Lernstörungen im multilingualen Kontext: Diagnose und Hilfestellungen.

Book published by Melusina Press (2021)

Um Kinder mit einer Lernstörung durch möglichst angepasste Hilfsmaßnahmen unterstützen zu können, ist eine umfassende Diagnostik maßgeblich. Die Diagnostik von Lernstörungen stellt vor allem in ... [more ▼]

Um Kinder mit einer Lernstörung durch möglichst angepasste Hilfsmaßnahmen unterstützen zu können, ist eine umfassende Diagnostik maßgeblich. Die Diagnostik von Lernstörungen stellt vor allem in multilingualen Kontexten - wie in Luxemburg - eine Herausforderung dar. Auch werden derzeit vorwiegend im Ausland entwickelte diagnostische Tests durchgeführt, welche die luxemburgischen Besonderheiten, wie etwa das Erlernen der schriftsprachlichen und mathematischen Kompetenzen in einer Zweit- oder Drittsprache, nicht berücksichtigen. Ausgehend vom aktuellen Forschungs- und Wissensstand wird ein vertieftes Verständnis im Hinblick auf Lese- und Rechtschreibstörungen und Rechenstörungen dargelegt. Darauf aufbauend werden diagnostische Vorgehensweisen sowie pädagogische Hilfsmaßnahmen mithilfe von Erfahrungswerten praktizierender Fachkräfte aus dem luxemburgischen Förderbereich vorgestellt. [less ▲]

Long-term Relevance and Interrelation of Symbolic and Non-symbolic Abilities in Mathematical-numerical Development: Evidence from Large-scale Assessment Data

in Cognitive Development (2021), 58

Cognitive cost of two- and single digit transcoding in the second language of math learning in bilinguals of different ages

Scientific Conference (2020, June)

Impact of learning to read in a mixed approach on neural tuning to words in beginning readers

in Frontiers in Psychology (2020), 10

The impact of learning to read in a mixed approach using both the global and phonics teaching methods on the emergence of left hemisphere neural specialization for word recognition is yet unknown in ... [more ▼]

The impact of learning to read in a mixed approach using both the global and phonics teaching methods on the emergence of left hemisphere neural specialization for word recognition is yet unknown in children. Taking advantage of a natural school context with such a mixed approach, we tested 42 first graders behaviorally and with Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation using electroencephalographic recordings (FPVS-EEG) to measure selective neural responses to letter strings. Letter strings were inserted periodically (1/5) in pseudofonts in 40 s sequences displayed at 6 Hz and were either words globally taught at school, that could therefore be processed by visual whole-word form recognition (global method), or control words/pseudowords eliciting graphemephoneme (GP) mappings (phonics method). Results show that selective responses (F/5, 1.2 Hz) were left lateralized for control stimuli that triggered GP mappings but bilateral for globally taught words. It implies that neural mechanisms recruited during visual word processing are influenced by the nature of the mapping between written and spoken word forms. GP mappings induce left hemisphere discrimination responses, and visual recognition of whole-word forms induce bilateral responses, probably because the right hemisphere is relatively more involved in holistic visual object recognition. Splitting the group as a function of the mastery of GP mappings into “good” and “poor” readers strongly suggests that good readers actually processed all stimuli (including global words) predominantly with their left hemisphere, while poor readers showed bilateral responses for global words. These results show that in a mixed approach of teaching to read, global method instruction may induce neural processes that differ from those specialized for reading in the left hemisphere. Furthermore, given their difficulties in automatizing GP mappings, poor readers are especially prone to rely on this alternative visual strategy. A preprint of this paper has been released on Biorxiv (van de Walle de Ghelcke et al., 2018). [less ▲]

The neural signature of numerosity by separating numerical and continuous magnitude extraction in visual cortex with frequency-tagged EEG.

