Models of second language acquisition predict that adults are unlikely to learn to produce a non-native vowel very quickly due to their reduced sensitivity to acoustic features not phonological in their native language. Earlier studies show that attention focusing training and articulatory instructions can facilitate learning of non-native speech sounds. We used an instructed listen-and-repeat ...

BACKGROUND A longitudinal study investigated the cognitive skills and scholastic attainments at 8 years of age of children selected on the basis of poor phonological loop skills at 5 years. METHODS Children with low and average performance at 5 years were tested three years later on measures of working memory, phonological awareness, vocabulary, language, reading, and number skill. RESULTS ...

Introduction. The ability of children to develop language harmoniously rests in large part on their capability to learn new words at a very fast pace and with minimal exposure. This capacity develops during their second year of life and depends on working memory and on existing word knowledge. According to the model of working memory proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974, 2000) as a framework to...