Proceedings of the 8th International Academic Conference on Teaching, Learning and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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How does Language Development Modulate Number Representation: from Competition to Cooperation
Danni Liang, Suhui Quan, Zhongting Chen, Ciping Deng
ABSTRACT:
The relationship between children’s language abilities and mathematical abilities remains inconclusive. To further explore this issue, this study measured language abilities of 63 preschoolers (5.75 years; 52.3% girls) and 109 primary school students (7.25 years; 41.3% girls, Grade 1 and 2), and collected their performances in a symbolic number line estimation task and a dot number line estimation task. After controlling for general cognitive capabilities, the results showed that the preschoolers’ rapid automatic naming ability and expressive vocabulary ability were negatively correlated with the precision of their performances in the symbolic number line estimation. However, for the primary school students, their phonological ability, vocabulary ability, and reading comprehension ability were all positively correlated with their symbolic number estimation precision. These results indicate a critical switch of the influence of language development on numerical abilities in the early elementary school, supporting the specialization hypothesis which emphasizes the influence of early structured learning environments on specific cognitive skills and predict that the introduction of formal mathematical education modulates the relationship between children’s language abilities and mathematical abilities. This study indicates and emphasizes a dynamic perspective in understanding the relationships among developments of children’s abilities in different domains.
keywords: expressive language skill; numerical representation; number line estimation; preschool development in mathematics; specialization hypothesis