The developmental relationship between language and immediate memory processes

大多数人学习母语显然很轻松。关于这一微型奇迹背后机制的线索，或许可以从研究那些尽管发育正常却难以学会说话的孩子身上找到。然而，这样的孩子并不能形成一个有凝聚力的群体。他们在语言的不同方面、不同的环境和不同的发展阶段都有困难。本研究计划旨在通过研究工作记忆和发展中的语言系统这两个认知系统的相互依存关系，提高我们对语言学习的复杂基础的理解。工作记忆是认知工作空间，是存储和处理当前注意力焦点内信息的能力。有人认为，工作记忆在语言学习中起着重要作用。例如，每当一个孩子在重复一个新单词的同时停下来查看一个新物体时，工作记忆就在起作用。如果工作记忆的速度或容量受到限制，语言学习可能会受到限制，就像非语言领域的学习一样。然而，当孩子们学习语言时，他们获得了对语言规则的理解，然后为进一步的语言学习提供了结构。在掌握母语语言模式方面有困难的儿童可能在学习语言的形式和意义方面有困难。因此，语言障碍儿童之间的一些差异可能是因为这些问题源于不同的核心缺陷，可能是在工作记忆或语言发展方面。如果是这样的话，这些孩子在工作记忆和语言任务上的表现应该是不同的，他们应该有明显的语言和一般的学习特征。我的工作是探索儿童在工作记忆和语言知识方面是否存在特定的缺陷，以及这些群体在学习语言和非语言信息方面的差异。研究结果将有助于深入了解语言学习的基本过程。同时，该研究将有助于提高我们对儿童沟通障碍的认识，为儿童沟通障碍的识别和治疗提供新的途径。

Most humans learn their native language with apparent ease. Clues about the mechanisms involved in this mini-miracle may come from studying children who struggle to learn to talk despite otherwise typical development. Such children, however, do not form a cohesive group. They have difficulty with varying aspects of language, in diverse circumstances, and at different stages of development. The proposed research program aims to improve our understanding of the complex basis of language learning by examining the interdependency of two cognitive systems, working memory and the developing linguistic system. Working memory is the cognitive workspace, the capacity to store and manipulate information within the current focus of attention. It has been suggested that working memory plays a role in language learning. For example, each time a child repeats a new word while pausing to examine a novel object, working memory is at work. If there are limitations in the speed or capacity of working memory, language learning may be constrained as may learning in nonverbal domains. As children learn language, however, they gain an understanding of linguistic rules, which then provide the structure for further language learning. Children having trouble grasping the linguistic patterns in their native language may have difficulty learning the form and meaning of language. Thus, some of the differences among children with language impairment may be because the problems stem from different core deficits potentially in working memory or linguistic development. If this is the case, these children should perform differently on working memory and linguistic tasks, and they should have distinct language and general learning characteristics. My work explores whether specific deficits in working memory versus linguistic knowledge exist in children, and how these groups may differ in the learning of both language and nonverbal information. The results will provide insight into the fundamental processes involved in language learning. As well, the research will help to improve our understanding of communication disorders in children providing a new approach to their identification and remediation.