Amruta Venkatesh
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Ioulia Kovelman
Co-Presenter: Rayat, Jannat
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology and CHGD / LSA
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 4 – 2:40pm – 3:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors:
Presenter: 18
Abstract
Reading is a very important skill for children to learn, but for some, developing the skill is not simple, such as for bilingual children learning two languages. This current research program’s objective is to understand how linguistic differences between monolingual and bilingual children affect brain and language development. In particular, this research project seeks to investigate how English vocabulary differs between monolinguals and Spanish – English bilingual children, in addition to understanding how bilingual English vocabulary influences neural activation during an English phonological awareness task. We hypothesize that there will not be a very significant difference between monolinguals and Spanish – English bilinguals in terms of their English vocabulary knowledge, but there will be neural activation differences that emerge during English phonological tasks. To collect the data, we are testing children using standardized literacy assessments of both English and Spanish foundational language skills, including vocabulary knowledge, letter and word identification, reading fluency, and phonological awareness. We will also be using the Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging device to test for brain activation during phonological and morphological awareness tasks. The results gathered from the research will inform us on what is known about language and brain development within Spanish – English bilingual children. This research can be used to open up more ideas in linguistic neurological research within bilingual communities. In addition, doctors and other pediatric health care research workers will greatly benefit from this research as new discoveries about differences in brain activation can help them gain more insight into a child’s neurological development.
Biomedical Sciences, Engineering, Arts and Humanities, Interdisciplinary, Natural/Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Social Sciences
