Effects of Face Masks on Word Learning in Preschool-Age Children

项目摘要 当言语质量低时，儿童理解和学习口语的能力就会下降。这可以 在学龄前几年尤其成问题，那时儿童唯一的词汇来源是 通过口语，当孩子们建立对未来至关重要的基础词汇知识时 阅读和学业成就。在教育环境中使用口罩，包括在学前班，以 缓解新冠肺炎的传播给儿童所需的高保真语音输入带来了障碍。 具体地说，面罩通过限制对必要的高频语音的访问来对语音进行声学过滤 以获得准确的语音感知(例如，“奶酪”一词中的/ch/和/S/)。此外，一些口罩限制了 获取可视语音提示。尽管学龄前儿童经常被要求解决语言退化的问题 由于自然环境中的背景噪声，他们的言语感知能力不如 年龄较大的孩子对这些操作的反应。一份强有力的文献表明，低级的演讲既会扰乱人的心理健康 对口语单词的识别以及税收认知过程，如注意力和工作记忆， 是单词学习的基础。因此，长期接触戴口罩的说话者可能会造成障碍 对学龄前儿童词汇发展的影响，这可能会导致负面的下游后果 关于他们未来的语言发展。本研究的目的是测试口罩对健康的影响。 学龄前儿童的词汇学习。我们假设减少了对声音和视觉的接触 由于目标说话者使用掩膜而造成的语音成分将导致较差的单词学习。为了测试这一点 假设，4到6岁的儿童将在不同的条件下学习单词， 语音信号的声学保真度(目标1.1)和基于目标使用的掩模访问可视语音提示 讲话者(目标1.2)。尽管透明口罩的可用性允许访问可视语音提示，但它们可能会导致 更强的声学过滤能力。测试声学保真度和视觉语音可用性之间的潜在权衡 提示，我们还将测试掩码类型的效果(目标1.3)：我们将比较儿童的单词学习与 一次性医用口罩，具有适度的声学过滤，但限制访问视觉语音提示和 ClearMask®，具有显著的声学过滤功能，但提供对视觉语音提示的访问。最后，我们会 确定单个因素，如词汇量和言语工作记忆技能， 影响儿童在这些情况下的表现(目标2)。通过实现这些目标，我们将 确定口罩如何影响学龄前儿童的单词学习，并将确定哪些儿童 当使用口罩时，最有可能出现词汇发展不良的风险。更广泛地说，结果将显示 高保真语音信号的中断如何改变儿童形成新语音的能力 申述。这项工作与儿童发展和行为处的研究重点相一致。 NICHD是因为词汇发展对长期的语言和学术发展至关重要。

Project Summary Children’s ability to understand and learn from spoken language declines when speech quality is low. This can be particularly problematic during the preschool years, a time when children’s sole source of vocabulary is through spoken language and when children build foundational vocabulary knowledge that is essential for future reading and academic achievement. The use of face masks in educational settings, including preschools, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 introduces a barrier to the high-fidelity speech input that children need. Specifically, face masks acoustically filter speech by limiting access to high frequency speech sounds necessary for accurate speech perception (e.g., the /ch/ and /s/ in the word “cheese”). Furthermore, some face masks limit access to visual speech cues. Although preschool children are frequently tasked with resolving degraded speech due to background noise in their naturalistic environments, their speech perception is less resilient than that of older children to these manipulations. A robust literature demonstrates that degraded speech both disrupts the recognition of spoken words as well as taxes cognitive processes, such as attention and working memory, that are fundamental to word learning. Thus, chronic exposure to talkers who use face masks may create a barrier to vocabulary development in preschool-age children, which may lead to negative downstream consequences on their future language development. The purpose of the present study is to test the effect of face masks on word learning in preschool-age children. We hypothesize that reduced access to the acoustic and visual components of speech due to mask use by the target talker will result in poorer word learning. To test this hypothesis, children between 4 and 6 years of age will be taught words across conditions that vary in both the acoustic fidelity of the speech signal (Aim 1.1) and access to visual speech cues based on mask use by a target talker (Aim 1.2). Although the availability of clear masks allows access to visual speech cues, they can cause greater acoustic filtering. To test the potential trade-off between acoustic fidelity and availability of visual speech cues, we will also test the effect of mask type (Aim 1.3): we will compare children’s word learning between a disposable medical mask that has moderate acoustic filtering but limits access to visual speech cues and a ClearMask® that has significant acoustic filtering but provides access to visual speech cues. Finally, we will determine the extent to which individual factors, such as vocabulary size and verbal working memory skills, influence children’s performance across these conditions (Aim 2). Through accomplishing these aims, we will determine how face masks affect word learning in preschool-age children and will identify which children are most at risk for poor vocabulary development when face masks are used. More broadly, the results will show how disrupted access to a high-fidelity speech signal alters children’s ability to form new phonological representations. This work aligns with the research priorities of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the NICHD because vocabulary development is critical to long-term language and academic development.