in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2020), 117(11), 5726-5732

The ability to handle approximate quantities, or number sense, has been recurrently linked to mathematical skills, although the nature of the mechanism allowing to extract numerical information (i.e ... [more ▼]

The ability to handle approximate quantities, or number sense, has been recurrently linked to mathematical skills, although the nature of the mechanism allowing to extract numerical information (i.e., numerosity) from environmental stimuli is still debated. A set of objects is indeed not only characterized by its numerosity but also by other features, such as the summed area occupied by the elements, which often covary with numerosity. These intrinsic relations between numerosity and nonnumerical magnitudes led some authors to argue that numerosity is not independently processed but extracted through a weighting of continuous magnitudes. This view cannot be properly tested through classic behavioral and neuroimaging approaches due to these intrinsic correlations. The current study used a frequency-tagging EEG approach to separately measure responses to numerosity as well as to continuous magnitudes. We recorded occipital responses to numerosity, total area, and convex hull changes but not to density and dot size. We additionally applied a model predicting primary visual cortex responses to the set of stimuli. The model output was closely aligned with our electrophysiological data, since it predicted discrimination only for numerosity, total area, and convex hull. Our findings thus demonstrate that numerosity can be independently processed at an early stage in the visual cortex, even when completely isolated from other magnitude changes. The similar implicit discrimination for numerosity as for some continuous magnitudes, which correspond to basic visual percepts, shows that both can be extracted independently, hence substantiating the nature of numerosity as a primary feature of the visual scene. [less ▲]

Units-first or tens-first: Does language matter when processing visually presented two-digit numbers?

in Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) (2020), 73(5), 726-738

The linguistic structure of number words can influence performance in basic numerical tasks such as mental calculation, magnitude comparison, and transcoding. Especially the presence of ten-unit inversion ... [more ▼]

The linguistic structure of number words can influence performance in basic numerical tasks such as mental calculation, magnitude comparison, and transcoding. Especially the presence of ten-unit inversion in number words seems to affect number processing. Thus, at the beginning of formal math education, young children speaking inverted languages tend to make relatively more errors in transcoding. However, it remains unknown whether and how inversion affects transcoding in older children and adults. Here we addressed this question by assessing two-digit number transcoding in adults and fourth graders speaking French and German, that is, using non-inverted and inverted number words, respectively. We developed a novel transcoding paradigm during which participants listened to two-digit numbers and identified the heard number among four Arabic numbers. Critically, the order of appearance of units and tens in Arabic numbers was manipulated mimicking the "units-first" and "tens-first" order of German and French. In a third "simultaneous" condition, tens and units appeared at the same time in an ecological manner. Although language did not affect overall transcoding speed in adults, we observed that German-speaking fourth graders were globally slower than their French-speaking peers, including in the "simultaneous" condition. Moreover, French-speaking children were faster in transcoding when the order of digit appearance was congruent with their number-word system (i.e., "tens-first" condition) while German-speaking children appeared to be similarly fast in the "units-first" and "tens-first" conditions. These findings indicate that inverted languages still impose a cognitive cost on number transcoding in fourth graders, which seems to disappear by adulthood. They underline the importance of language in numerical cognition and suggest that language should be taken into account during mathematics education. [less ▲]

The Relationship Between the Benton Face Recognition Test and Electrophysiological Unfamiliar Face Individuation Response as Revealed by Fast Periodic Stimulation.

in Perception (2020), 49(2), 210-221

A recent approach to implicitly study face recognition skills has been the fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) coupled with electroencephalography (EEG). Its relationship with explicit behavioral ... [more ▼]

