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Everyday speech is littered with disfluencies such as filled pauses, silent pauses, repetitions and repairs which reflect a speaker’s language production difficulties. But what are the effects on language comprehension? This thesis took a novel approach to the study of disfluencies by combining an investigation of the immediate effects on language processing with an investigation of the longer-term effects for the representation of language in memory. A series of experiments is reported which reflects the first attempt at a systematic investigation of the effects of different types of disfluencies on language comprehension. The experiments focused on the effects of three types of disfluencies—ers, silent pauses, and repetitions—on the comprehension of subsequent words. Critical words were either straightforward continuations of the pre-interrupted speech or a repair word which corrected the pre-interrupted speech. In addition, the effects that occur when er, repetition, and repair disfluencies themselves are processed, were assessed. ERPs showed that the N400 effect elicited in response to contextually unpredictable compared to predictable words was attenuated by the presence of a pre-target er reflecting a reduction in the standard difference where unpredictable words are more difficult to integrate into their contexts. This finding suggests that ers may reduce the extent to which listeners make predictions about upcoming words. In addition, words preceded by an er were more likely to be correctly recognised in a subsequent memory test. These findings demonstrate a longer-term consequence for representation which may reflect heightened attention during processing. Silent pauses did not affect the N400 but there was some indication of an effect on recognition memory. Repetition disfluencies did not affect the N400 or recognition memory. These findings demonstrate the importance of the nature of the disruption to speech. For all types of disfluent utterances, unpredictable words elicited a Late Positive Complex (LPC), possibly reflecting processes associated with memory retrieval and control as listeners attempted to resume structural fluency after any interruption. Ers themselves elicited standard attention-related ERP effects: the Mismatch Negativity (MMN) and P300 effects, supporting the possibility that ers heighten attention. Repetition disfluencies elicited a right posterior positivity, reflecting detection of the disfluency and possibly syntactic reanalysis. Repair disfluencies elicited an early frontal negativity, possibly related to the detection of a word category violation, and a P600 effect, reflecting syntactic reanalysis. The presence of an er preceding the repair eliminated the early negativity, but had no effect on the P600 suggesting that ers may prepare listeners for the possibility of an upcoming repair, but that they do not reduce the difficulty associated with reanalysis. Taken together, the results from the studies reported in the thesis support an account of disfluency processing which incorporates both prediction and attention.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.

Rationale : Investigating the relationship between working memory and reading comprehension will lead to an improved understanding of the nature of working memory and will reveal how working memory contributes to reading comprehension failure. A pattern of working memory deficits will determine if ‘signature’ working memory profiles exist which will assist in the diagnosis and treatment of children with reading comprehension difficulties. Aims : (1) To explore the relationship between working memory and reading comprehension to determine if there are ‘signature’ working memory profiles that distinguish subgroups of Grade 5 English language learners with different comprehension capabilities. (2) To determine if a domain-specific or general working memory system is implicated in reading comprehension. (3) To explore the particular role played by the episodic buffer zone in reading comprehension. Method : Eighty Grade 5 English learners were tested on the GORT-4, AWMA and CELF- 4 Recalling Sentences Subtest. Based on their accuracy/decoding and comprehension scores on the GORT-4, participants were assigned to one of four reading ability groups: Skilled Reader Group; Reading Disabled Group; Poor Comprehender Group; or Poor Fluency Group. Comparison of mean standard scores determined how the four reading ability groups fared on the five memory components. Correlation and regression methods investigated the relationships between the five working memory variables and reading comprehension across the four reading ability groups. Results : Working memory plays a role in reading comprehension. The Skilled Reader group displayed intact working memory profiles, whilst the Reading Disabled group performed in the low average range on four working memory variables and below average on the fifth viz. sentence recall. The Poor Comprehender group’s working memory performance resembled that of the Skilled Reader group on two working memory variables. The Poor Fluency group performed below average on visuo-spatial short-term memory. These findings gave evidence of the inter-play between domain-specific and domain-general components of working memory during the complex task of reading comprehension. In addition, the findings highlighted the predictive role of sentence recall, as well as that of verbal working memory in reading comprehension. The episodic buffer was shown to play an important binding function between fluid and crystallised knowledge. The results suggested that reading comprehension was affected by a learner’s working memory capacity, however, working memory alone did not account for variations in performance. Lower-order and higher-order cognitive processes, as well as the interaction between fluid and crystallised knowledge appear essential to authentic reading. This has ramifications for prevention and remediation of reading comprehension deficits and underscores the important role of the speech therapist in literacy promotion.

This study is a mixed methods analysis of reading processes and language experiences of deaf and hearing readers. The sample includes four groups each with fifteen adults—identified as: deaf/high-achieving readers, deaf/struggling/non-academic readers, hearing/high-achieving readers, and hearing/non-academic readers. The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to reading achievement and to explore themes that emerge in the language experience and reading behaviors. The quantitative measures of the study are: a background demographics form, reading comprehension assessment, phonological skills assessment, metacognition assessment and think-aloud discussion with a reading strategy checklist where readers are guided through the process of decoding and interpreting the scene from a play. Scores from the reading comprehension assessment are correlated with other assessments and demographic statistics to identify factors of achievement. Similarities and differences between groups of readers are tested with one-way ANOVAs to identify mean differences in scores according to achievement level (skilled/struggling) and hearing status (deaf/hearing). Qualitative data are measured by collecting, reviewing and identifying shared themes in the transcripts of reading background interview and think-aloud discussions (open coding), relating codes and categories (axial coding), and determining a central theme (selective category). Results shows that deaf high-achieving readers perform at similar levels as hearing high-achieving readers, and that for all participants, phonology and metacognition are related to reading achievement; there are similarities and differences in their conceptualization of language; and access to varied instructional strategies and meaningful language experiences is an overarching theme in effective reading.

In study III, two event-related-potential (ERP) experiments show a clear modulation from preceding object noun on the early ERP components of the following object picture that are known to be associated with perceptual processes and provide by far the strongest evidence that semantic processing cannot account fully for the congruence effects supposed to indicate color representation. / In summary, color representaion is found to be present not only for color information implied by the global phrase context but also for color information irrelevant to the global phrase context, not only for words with direct and concrete associations with color but also for words where such associations are indirect and less concrete. ERP results also provide strong support that color simulation does occur at the perceptual level as argued by embodied cognition theorists and cannot be attributed totally to semantic processing. Briefly, the present research provides a rich dataset and valuable insights deepening the understanding of perceptual color simulation in phrase and words. / Results from all three experiments in the first study showed a robust demonstration of the activation of perceptual representation of color information or the presence of color simulation in phase processing. Results from primetarget stimulus-onset-asynchrony (SOA) manipulation provided time course information of the relative activation of the two types of colors. / The present research was conducted to give a systematic treatment of color simulation in language processing to enrich understanding of perceptual simulation. Two main questions have been addressed here, namely 'what is the time course of color activation in language unites such as noun phrase and abstract words? ' and 'do linguistic simulation and perceptual simulation (especially the unconscious part) of color co-exist in language understanding? ' / The second study involving three experiments, further extended the finding in Study I to demonstrate the presence of color simulation to an even smaller and abstracter linguistic unit of single words. Results from SOA manipulation indicates a more rapid activation of color information for the words psychologically-related to color, followed by activation of color for object nouns, and slowest color activation for verbs. / Lu, Aitao / Adviser: Wai Chan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 72-11, Section: B, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-99). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese; some appendices include Chinese characters.

Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

No description available.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (D.Min.)--Liberty Theological Seminary and Graduate School, 2007.