We confirmed the proposal made by Gathercole & Baddeley (1989, 1993), in experiments using the Japanese language, in which little contribution from phoneme-level phonological sensitivity is involved in vocabulary acquisition. They claimed that the capacity for of phonological short-term memory is the foundation of vocabulary acquisition, and that phonological short-term memory can be measured by nonword repetition tasks. Bowey (1996), moreover has argued that both phonological short-term memory and phoneme-level phonological sensitivity contribute to vocabulary acquisition. Thus, we have conducted two studies using the Japanese language, which has little contribution of phoneme-level phonological sensitivity. In study 1, we experimented 92 five-year-old to examine the relationship between vocabulary acquisition and phonological short-term memory using Japanese nonword. The correlation coefficient between vocabulary acquisition and Japanese nonword was r = .31. By applying the results to structural equation modeling, we confirmed Baddeley’s working memory model. In study 2, we experimented 90 five-year-old to test both Japanese nonword and English nonword as well as phonological sensitivity tasks in both Japanese and English in order to examine their correlation with vocabulary acquisition. We have found that there are significant correlations between vocabulary acquisition and Japanese nonword, as well as between vocabulary acquisition and Japanese phonological sensitivity ( r = .27 with Japanese nonword, r = .30 with Japanese phonological sensitivity, whereas r = .17 with English nonword and r = .17 with English phonological sensitivity), which indicates that phoneme-level phonological sensitivity (i.e. English phonological sensitivity) has low involvement in vocabulary acquisition for Japanese children. In addition, we further discuss the relationship between vocabulary acquisition and phonological sensitivity that is unique to each specific language.
KeywordsPhonological Short-Term MemoryPhonological SensitivityNonword RepetitionVocabulary AcquisitionWorking Memory ModelJapanese Young Children
Amano, K. (1986). Developmental Processes of the Acquisition of Kana Letters in Japanese Children. Tokyo: Akiyama shoten.
Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working Memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working Memory. In G. A. Bower (Ed.), Recent Advances in Learning and Motivation (pp. 47-90). New York: Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60452-1
Baddeley, A. D., Gathercole, S. E., & Papagno, C. (1998). The Phonological Loop as a Language Learning Device. Psychological Review, 105, 158-173. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.105.1.158
Bowey, J. A. (1996). On the Association between Phonological Memory and Receptive Vocabulary in Five Year-Olds. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 63, 44-78. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1996.0042
Bowey, J. A. (1997). What Does Nonword Repetition Measure? A Reply to Gathercole and Baddeley. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 67, 295-301. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1997.2408
Bowey, J. A. (2001). Nonword Repetition and Young Children’s Receptive Vocabulary: A Longitudinal Study. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22, 441-469. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716401003083
Burgess, N., & Hitch, G. J. (1999). Memory for Serial Order: A Network Model of the Phonological Loop and Its Timing. Psychological Review, 106, 551-581. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.551
Burgess, N., & Hitch, G. J. (2006). A Revised Model of Short-Term Memory and Long-Term Learning of Verbal Sequences. Journal of Memory and Language, 55, 627-652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2006.08.005
de Jong, P. F., & van der Leij, A. (1999). Specific Contributions of Phonological Abilities to Early Reading Acquisition: Results from a Dutch Latent Variable Longitudinal Study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 450-476. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.3.450
de Jong, P. F., Seveke, M. J., & van Veen, M. (2000). Phonological Sensitivity and the Acquisition of New Words in Children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 76, 275-301. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1999.2549
de Jong, Peter F., Marie-Jose Seveke, and Marjo van Veen. 2000. Phonological sensitivityand the acquisition of new words in children. Journal of Experimental ChildPsychology 76: 275-301. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1999.2549
Dollaghan, C. A. (2011). Taxometric Analyses of Specific Language Impairment in 6-Year-Old Children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54, 1361-1371. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0187)
