INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster	Poster Session 10 Program Schedule 02/17/2024 09:00 am - 10:15 am Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120) Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental \| Congenital Conditions Final Abstract #104 Cross-Linguistic Variability in Auditory Discrimination of Consonants, Vowels, and Tones: A Study on Monolingual English, Mandarin-English, and Spanish-English Bilingual Children Anson Wong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Yiran Yan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Isabel Allen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Ting Qi, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States James Qian, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Gabriella Parham-Cruzado, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Meredith Kalmes, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Regina Juarez, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Omar Valdivias Soto, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Matthew Yeung, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Edgar Puin Neira, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Stephanie Kwan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Christa Pereira, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Phaedra Bell, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Francesca Pei, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Boon Lead Tee, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States Category: Language and Speech Functions/Aphasia Keyword 1: bilingualism/multilingualism Keyword 2: language: second/foreign Keyword 3: auditory processing (normal) Objective: Language acquisition influences auditory perception of speech, particularly the development of phonological and tonal sensitivity. Several studies have demonstrated better tone perception among tonal language speakers and highlighted the interaction between secondary language acquisition and native language phonology. However, these studies focus on consonant and tone discrimination and lack adequate investigation involving bi/multilingual children. As the global population increasingly leans towards multilingualism, it becomes imperative to unravel how multilingual learning interfaces with the evolution of auditory and speech comprehension processes. In this study, we explore consonant, vowel, and lexical tone sensitivity across English monolinguals and English bilingual speakers enrolled in dual language programs. Participants and Methods: This study included Mandarin-English bilingual (ME), Spanish-English bilingual (SE), and English monolingual (EM) kindergarteners (ME: n=10; SE: n=16; EM: n=12) and first graders (ME: n=10; SE: n=9; EM: n=9). Bilingual students attended a language immersion program where 90% of instruction was conducted in Mandarin and Spanish for kindergarteners, with an adjustment to 80% for first graders. In contrast, English monolingual students received 100% of their instruction in English. All students displayed typical development, with no prior special education enrollment or known diagnoses of learning disorders. The auditory discrimination task encompassed three distinct domains: consonant discrimination (CD), vowel discrimination (VD), and tone discrimination (TD). Within these tasks, students were asked to discern whether pairs of auditory stimuli (14 CD, 16, VD, 16 TD) sounded the same or different, carefully selected from Mandarin phonemes and tones. Additionally, stimuli were classified based on their coexistence in English or Spanish languages, guided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's phonemic inventory for English and professionally rated by a native Spanish-speaking Speech Language Pathologist for Spanish. To compare groups we used ANOVA and general linear models adjusting for age and grade. Pearson correlations examined the association between co-existing degree of stimuli and auditory discrimination accuracy. Results: In the context of consonant and tone auditory discrimination tests, ME group significantly outperformed the SE and EM groups, both before and after correcting for age and grade (ME_CD = 12.2+/- 0.5, SE_CD = 9.3+/- 0.5, EM_CD = 8.0+/- 0.4, p < .001; ME_TD = 14.7+/- 0.6, SE_TD = 7.5+/- 0.7, EM_TD = 7.5+/- 0.6, p < .001). Conversely, there was no significant difference in the performance of vowel auditory discrimination across all study groups. Among the stimuli, 39% consonants, 59% vowels and 0% tones are present in Mandarin and English; 39% consonants, 47% vowels and 0% tones coexist in both Mandarin and Spanish. The co-existing degree of stimuli across Mandarin-English and Mandarin-Spanish languages are significantly correlated with the accuracy of auditory discrimination stimuli among EM (r=0.353, p=0.016) and SE (r=0.400, p=0.006) respectively. Conclusions: The ability to discriminate consonant and tone stimuli showed a discernible correlation with the language acquisition background rather than multilingual status. This correlation does not manifest as conspicuously in vowel stimuli, primarily due to the greater prevalence of shared vowel sounds across the languages. This finding underlines the challenges of acquiring languages that are more distant in phonological and tonological aspects from one’s early acquired language.

