Incidental Auditory Category Training for Language Learning

NCT04509024 | Terminated Results

• 1 other identifier: 1R03HD099382-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 106
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The overarching goal of the proposed research is to understand how human listeners learn speech categories. The project takes a prospective approach with adult second-language learners, blending empirical, methodological and theoretical advances from laboratory studies with explicit classroom instruction. The central hypothesis is that incidentally-acquired nonlinguistic perceptual building block categories may support speech perception and production in a second language. The project will advance important theoretical debates about the cross-talk between general auditory representations and speech categories and will provide a novel approach to nudging adult learners off learning plateau typically encountered in classroom instruction.

Conditions

Healthy; Language

Keywords

Learning; Speech; Cognition

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Sensitivity (D-prime) to Novel Speech Sounds After 2 Months of Training

  Each participant's 96 auditory discrimination data points at Pre-test and Post-test, respectively, were reduced to one sensitivity score: d-prime (d': hits minus false alarms). This transformation takes into account response bias and approaches a normal distribution. A higher score represents greater sensitivity. The difference in scores from pre- to post-test represents the change.

  Pre-test (baseline) and immediately after 2 months of training.

• Change in Auditory Category Learning Accuracy After 2 Months of Training

  Each participant's 96 auditory categorization data points at Pre-test and Post-test, respectively, were turned into a mean of the correct answers. The difference between the two accuracy scores represents the mean change in accuracy.

  Pre-test (baseline) and immediately after 2 months of training.

• Novel Auditory Word Learning Accuracy After 2 Months of Training

  At post-test, participants did a three day novel word learning task. Their 48 word identification data points on the first and third days, respectively, were turned into a mean correct score. The difference in scores from Day 1 to Day 3 represents the change in mean novel word learning accuracy.

  Immediately after 2 months of training.

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Word Recognition Accuracy in Unrelated Language 3 Months After Training

  3 months post-intervention

Study Arms (6)

Incidental training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants undergo novel non-linguistic incidental category learning training.

Behavioral: Incidental training

Explicit training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants undergo traditional explicit language learning.

Behavioral: Explicit training

No training

NO INTERVENTION

Participants do not undergo any training.

Classroom training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants take part in structured classroom learning.

Behavioral: Classroom training

Classroom and incidental training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants take part in structured classroom learning and incidental learning.

Behavioral: Classroom and incidental training

Classroom and explicit training

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants take part in structured classroom learning and explicit learning.

Behavioral: Classroom and explicit training

Interventions

Incidental training BEHAVIORAL

Training involving non-speech sounds embedded in a video-game.

Incidental training

Explicit training BEHAVIORAL

Training involving explicit sound and category information

Explicit training

Classroom training BEHAVIORAL

Structured adult classroom language training.

Classroom training

Classroom and incidental training BEHAVIORAL

Both classroom and incidental training.

Classroom and incidental training

Classroom and explicit training BEHAVIORAL

Both classroom and explicit training.

Classroom and explicit training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• or older, normal hearing
• Native/non-native Chinese speakers

You may not qualify if:

• Younger than 18, loss of hearing

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Carnegie Mellon University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Language; Speech

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Communication; Behavior; Verbal Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr. Seth Wiener, Associate Professor
• Organization: Carnegie Mellon University

sethw1@cmu.edu

412-268-5669

Study Officials

• Seth Wiener, PhD

  Carnegie Mellon University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 6, 2020
• First Posted: August 11, 2020
• Study Start: September 1, 2019
• Primary Completion: November 1, 2022
• Study Completion: January 10, 2023
• Last Updated: July 24, 2024
• Results First Posted: July 24, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Anonymized behavioral data available permanently via the Open Science Framework.
• Access Criteria: Available via Open Science Framework link

Locations

US (1)