A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of - Queen Margaret University

ackground (pink for female, lavender for male) indicates no impairment in
this module/pathway (i.e. one or no errors) and a patterned highlighted module
indicates impairment.
5.4.2 Predictions of influencing factors on learning the new vocabulary
Predictions were made regarding each participant’s ability to learn the new
vocabulary based on the literature (see section 2.6) and their individual
language strengths and difficulties (see section 2.9.3). The literature suggests a
number of factors that are considered influential in the recovery of aphasia,
which could also affect the ability of individuals to learn the new vocabulary (see
section 2.6). Therefore predictions will be made regarding the expected ability
of participants in learning the new vocabulary when a number of relevant
influencing factors are considered. Some factors will not be considered due to
insufficient participant information, in particular, cognitive reserve (see section
2.6.1.3), biological limitations (see section 2.6.2) and the history of aphasia
rehabilitation (see section 2.6.4). The various factors that will be considered in
light of participants’ ability to learn new vocabulary are segmented into a number
of categories: personal attributes, cognitive abilities, language abilities and
learning strategies and are now discussed.
5.4.2.1 Personal attributes
The personal attributes that were considered for the main investigation included
age, education, emotional status and stage of recovery post-stroke and will be
discussed below in relation to relevant literature.
Age
Although the evidence in the literature is equivocal for the prognostic effect of
age on recovery from aphasia it is considered that overall younger people
demonstrate better recovery than older (see section 2.6.1.1). It is therefore
147