Britta Biedermann

People with post-stroke aphasia show verbal-language difficulties and verbal working memory problems, but can also present with attention-related deficits. Meditation can positively impact attention in healthy meditators; however, few studies have investigated effects of meditation on different attention processes in people with aphasia. The aim of this study was to explore whether an intensive meditation training could enhance attention processes in people with aphasia, while also testing for potential generalisation to verbal language processes. Five people with chronic aphasia with anomia, good comprehension, and no meditation experience, joined a 9-week meditation training. Repeated pre- and post-training measures of attention and verbal language were collected, as well as repeated ratings of perceived impact on participants' attentional focus, everyday attention and word finding abilities. Prior to training, participants showed deficits in at least one visual and/or auditory attention task in addition to word retrieval and verbal working memory deficits. Four participants showed gains on at least one measure of non-verbal attention following meditation training. No gains in verbal-language skills were observed except for one participant. Visual and auditory attention can be enhanced independently of verbal-language skills in people with aphasia when engaging in regular meditation practice.

The research presented here addresses the nature of lexical activation in bilingual language production. Bilinguals’ mental lexicons possess words from two languages, however, when speaking, biling...

This study explores the association between school-based foreign language (FL) instruction and mathematical achievement among 15-year-old students, using data from the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Two complementary analyses were conducted: a large-scale model ( n = 300,656) examining the relationship between time spent in FL learning and maths performance across 73 countries and a machine learning (ML) approach (random forest (RF); n = 53,459) identifying specific programme features that most strongly influence this relationship. Results show that longer exposure to FL instruction was associated with a modest but statistically robust increase in maths scores ( β = 0.08, p < .001), even after controlling for socioeconomic and contextual factors. Among programme characteristics, the integration of multicultural curricula emerged as a prominent predictor of higher maths performance. These findings indicate that sustained, culturally enriched FL learning is positively associated with numeracy outcomes, with implications for equity in academic achievement and cross-disciplinary performance.

Indigenous language knowledge can serve as a window into cultural identity and wellbeing. The aims of our study were twofold: (1) to capture the process of increasing awareness of Noongar to first-year speech pathology students between 2021 and 2024 at Curtin University, and (2) to develop Noongar Language and Speech Sound materials using feedback received from the Elders reference group, clinicians, educators, and speech pathology students. In doing so, we address the potential for misdiagnoses that currently exist when speech pathologists use standardised Australian English-based assessments to work with Noongar-speaking children in the areas of language, speech, and literacy difficulties. Drawing on Indigenous standpoint theory, we used Yarning through Kapati Time, Dabakarn-dabakarn , and Yindyamarra Methodology to build trust and relationships. Over four years, we co-designed language and speech sound materials through Participatory Action Research. The team included two Indigenous (Noongar, Wiradjuri) and three non-Indigenous academics. Two outdoor lectures and tutorials were delivered annually, reaching over 400 students, who contributed to the material design. Guided by the ethical framework by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, this Noongar-led project demonstrates how collaboration ensures cultural safety and promotes recognition of language differences during clinical assessment, reducing over- or underdiagnosis in multilingual Noongar-speaking children.

Evidence-based practice involves using clinical reasoning to integrate information from four sources: research evidence, the expertise of the clinician, the client’s values and perspectives, and the practice context. As such, research conducted to inform practice should adopt processes to collect data to inform all four sources. In this paper, we propose an approach to do so, which combines the qualitative Participatory-Action-Research approach - which privileges community voices - with a quantitative Single-Case-Experimental-Design approach - which systematically captures individual differences and change over time. Since both focus on individual change, both hold promise for a new complementary mixed-methods approach for clinical practice. A critical analysis of our own paediatric Single-Case-Experimental-Design study (Calder et al., 2020), including reflections on how Participatory-Action-Research principles could have been implemented from the start, leads into key recommendations about how community perspectives can be meaningfully integrated into clinical practice.

This systematic review and meta-analysis explore the correlation between foreign language instruction and mathematical skills in young adolescents, highlighting the significance of high school mathematical education and the adaptability of the adolescent brain. Focused on students starting second language programs between ages 8 and 13, following PRISMA guidelines, this review included 25 studies (1978–2020) with 785,552 participants. Using a random-effects model, the overall effect size revealed a statistically significant relationship between our variables, indicating a threefold higher likelihood of passing or achieving higher grades in mathematical tests for language-learning students. Moderating variables analyses identified socioeconomic status (SES) and intervention length as influencers of observed heterogeneity, with SES being the primary factor. Sensitivity analyses, including adding potentially missing studies and removing outliers, confirmed the robustness of the overall effect. Nonetheless, additional research is needed to enhance global diversity and comprehensively understand the interplay between language learning and cognitive function.

Processing a word in a second language (L2) may be hindered or helped by the simultaneous activation of similar words present in L2 and in addition by similar words that occur in the first language (L1). Precise mechanisms for influencing variables within L2 and cross-language processing are still little understood. The current visual word recognition study explored orthographic neighborhood density (ND) effects in L2 English, replicating the effects for Dutch–English while expanding the exploration to a new language combination, Spanish–English. The within- and across-language effects were explored in a group of Dutch–English and Spanish–English bilinguals. English L2 targets were subdivided into four ND conditions: high L1 + high L2, high L1 + low L2, low L1 + high L2, and low L1 + low L2. For Experiment 1, an analysis of generalized linear mixed-effects models (GLMMs) revealed that Dutch (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals showed a facilitatory main effect of English ND on reaction times and error rates. However, an inhibitory main effect of L1 Dutch ND on L2 visual word recognition was only observed for reaction times, not error rates. Overall, no interaction was detected between L1 and L2 NDs for reaction times or error rates. Additionally, a factorial permutation test confirmed the L2 facilitatory effect on both reaction times and error rates, while it supported an L1 inhibitory effect for error rates only. In Experiment 2, a GLMM analysis replicated the L2 facilitatory effect on reaction times in Spanish (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals but did not reveal an inhibitory main effect of L1 on L2 word recognition. Instead, we found a significant interaction between English (L2) and Spanish (L1) ND. Reaction time patterns were confirmed by the non-parametric analysis, although with only a marginally significant interaction. For error rates, no effect for ND was detected using GLMMs. However, the permutation test revealed significant L2 facilitatory and L1 inhibitory effects on L2 word recognition but no significant interaction. Our data confirm a robust L2 facilitatory main effect of ND on reaction times across experiments and analyses, while L1 inhibitory main and interaction effects were less robust across experiments and analyses. The latter may be dependent on language specificity and speaker characteristics.

Mainstream youth mental health services struggle to comprehend the connection between colonisation and service provision for Aboriginal young people. This is the consensus agreed by Aboriginal Elders from Perth, Western Australia and young Aboriginal leaders within their communities (Wright, Culbong, Crisp, Biedermann, & Lin (2019). 1–7). What is required is a more nuanced, culturally relevant approach to both an understanding of the impact of colonisation on mental health and help-seeking behaviour if they are to provide equitable access for Aboriginal young people. In this paper, we report on a three-year participatory action research (PAR) project conducted on Whadjuk Nyoongar country in Perth, Western Australia. An innovative model of care framework developed from the project and described in this paper, focuses on key components that both inform and assist service providers in improving service provision to Aboriginal young people. The model, depicted as a tree, symbolises strength and growth, with the ‘roots’ of the tree, holding trust, culture and spirit. This paper details a culturally-safe co-design process that was held and directed with Elders, in partnership with young people, youth mental health service staff and youth policy staff.