Dollaghan, C. A., Biber, M. E., & Campbell, T. F. (1995). Lexical Influences on Nonword Repetition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 16, 211-222. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400007098
Dollaghan, C., & Campbell, T. F. (1998). Nonword Repetition and Child Language Impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 1136-1146. https://doi.org/10.1044/jslhr.4105.1136
Estes, K. G., Evans, J. L., & Else-Quest, N. M. (2007). Differences in the Nonword Repetition Performance of Children with and without Specific Language Impairment: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 177-195. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2007/015)
Gathercole, S. E. (1995). Is Nonword Repetition a Test of Phonological Memory or Long-Term Knowledge? It All Depends on the Nonwords. Memory and Cognition, 23, 83-94. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03210559
Gathercole, S. E. (2006). Nonword Repetition and Word Learning: The Nature of the Relationship. Applied Psycholinguistics, 27, 513-543. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716406060383
Gathercole, S. E., & Adams, A. M. (1993). Phonological Working Memory in Very Young Children. Developmental Psychology, 29, 770-778. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.29.4.770
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1989). Evaluation of the Role of Phonological STM in the Development of Vocabulary in Children: A Longitudinal Study. Journal of Memory and Language, 28, 200-213. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(89)90044-2
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1990). Phonological Memory Deficits in Language Disordered Children: Is There a Causal Connection? Journal of Memory and Language, 29, 336-360. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(90)90004-J
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1993). Working Memory and Language. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Gathercole, S. E., & Baddeley, A. D. (1997). Sense and Sensitivity in Phonological Memory and Vocabulary Development: A Reply to Bowey (1996). Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 67, 290-294. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1997.2391
Gathercole, S. E., & Pickering, S. J. (2000). Assessment of Working Memory in Six- and Seven-Year-Old Children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 377-390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.92.2.377
Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C. S., & Baddeley, A. D. (1991). Differentiating Phonological Memory and Awareness of Rhyme: Reading and Vocabulary Development in Children. British Journal of Psychology, 82, 387-406. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1991.tb02407.x
Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C. S., Baddeley, A. D., & Emslie, H. (1994). The Children’s Test of Nonword Repetition: A Test of Phonological Working Memory. Memory, 2, 103-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658219408258940
Gathercole, S. E., Willis, C. S., Emslie, H., & Baddeley, A. D. (1992). Phonological Memory and Vocabulary Development during Early School Years: A Longitudinal Study. Development Psychology, 28, 887-898. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.28.5.887
Goswami, U., & Bryant, P. E. (1990). Phonological skills and learning to read. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Gupta, P. (2003). Examining the Relation between Word Learning, Nonword Repetition and Immediate Serial Recall in Adults. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 564, 1213-1236. https://doi.org/10.1080/02724980343000071
Gupta, P., & MacWhinney, B. (1997). Vocabulary Acquisition and Verbal Short-Term Memory: Computational and Neural Bases. Brain and Language, 59, 267-333. https://doi.org/10.1006/brln.1997.1819
Hansen, J., & Bowey, J. A. (1994). Phonological Analysis Skills, Verbal Working Memory, and Reading Ability in Second Grade Children. Child Development, 65, 938-950. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131429
Kakihana, S., Ando, J., Koyama, M., Iitaka, S., & Sugawara, I. (2009). Cognitive Factors Relating to the Development of Early Literacy in the Kana Syllabary. Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology, 57, 295-308. https://doi.org/10.5926/jjep.57.295
Kubozono, H. (1995a). Constraint Interaction in Japanese Phonology: Evidence from Compound Accent. Phonology at Santa Cruz, 4, 21-38.
Kubozono, H. (1995b). Word Formation and Phonological Structure (p. 17). Tokyo: Kurosio.
Kubozono, H. (2002). Prosodic Structure of Loanwords in Japanese: Syllable Structure, Accent and Morphology. Journal of the Phonetic Society of Japan, 6, 79-97.
Kubozono, H., & Homma, T. (2002). Onsetsu to Mora [Syllable and Mora]. 18, 11-27.
