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Neuro-behavioral correlates of visual statistical learning in Chinese second language reading
Poster Session B, Friday, October 25, 10:00 - 11:30 am, Great Hall 3 and 4
Bo Bao1, Haoru Wang1, Yanzi Zhang1, You Li1, Guiping Xu1; 1JINAN UNIVERSITY
Initially identified in infant word segmentation (Saffran et al., 1996), statistical learning (SL) refers to the process of extracting statistical regularities from the environment. SL is recognized as an important cognitive factor in language learning, and the orthographic depth of a written system is one of the significant factors moderating the strength of the correlation between SL and reading performance. And the correlation is also evident in neural activity, particularly in the delta band during the online learning stage of SL, notably the inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) at 1.1 Hz (chunk-rate) and 3.3 Hz (item-rate) . However, research on the impact of SL on second language acquisition, particularly in non-alphabetic languages like Chinese, remains sparse. Notably, reading performance in Chinese second language learners lags other language skills. And the relationship between this lag and visual statistical learning is not well understood, especially regarding the underlying cognitive neural mechanisms. This study explored the unique impact of visual SL based on the cognitive profile of Chinese second language reading and investigated the specific pattern of the neural synchronization during the visual SL among the Chinese second language learners. In study 1, we recruited 29 Chinese second language learners, conducted a sentence reading fluency test (Bai et al., 2020), and administered a battery of other cognitive measurements, including working memory, rapid naming, visual perception skills (TVPS-4), visual SL (the classic triplet learning paradigm with black and white abstract pictures). The reading profile showed that visual statistical learning could significantly negatively predict sentence reading fluency even after the controlling the other related factors, contrary to previous findings that indicated a positive relationship between SL and reading skills. This discrepancy suggests differences between first and second language learning. So, we further recruited 20 native Chinese speakers and 20 Chinese second language learners in Study 2, collecting their EEG signals during a visual SL task and measuring the cognitive skills found to be correlated with SL ability in Study 1. The ITPC at both the chunk (1.1 Hz) and item (3.3 Hz) rates were compared between groups. The results revealed significant group differences in the later stages of visual SL, with Chinese second language learners exhibiting significantly lower neural synchronization at the item rate (3.3 Hz) compared to native speakers. Additionally, within the Chinese second language learners’ group, ITPC at 3.3 Hz was positively correlated with the general cognitive and visual perceptual abilities, particularly forward working memory and two sub-skills of visual perception: sequential memory and visual figure-ground. Our study highlights the unique role of visual SL in Chinese second language reading and provides new insights for neural mechanisms of SL among Chinese second language learners. The specific neural pattern observed among Chinese second language learners may shed light on the lag of Chinese reading development. The distinct roles of visual SL in second language reading development across different written systems call for a finer-grained account of different hierarchies of reading (word decoding or reading comprehension) and different learning stages of second language learners.
Topic Areas: Language Development/Acquisition, Reading