A recent approach to implicitly study face recognition skills has been the fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) coupled with electroencephalography (EEG). Its relationship with explicit behavioral measures of face individuation remains largely undocumented. We evaluated the relationship of the FPVS–EEG measure of individuation and performance at a computer version of the Benton Face Recognition Test. High-density EEG was recorded in 32 participants presented with an unfamiliar face at a rate of 6Hz (F) for 60 s. Every five faces, new identities were inserted. The resulting 1.2 Hz (F/5) EEG response and its harmonics objectively indexed rapid individuation of unfamiliar faces. The robust individuation response, observed over occipitotemporal sites, was significantly correlated with speed, but not accuracy rate of the computer version of the Benton Face Recognition Test. This effect was driven by a few individuals who were particularly slow at the behavioral test and also showed the lowest face individuation response. These results highlight the importance of considering the time taken to recognize a face, as a complementary to accuracy rate variable, providing valuable information about one’s recognition skills. Overall, these observations strengthen the diagnostic value of FPVS–EEG as an objective and rapid flag for specific difficulties at individual face recognition in the human population. [less ▲]

The effect of grade retention on reading skills of immigrant children in multilingual elementary school. A longitudinal study.

Presentation (2019, November 06)

In a longitudinal study the effect of grade retention on reading skills of immigrant children in multilingual elementary school was investigated. The study was conducted between 2013 and 2017 and thirty ... [more ▼]

In a longitudinal study the effect of grade retention on reading skills of immigrant children in multilingual elementary school was investigated. The study was conducted between 2013 and 2017 and thirty-four per cent of the sample was lost due to grade retention. These children had been followed from kindergarten to grade 3 of elementary school. To observe differences among promoted and retained students, we assessed them using various language and socioeconomic measures. We also compared a subgroup of promoted students, scoring lower in grade 2 than the mean of retained students in reading comprehension. The current study revealed four main findings. Firstly, there were no significant differences between promoted and retained students in their first language vocabulary (Portuguese). Secondly, there was a significant difference in second and third language vocabularies (Luxembourgish and German) and in German reading tasks (the language of instruction) from kindergarten to grade 2, with promoted students scoring higher than retained students. Thirdly, and most importantly, retained students did not catch up with promoted students in the language of instruction (German) measures even after grade retention, but they did in language of socialisation (Luxembourgish). Fourthly, and in contrast to retained students, the low-achieving promoted students improved significantly in German reading comprehension by grade 3.The last two findings underline that grade retention does not lead to improvement in children’s reading comprehension. As vocabulary is one of the main predictors of reading comprehension, programs that improve poor readers’ vocabulary knowledge may be more efficient than grade retention. The present findings corroborate previous studies reporting that grade retention is not beneficial and that low-achieving students promoted to the next grade show better academic outcomes later than retained students. [less ▲]

Proportional reasoning in the bounded but not direct estimation in the unbounded number line task underlies the relation to arithmetics in second to fourth graders

Poster (2019, September)

Are dates processed like words rather than like numbers? A study of transposition priming effects

Poster (2019, May)

Neuropsychological case-studies suggested that dates and encyclopedic numbers may be processed differently than unknown numbers. However, this issue was not yet investigated in reading in healthy ... [more ▼]

Neuropsychological case-studies suggested that dates and encyclopedic numbers may be processed differently than unknown numbers. However, this issue was not yet investigated in reading in healthy participants, so that it is unclear if dates are read like words and processed as lexical items, or like numbers where each position strictly defines the digit value in a base-10 system. Here, we compared processing of known dates to unknown numbers in a group of 26 experts (students and teachers in History). Participants performed an explicit recognition task on dates (e.g., 1789, 1945, …) and on acronyms (e.g., FNRS, HDMI, …), half known and half unknown. They were preceded by an identical prime (e.g., 1945-1945), a transposed-character prime (e.g., 1495-1945) or a substituted-character prime (e.g., 1635-1945). Results show that for dates, there is a significant transposition gain (-57ms), while for unknown numbers as well as for acronyms (known and unknown), the transposed-character prime induced a cost (from +17 to +257ms) rather than a gain. The facilitation due to transposed characters found here on dates is similar to what is observed in studies of lexical decision on words. Therefore, it suggests that dates may be processed with similar types of orthographical mechanisms than words. [less ▲]