Poster

02/17/2024
09:00 am - 10:15 am
Room: Majestic Complex (Posters 61-120)

Poster Session 10: Neurodevelopmental | Congenital Conditions

Final Abstract #104

Cross-Linguistic Variability in Auditory Discrimination of Consonants, Vowels, and Tones: A Study on Monolingual English, Mandarin-English, and Spanish-English Bilingual Children

Anson Wong, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Yiran Yan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Isabel Allen, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Ting Qi, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
James Qian, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Gabriella Parham-Cruzado, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Meredith Kalmes, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Regina Juarez, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Omar Valdivias Soto, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Matthew Yeung, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Edgar Puin Neira, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Stephanie Kwan, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Christa Pereira, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Phaedra Bell, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Francesca Pei, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States
Boon Lead Tee, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, United States

Category: Language and Speech Functions/Aphasia

Keyword 1: bilingualism/multilingualism
Keyword 2: language: second/foreign
Keyword 3: auditory processing (normal)

Objective:

Language acquisition influences auditory perception of speech, particularly the development of phonological and tonal sensitivity. Several studies have demonstrated better tone perception among tonal language speakers and highlighted the interaction between secondary language acquisition and native language phonology. However, these studies focus on consonant and tone discrimination and lack adequate investigation involving bi/multilingual children. As the global population increasingly leans towards multilingualism, it becomes imperative to unravel how multilingual learning interfaces with the evolution of auditory and speech comprehension processes. In this study, we explore consonant, vowel, and lexical tone sensitivity across English monolinguals and English bilingual speakers enrolled in dual language programs.

Participants and Methods:

This study included Mandarin-English bilingual (ME), Spanish-English bilingual (SE), and English monolingual (EM) kindergarteners (ME: n=10; SE: n=16; EM: n=12) and first graders (ME: n=10; SE: n=9; EM: n=9). Bilingual students attended a language immersion program where 90% of instruction was conducted in Mandarin and Spanish for kindergarteners, with an adjustment to 80% for first graders. In contrast, English monolingual students received 100% of their instruction in English. All students displayed typical development, with no prior special education enrollment or known diagnoses of learning disorders.

The auditory discrimination task encompassed three distinct domains: consonant discrimination (CD), vowel discrimination (VD), and tone discrimination (TD). Within these tasks, students were asked to discern whether pairs of auditory stimuli (14 CD, 16, VD, 16 TD) sounded the same or different, carefully selected from Mandarin phonemes and tones. Additionally, stimuli were classified based on their coexistence in English or Spanish languages, guided by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's phonemic inventory for English and professionally rated by a native Spanish-speaking Speech Language Pathologist for Spanish. To compare groups we used ANOVA and general linear models adjusting for age and grade. Pearson correlations examined the association between co-existing degree of stimuli and auditory discrimination accuracy.

Results:

In the context of consonant and tone auditory discrimination tests, ME group significantly outperformed the SE and EM groups, both before and after correcting for age and grade (ME_CD = 12.2+/- 0.5, SE_CD = 9.3+/- 0.5, EM_CD = 8.0+/- 0.4, p < .001; ME_TD = 14.7+/- 0.6, SE_TD = 7.5+/- 0.7, EM_TD = 7.5+/- 0.6, p < .001). Conversely, there was no significant difference in the performance of vowel auditory discrimination across all study groups. Among the stimuli, 39% consonants, 59% vowels and 0% tones are present in Mandarin and English; 39% consonants, 47% vowels and 0% tones coexist in both Mandarin and Spanish. The co-existing degree of stimuli across Mandarin-English and Mandarin-Spanish languages are significantly correlated with the accuracy of auditory discrimination stimuli among EM (r=0.353, p=0.016) and SE (r=0.400, p=0.006) respectively.

Conclusions:

The ability to discriminate consonant and tone stimuli showed a discernible correlation with the language acquisition background rather than multilingual status. This correlation does not manifest as conspicuously in vowel stimuli, primarily due to the greater prevalence of shared vowel sounds across the languages. This finding underlines the challenges of acquiring languages that are more distant in phonological and tonological aspects from one’s early acquired language.