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Second Language Experience Facilitates Statistical Learning of Novel Linguistic Materials
Author(s) -
Potter Christine E.,
Wang Tianlin,
Saffran Jenny R.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
cognitive science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.498
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1551-6709
pISSN - 0364-0213
DOI - 10.1111/cogs.12473
Subject(s) - mandarin chinese , statistical learning , task (project management) , psychology , affect (linguistics) , language acquisition , point (geometry) , computer science , cognitive psychology , linguistics , natural language processing , artificial intelligence , mathematics education , communication , mathematics , philosophy , geometry , management , economics
Recent research has begun to explore individual differences in statistical learning, and how those differences may be related to other cognitive abilities, particularly their effects on language learning. In this research, we explored a different type of relationship between language learning and statistical learning: the possibility that learning a new language may also influence statistical learning by changing the regularities to which learners are sensitive. We tested two groups of participants, Mandarin Learners and Naïve Controls, at two time points, 6 months apart. At each time point, participants performed two different statistical learning tasks: an artificial tonal language statistical learning task and a visual statistical learning task. Only the Mandarin‐learning group showed significant improvement on the linguistic task, whereas both groups improved equally on the visual task. These results support the view that there are multiple influences on statistical learning. Domain‐relevant experiences may affect the regularities that learners can discover when presented with novel stimuli.