In linguistics, prosody encompasses the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech, and this
plays an important role in the language-learning process. This study seeks to understand this
phenomenon further, providing novel language learning data with nursery rhymes as a vehicle to
teach adults foreign words. Building on models of Dynamic Attending Theory and Phonological
Short-Term Memory, it was theorized that the accuracy of foreign word learning is predicted by
the prosodic cues present in the word’s learning context. This experiment included 3 tasks to
explore this theory. Task 1 tested how accurately the participant processed the beat of a musical
sequence. In Task 2, participants learned foreign words in a nursery rhyme context. Finally, in
Task 3, participants were asked to identify which words they recognized from a large list of
foreign words. Results showed a significant effect for prosodic cues’ influence on word memory.
Specifically, temporal and rhythmic cues hierarchically facilitate phonological short-term
memory, as represented in this paper’s proposed theoretical model. A potential link was also
found between individual rhythmic ability and memory of foreign words. Overall, the present
thesis offers a theoretical understanding of the use of nursery rhymes during adult foreign
language learning / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / In linguistics, prosody encompasses the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech, which
plays an important role in the language-learning process. When adults don't have the meaning of
words to rely on, they often use these rhythmic cues to remember them better. This research
involved three tasks: processing the beat of music, learning foreign words through nursery
rhymes, and then recognizing those words from a list. The results showed that rhythmic and
timing cues are helpful for remembering words. Also, individuals with better rhythmic skills may
demonstrate better word memory. This study suggests that using nursery rhymes could be an
effective tool for teaching adults new languages.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/30380 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Ahmad, Fiza |
| Contributors | Service, Elisabet, Cognitive Science of Language |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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