are present within the child’s input stream. Twenty French-English bilingual families with a 10-month-old infant contributed full-day recordings. Nine 5-minute segments from each family was transcribed, for a total of 900 minutes of transcribed speech. We assessed the accuracy of LENA-generated AWC for French-English bilingual speech by comparing them to human-transcribed word counts. Linear mixed modelling reveals a positive linear relationship between these two measures. Critically, the correlations be...

Segmenting words from bilingual speech: Evidence from 8- and 10-month-olds

Previous studies show that young monolingual infants use language-specific cues to segment words from multiword utterances in their native language. However, little is known about how infants deal with the segmentation challenge in bilingual environments. Here, we examined the word segmentation abilities of young infants in a mixed dual-language task. Infants were familiarized with an English-French passage containing a target word in each language, and were then tested on their recognition of those target words. Results confirm that 8-month-old monolingual infants show language-specific patterns in word segmentation: English- and French-monolingual infants segmented in their native language, but not in the other unfamiliar language. As a group, 8- and 10-month-old bilingual infants showed positive evidence of segmentation in both of their native languages. However, closer inspection of the data suggests that bilingual infants are only able to segment in the language in which they receive more exposure. Taken together, these results suggest a dose-response relationship between speech input and word segmentation: that is, more input in a language gives infants more opportunities to learn about how word boundaries are denoted in that language. This study also addresses the possible roles of attention and code-mixing on the development of word segmentation abilities. Previous studies show that young monolingual infants use language-specific cues to segment words from multiword utterances in their native language. However, little is known about how infants deal with the segmentation challenge in bilingual environments. Here, we examined the word segmentation abilities of young infants in a mixed dual-language task. Infants were familiarized with an English-French passage containing a target word in each language, and were then tested on their recognition of those target words. Results confirm that 8-month-old monolingual infants show language-specific patterns in word segmentation: English- and French-monolingual infants segmented in their native language, but not in the other unfamiliar language. As a group, 8- and 10-month-old bilingual infants showed positive evidence of segmentation in both of their native languages. However, closer inspection of the data suggests that bilingual infants are only able to segment in the language in which they receive more exposure. T...

Language familiarity mediates identification of bilingual talkers across languages

Many studies show that listeners are more accurate at identifying talkers in their native language than in an unfamiliar language; yet, little is known about the nature of this language familiarity effect in bilingual speech. Here, we investigate the links between language and talker processing further by assessing listeners’ ability to identify bilingual talkers across languages. Two groups were recruited: English monolinguals and English-French bilinguals. Participants learned to identify bilinguals speaking in only one language (English); they were then tested on their ability to identify the same talkers speaking in the trained language (same language context: English) and in their other language (different language context: French). Both monolinguals and bilinguals showed above chance performance in identifying talkers in both language contexts at test, confirming that there is sufficient information in bilingual speech to generalize across languages. Moreover, the results showed a language context e...

The native language benefit for voice recognition is not contingent on lexical access

Listeners show heightened talker recognition for native compared to nonnative speech, formalized as the language familiarity effect (LFE) for voice recognition. Some findings suggest that language comprehension is the locus of the LFE, while others implicate expertise with the linguistic sound structure. These hypotheses yield different predictions for the LFE with time-reversed speech, a manipulation that precludes lexical access but preserves some indexical and phonetic properties. Research to date shows discrepant results for the LFE with this impoverished signal. Here we reconcile this discrepancy by examining how the amount of exposure to talkers’ voices influences the LFE for time-reversed speech. Three experiments were conducted. In all, two groups of English monolinguals were trained and then tested on the identification of four English talkers and four French talkers; one group heard natural speech and the other group heard time-reversed speech. Across the experiments, we manipulated exposure to ...

Effects of reading ability on native and nonnative talker recognition

Recent findings suggest that phonological knowledge influences talker identification. Specifically, talker identification is improved for native compared to nonnative talkers, and adults with reading disability show impaired talker identification even for native talkers [Perrachione et al., Science, 333, 595 (2011)]. Here, we examine whether effects of reading ability on talker identification emerge among unimpaired readers. Monolingual English adults were assigned to either the high or low reading group based on standardized assessments of reading and reading sub-skills. All readers learned to identify the voices of four English talkers and four French talkers. Training consisted of a two-alternative forced choice task with feedback provided on every trial. After training, retention of learning was tested using a four-alternative forced choice task without feedback. The results to date suggest that the high reading group learned both the native and nonnative voices faster compared to the low reading grou...

Exposure to an unfamiliar language bolsters talker learning

Listeners are better at identifying talkers who speak their native language than talkers who speak a foreign language, showing that phonological knowledge of a language facilitates talker identification. However, research with infants indicates that language comprehension is not necessary for improving talker identification. In this study, we asked whether language exposure alone could improve talker learning. Two groups of English-monolingual adults were recruited: one group from Montreal, Quebec, who receive regular French exposure, and the other from Storrs, Connecticut who receive no French exposure. In Experiment 1, we used a four-alternative forced choice task (4AFC) to train listeners about the voices of four English talkers and four French talkers. Results show that Montreal participants were faster at learning French voices than Storrs participants, showing that exposure to a foreign language is sufficient in boosting talker learning in that language. However, in Experiment 2, a 2AFC was used to ...