Class
Article
College
Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
Differences in levels of numerical system transparency in Mandarin Chinese and English may affect how children learn and process two-digit numbers. Mandarin has a very transparent system in which the spoken and written system map precisely onto the base-10 structure in a predictable and regular pattern. In contrast, English has an irregular number system; historical sound changes have created irregularities in number-naming through the -teen and decade numbers that make it difficult for young children to learn to count and process two-digit numbers. Typically, English-speaking children up to about age 9 or 10 use decomposed sequential processing, in which two-digit numbers are processed decade first and then unit. Magnitude comparison judgements are then made based on the decade digit alone. Adults process both digits of a two-digit number in parallel; this "decomposed parallel processing" is a result of over-practice and generally increases the speed of processing in most trial conditions. Native Mandarin-speaking children begin to use decomposed parallel processing as early as age 7 Native English-speaking children who learn Mandarin at school through a Dual Language Immersion program are hypothesized to display increased evidence of decomposed parallel processing in comparison to English monolinguals. Participants are given a modified Stroop task known as the dot-number Stroop in which magnitude comparisons are conducted on pairs of two-digit numbers. Increased inverse efficiency scores on the compatible-incongruent condition of the dot-number Stroop task are indicative of use of decomposed parallel processing. Analysis will include a 2 x 2 x 2 mixed design ANOVA on inverse efficiency, with congruity and unit-decade compatibility as within-participant factors and language group as a between-participant factor. Independent samples t tests will also be conducted on each condition and language group.
Location
Room 154
Start Date
4-10-2019 10:30 AM
End Date
4-10-2019 11:45 AM
Included in
Automaticity of Place Value Processing in Dual Language Immersion Second Graders
Room 154
Differences in levels of numerical system transparency in Mandarin Chinese and English may affect how children learn and process two-digit numbers. Mandarin has a very transparent system in which the spoken and written system map precisely onto the base-10 structure in a predictable and regular pattern. In contrast, English has an irregular number system; historical sound changes have created irregularities in number-naming through the -teen and decade numbers that make it difficult for young children to learn to count and process two-digit numbers. Typically, English-speaking children up to about age 9 or 10 use decomposed sequential processing, in which two-digit numbers are processed decade first and then unit. Magnitude comparison judgements are then made based on the decade digit alone. Adults process both digits of a two-digit number in parallel; this "decomposed parallel processing" is a result of over-practice and generally increases the speed of processing in most trial conditions. Native Mandarin-speaking children begin to use decomposed parallel processing as early as age 7 Native English-speaking children who learn Mandarin at school through a Dual Language Immersion program are hypothesized to display increased evidence of decomposed parallel processing in comparison to English monolinguals. Participants are given a modified Stroop task known as the dot-number Stroop in which magnitude comparisons are conducted on pairs of two-digit numbers. Increased inverse efficiency scores on the compatible-incongruent condition of the dot-number Stroop task are indicative of use of decomposed parallel processing. Analysis will include a 2 x 2 x 2 mixed design ANOVA on inverse efficiency, with congruity and unit-decade compatibility as within-participant factors and language group as a between-participant factor. Independent samples t tests will also be conducted on each condition and language group.