Lexical structure in monolingual and bilingual Spanish-Speaking Children in US

描述(申请人提供)：现有的关于学龄前儿童词汇发展的研究侧重于了解不断增长的词汇的广度和深度。然而，词汇系统包括概念的词汇化，以及词和概念之间更广泛的联系系统。理解词汇增长的最早阶段的下一步是调查这些联系，因为这个过程是理解儿童如何构建意义和组织他们周围的世界的核心。例如，孩子们是什么时候以及如何得知猫和狗是亲戚的？同样，西班牙语-英语双语者如何认识到cat和gato指的是同一个概念？这些问题在心理语言学领域引发了关于多种语言在成人大脑中的表征的争论。然而，为了理解灵活制度是如何出现的，我们必须从发展的角度来研究这些问题(Francis，2005)。最近在二年级儿童中使用的直接反应测量方法使我们能够探索词汇 通过使用婴儿被提示的注视时间和触摸反应，在婴儿出现的最早阶段建立网络(Arias-Trejo&Plunkett，2009；Singh，2013；Poulin-Dubois et al，2012)。理解语义发展及其与语言经验的关系将回答有关发展中的语言和概念表征的重要问题。此外，这项研究将有助于阐明语言经验和认知之间的关系，因为我们调查了两个未被研究的人群中的单语和双语学习及其对概念发展的影响。特别是，西班牙语单语者和双语者在美国儿童中所占的比例很大，而且增长迅速。尽管如此，关于早期词汇发展的研究相对较少。事实上，NICHD最近将重点放在了解美国的健康差距上。与这一重点一致，重要的是将对早期语言的调查扩大到跨语言社区的儿童。这项拟议的研究计划将评估西班牙语单语和西班牙语-英语双语婴儿在第二年内的词汇语义发展，方法是使用优先看范式的反应，以及对计算机化理解任务的调整(Friend&Keplinger，2008；Friend，Schmitt，&Simpson，2012)。具体地说，拟议的研究计划将直接比较单语和双语婴儿的词汇语义启动。通过比较视觉和触觉反应模式，该研究将评估语言内部和语言之间词汇-语义联系的强度，以及SES、语言优势、熟练程度和年龄等因素如何影响词汇组织。评估早期词汇发展的差异有助于我们理解识字准备，因为口语技能是后来阅读技能的基石。通过研究早期口语习得，我们可以为对英语和西班牙语使用者同样敏感的阅读干预和教学策略提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Extant research on vocabulary development in pre-school children focuses on understanding the breadth and depth of the growing lexicon. The vocabulary system, however, comprises the lexicalization of concepts, and also the broader system of connections between words and concepts. The next step in understanding the earliest stages of vocabulary growth is to investigate these connections, as this process is central to understanding how children construct meaning and organize the world around them. For example, when and how do children learn that cat and dog are related? Similarly, how do Spanish-English bilinguals learn that cat and gato refer to the same concept? Such questions have spurred debate in the field of psycholinguistics about the representation of multiple languages in the adult brain. However, to understand how flexible systems emerge, we must investigate these questions from a developmental perspective (Francis, 2005). The recent use of direct response measures in children within the second year of life allows us to explore lexical networks at the earliest stages of emergence by using infants' prompted looking times and touch responses (Arias-Trejo & Plunkett, 2009; Singh, 2013; Poulin-Dubois et al, 2012). Understanding semantic development and its relation to language experience will answer important questions about language and concept representation in development. Further, the proposed research will help to clarify the relationship between language experience and cognition, as we investigate single and dual language learning and its effects on conceptual development in two understudied populations. In particular, Spanish monolinguals and bilinguals make up a significant and rapidly growing proportion of children in the U.S. Despite this, they have been the focus of relatively little research on early lexical development. Indeed, the NICHD has taken a recent focus on understanding health disparities in the US. Consistent with this focus, it is important to extend investigations of early language to children across linguistic communities. The proposed research plan will evaluate lexico-semantic development in Spanish monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual infants within the second year of life by examining responses using a Preferential Looking Paradigm, as well as an adaptation of the Computerized Comprehension Task (Friend & Keplinger, 2008; Friend, Schmitt, & Simpson, 2012). Specifically, the proposed research plan will directly compare lexico-semantic priming in monolingual and bilingual infants. By comparing visual and haptic response modalities, the research will assess the strength of lexico-semantic connections within and across languages, and how factors such as SES, language dominance, proficiency, and age influence lexical organization. Evaluating differences in early lexical development informs our understanding of preparedness for literacy, as oral language skills are the cornerstone of later reading skills. By examining early oral language acquisition, we can inform reading intervention and teaching strategies that are sensitive to English and Spanish speakers alike.