Three of the investigators on our project believe that the language learning process is very demanding with respect to information processing. There is also a relationship between the speed of processing and language ability. Children with poorer language skills are also slower in responding to all types of information. As predicted, the research shows that children with slower rates of processing also performed more poorly on tasks that were demanding with respect to attention and auditory memory. These results provide strong evidence of basic deficits of information processing for these children and are revealed in tasks involving rapid responses or heavy processing demands.
Language learning is likely to be such as task.
We don't know yet whether these information processing limitations influence classroom learning through their impact on language, or if they impact school performance more directly. In the last 10 years, our understanding of basic genetics has grown tremendously. As a result we are now able to answer questions that previously we could only speculate about. We have long recognized that genes often play an important role in the physical characteristics of individuals. The manner in which genes play a role in human behavior has been far more controversial.