Learning and Consolidation of Declarative Memory in Good and Poor Readers of English as a Second Language.

Declarative memory abilities may be important for children who are learning to read in a second language. In the present study, we investigated declarative memory in a recognition memory task in 7-to-13-year-old, Kannada native-speaking, good (n = 22) and poor (n = 22) readers of English, in Karnataka, India. Recognition memory was tested shortly (∼10 min) after encoding (day 1) and again on the next (day 2). Analyses revealed that the two groups did not differ in recognition memory performance on day 1. On day 2, the good readers improved from day 1, whereas poor readers did not. A partial correlation analysis suggests that consolidation - the change in performance in recognition memory between the 2 days - is associated with reading skills in good readers, but not in poor readers. Taken together, these results suggest that children who struggle to read in a second language may have deficits in declarative memory consolidation.

Development of Questionnaire for Auditory Localization.

OBJECTIVE: Localization plays an important role in identifying the source of the stimuli. Aural localization is based on the phase (period-related time), intensity level, and spectral differences between the sounds at each ear. Various behavioral measures are available to check the interaural level, time, and frequency differences, which provide information on an individual's ability to localize the sound source. This might vary depending on the audibility and amplification devices. Although these behavioral measures are available, the perceptual quality of localization cannot be obtained using these measures. This study aimed to develop a questionnaire for auditory localization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire was prepared, the content validated, and administered on 120 individuals in the age range of 18-50 years who were divided into three different groups. RESULTS: The results of the descriptive and item analysis revealed a significant difference between the groups, with group I showing better localization ability. No significant difference was observed between the groups II and III. The receiver operating curve and cut-off scores were obtained. Individuals with a score of <42.5 on the questionnaire have better or good localization ability. The area covered under the curve is 0.987; therefore, the sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire is also high. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that this questionnaire is a simple, valid, and preliminary measure for the auditory localization ability of an individual.