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Match the melodies: how do musical ability and training frequency affect translation-ambiguous word learning?

Melcher, Eleanna (2019) Match the melodies: how do musical ability and training frequency affect translation-ambiguous word learning? Undergraduate Thesis, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This study investigated how musical ability/experience and training frequency for translation-ambiguous words affects learning. Native English speakers with no prior exposure to Dutch or German were taught German vocabulary words that were either unambiguous (one English translation) or ambiguous (two translations). Translation-ambiguous words were counterbalanced into two conditions, standard and overtrained (with the second translation being presented either three times or six times respectively). The testing assessments were a translation recognition task in which participants indicated whether pairs of words were translations and a free recall task. Participants also completed four indices of musical ability and experience: comparing rhythmic and melodic phrases, listening to and singing short melodies, and reflecting on their subjective musical experiences. This study provides further support for the challenges of learning translation-ambiguous words. It presents a potential method by which to alleviate the translation-ambiguity disadvantage, specifically by overtraining the second translation of ambiguous words. Furthermore, it illustrates the presence of an interaction between musical ability and lexical learning, such that greater musical ability scores led to better learning outcomes.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Melcher, Eleannaemm165@pitt.eduemm165
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Thesis AdvisorTokowicz, Natashatokowicz@pitt.edu
Committee MemberSlevc, L. Robertslevc@umd.edu
Committee MemberTerrazas Duarte, Gabrielagterrazas@pitt.edu
Committee MemberCoutanche, Marcmarc.coutanche@pitt.edu
Date: 23 April 2019
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 15 April 2019
Approval Date: 23 April 2019
Submission Date: 18 April 2019
Access Restriction: 5 year -- Restrict access to University of Pittsburgh for a period of 5 years.
Number of Pages: 91
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: David C. Frederick Honors College
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology
Degree: BPhil - Bachelor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Undergraduate Thesis
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Translation-ambiguity; frequency manipulation; musical ability
Date Deposited: 23 Apr 2019 20:01
Last Modified: 23 Apr 2024 05:15
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/36518

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