Liberman, I. Y., Shankweiler, D., Fischer, F. W., & Carter, B. (1974). Explicit Syllable and Phoneme Segmentation in the Young Child. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 18, 201-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-0965(74)90101-5
Majerus, S., Leclercq, A.-L., Grossmann, A., Billard, C., Touzin, M., Van der Linden, M., & Poncelet, M. (2008). Serial Order Short-Term Memory Capacities and Specific Language Impairment: No Evidence for a Causal Association. Cortex, 45, 708-720. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2008.10.006
Majerus, S., Poncelet, M., Elsen, B., & Van der Linden, M. (2006a). Exploring the Relationship between Verbal Short-Term Memory for Serial Order and Item Information and New Word Learning in Adults. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 18, 848-873. https://doi.org/10.1080/09541440500446476
Majerus, S., Poncelet, M., Greffe, C., & Van der Linden, M. (2006b). Relations between Vocabulary Development and Verbal Short-Term Memory: The Importance of Short-Term Memory for Serial Order Information. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93, 95-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2005.07.005
Melby-Lervåg, M., Lervåg, A., Lyster, S. A., Klem, M., Hagtvet, B., & Hulme, C. (2012). Nonword Repetition Ability Does Not Appear to Be a Causal Influence on Children’s Vocabulary Development. Psychological Science, 23, 1092-1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612443833
Metsala, J. L. (1999). Young Children’s Phonological Awareness and Nonword Repetition as a Function of Vocabulary Development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 3-19. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.91.1.3
Monica, M.-L., Arne, L., Solveig-Alma, H. L., Marianne, K., Bente, H., & Charles, H. (2012). Nonword Repetition Ability Does Not Appear to Be a Causal Influence on Children’s Vocabulary Development. Psychological Science, 23, 1069-1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612443833
Nakayama, M., Tanida, Y., & Saito, S. (2015). Long-Term Phonological Knowledge Supports Serial Ordering in Working Memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 41, 1570-1578. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038825
Saito, S., Saito, A., & Yoshimura, T. (2000). Wordlikeness Values of 120 Nonword. Memoirs of Osaka Kyoiku University Ser. IV Education, Psychology, Special Support Education and Physical Education, 48, 263-275.
Shriberg, L. D., Lohmeier, H. L., Campbell, T. F., Dollaghan, C. A., Green, J., R., & Moore, C. A. (2009). A Nonword Repetition Task for Speakers with Misarticulations: The Syllable Repetition Task (SRT). Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 52, 1189-1212. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0047)
Snowling, M., Chiat, S., & Hulme, C. (1991). Words, Nonwords, and Phonological Processes: Some Comments on Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, and Baddeley. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 369-373. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400009279
Tanaka, Y. W., Watanabe, J., Shirakuni, K., & Menn, L. (2001). Japanese Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment: A Preliminary Exploration of Language Characteristics. The Japanese Journal of Communication Disorders, 18, 2-9.
Treiman, R., & Zukowski, A. (1996). Children’s Sensitivity to Syllables, Onsets, Rimes and Phonemes. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 61, 193-215. https://doi.org/10.1006/jecp.1996.0014
Trubetzkoy, N. S. (1969). Principles of Phonology. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Ueno, K., Utsuo, T., & Iinaga, K. (1991). Japanese Picture Vocabulary Development Test. Nihonbunkakagakusha.
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1994). Development of Reading-Related Phonological Processing Abilities: New Evidence of Bidirectional Causality from a Latent Variable Longitudinal Study. Developmental Psychology, 30, 73. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.30.1.73
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J. K., Laughon, P., Simmons, K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1993). Development of Young Readers’ Phonological Processing Abilities. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 83. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.85.1.83
Wechsler, D. (1969). Manual for the Japanese Version of Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. Translated by Nihonbunkakagakusha.
Wells, J. C. (1990). Pronunciation Dictionary. London: Longman.
Yuzawa, M., & Saito, S. (2006). The Role of Prosody and Long-Term Phonological Knowledge in Japanese Children’s Nonword Repetition Performance. Cognitive Development, 21, 146-157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2006.01.003
Yuzawa, M., Sekiguchi, M., & Li, S. (2007). Phonological Awareness of English among Young Japanese Children. Bulletin of the Graduate School of Education, Hiroshima University Part III. Education and Human Science, 56, 153-160.