Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate voice loudness and gender effects on jitter and shimmer in healthy young adults because previous descriptions have been inconsistent. Method: Fifty-seven healthy adults (28 women, 29 men) aged 20-40 years were included in this cross-sectional single-cohort study. Three phonations of /a/ at soft,…

Speech-related fMRI activation was examined in six hemispherectomy patients (three left LX, three right RX, four with congenital and two with late-acquired hemiplegia) operated in childhood for the relief of drug-resistant epilepsy. Although the temporal and sensorimotor pattern of activation was similar to that found in neurologically intact…

When speakers detect a problem in what they are saying, they must decide whether or not to interrupt themselves and repair the problem, and if so, when. Speakers will maximize accuracy if they interrupt themselves as soon as they detect a problem, but they will maximize fluency if they go on speaking until they are ready to produce the repair.…

When mothers engage in infant-directed (ID) speech, their voices change in a number of characteristic ways, including adopting a higher overall pitch. Studies have examined these acoustical cues and have tested infants' preferences for ID speech. However, little is known about how these cues change with maternal sensitivity to infant feedback in…

This study examined the relationship between basic psychological skills usage (i.e., goal-setting, imagery, self-talk, and relaxation) and the intensity and directional dimensions of competitive anxiety. Semistructured interviews were used on a sample of 15 elite athletes (M age = 24.3 years, SD = 4.2) from a variety of team and individual sports.…

This paper uses the methodology of conversation analysis (CA) to examine the practice of co-constructed turn and utterance production in impaired communication. An investigation of the conversations between two family dyads, featuring one person with dysarthric speech and one with aphasic language, reveals one way in which single turns and…

A primary criterion on which models of cognition are evaluated is their ability to fit empirical data. To understand the reason why a model yields a good or poor fit, it is necessary to determine the data-fitting potential (i.e., flexibility) of the model. In the first part of this article, methods for comparing models and studying their…

Although it is well documented that language plays an important role in cognitive development, there are different views concerning the mechanisms underlying these effects. Some argue that even early in development, effects of words stem from top-down knowledge, whereas others argue that these effects stem from auditory input affecting attention…

Acoustic emphasis may convey a range of subtle discourse distinctions, yet little is known about how this complex ability develops in children. This paper presents a first investigation of the factors which influence the production of acoustic prominence in young children's spontaneous speech. In a production experiment, SVO sentences were…

Mathematical discussions support and promote student learning as an integral part of the contexts in which students learn mathematics. Yet, American school practices often focus on teachers disseminating knowledge to students and students acquiring that knowledge through rote rehearsal rather than higher order thinking. One barrier to change in…

This study was an investigation of the effect of English Learning in the Elementary School (ELES) on both English language skills and affective variables. The participants were 145 public junior high school students in Grades 7 and 8; 72 participants received English language instruction once a week in the local public elementary schools in…

This small-scale qualitative study aimed at identifying factors and the extent of their influence upon the learning experiences of first year Japanese undergraduate students in a group work oriented oral presentation using English as their second language (ESL). Research findings were obtained from students through their participation in written…

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of visual information and linguistic class of words on intelligibility of dysarthric speech. Seven speakers with dysarthria participated in the study, along with 224 listeners who transcribed speech samples in audiovisual (AV) or audio-only (AO) listening conditions. Orthographic…

Purpose: To determine the specific acoustic changes that underlie improved vowel intelligibility in clear speech. Method: Seven acoustic metrics were measured for conversational and clear vowels produced by 12 talkers--6 who previously were found (S. H. Ferguson, 2004) to produce a large clear speech vowel intelligibility effect for listeners with…

The primary functional role of conversational hand gestures in narrative discourse is disputed. A novel experimental technique investigated whether gestures function primarily to aid speech production by the speaker, or communication to the listener. The experiment involved repeated narration of a cartoon story or stories to a single or multiple…