University of Arizona, AZ, USA.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2013 Apr;56(2):618-29. doi: 10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0125). Epub 2012 Sep 17.
Even without explicit instruction, learners are able to extract information about the form of a language simply by attending to input that reflects the underlying grammar. In this study, the authors explored the role of variability in this learning by asking whether varying the number of unique exemplars heard by the learner affects learning of an artificial syntactic form.
Learners with normal language (n = 16) and language-based learning disability (LLD; n = 16) were exposed to strings of nonwords that represented an underlying grammar. Half of the learners heard 3 exemplars 16 times each (low variability group), and the other half of the learners heard 24 exemplars twice each (high variability group). Learners were then tested for recognition of items heard and generalization of the grammar with new nonword strings.
Only those learners with LLD who were in the high variability group were able to demonstrate generalization of the underlying grammar. For learners with normal language, both those in the high and the low variability groups showed generalization of the grammar, but relative effect sizes suggested a larger learning effect in the high variability group.
The results demonstrate that the structure of the learning context can determine the ability to generalize from specific training items to novel cases.
即使没有明确的指导，学习者也能够仅仅通过关注反映潜在语法的输入来提取有关语言形式的信息。在这项研究中，作者通过询问学习者听到的独特示例数量的变化是否会影响对人工句法形式的学习，探讨了这种学习中的可变性的作用。
正常语言学习者（n=16）和语言学习障碍（LLD；n=16）被暴露于代表潜在语法的非单词串。一半的学习者听到 3 个示例 16 次（低变异性组），另一半学习者听到 24 个示例 2 次（高变异性组）。然后，学习者接受听到的项目的识别测试，并对新的非单词串进行语法的泛化测试。
只有高变异性组的 LLD 学习者能够表现出对潜在语法的泛化。对于正常语言的学习者，高变异性组和低变异性组都表现出对语法的泛化，但相对效果大小表明高变异性组的学习效果更大。
结果表明，学习环境的结构可以决定从特定训练项目到新情况的泛化能力。
