Ane Theimann

• Theimann, Ane; Norvik, Monica I.; Mani, Nivedita; Ronderos, Camilo R. & Köder, Franziska Maria (2026). The relationship between language prediction and action prediction in toddlers and adults. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. ISSN 2327-3798. doi: 10.1080/23273798.2026.2699142. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Prediction plays a key role in both action processing and language comprehension, yet it remains unclear whether individual differences in action prediction are related to individual differences in language prediction. Using eye-tracking, we examined predictive looking behaviour in 2-year-old Norwegian-speaking toddlers (Experiment 1) and Norwegian-speaking adults (Experiment 2) across parallel action and semantic prediction tasks. Both groups showed robust predictive looking in each task. No relationship between action and semantic prediction tasks was observed in toddlers. In contrast, a significant positive relationship between the two tasks was found in adults. These findings indicate that while abilities to predict actions and linguistic information are already present by age two, cross-domain alignment in predictive performance emerges later in development. The results are consistent with the possibility that predictive processes across domains become increasingly coordinated with experience and maturation.

• Theimann, Ane; Köder, Franziska Maria & Norvik, Monica I. (2025). Insights from visual world paradigm studies on language prediction in children: A systematic review. Acta Psychologica. ISSN 0001-6918. 261. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105821. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Predicting upcoming linguistic input is an important skill that facilitates efficient comprehension and may support language acquisition. While previous research has examined different cues children use to anticipate upcoming words, findings remain dispersed across studies, and the developmental trajectory of predictive abilities is not fully understood. This systematic review synthesizes empirical studies investigating auditory language prediction in typically developing children and identifies patterns and gaps in the literature. Following PRISMA guidelines, 53 studies published between 1999 and 2024 were identified, with a total sample size of 2505 children. These studies report on 67 experiments which all employed eye-tracking using the Visual World Paradigm to examine prediction. The findings highlight that children can predict language using a variety of semantic, morphosyntactic, phonological and prosodic cues. While predictive ability generally improves with age, the developmental timeline varies by cue type, with some cues (e.g., restrictive verbs, grammatical gender) being used earlier than others (e.g., adjectives and spatial deixis). Research spans 14 languages, with many understudied languages, particularly non-Indo-European languages. The role of individual differences in children's predictive ability remains largely inconclusive, with need for further investigation. Avenues for future research are also the integration of multiple predictive cues, how prediction operates in complex linguistic contexts, and how bilingualism influences predictive processing. Additionally, methodological transparency, including open data practices, is not yet widespread in this field. Addressing these gaps will provide a more comprehensive understanding of children's predictive language processing and its role in language development.

• Ribu, Ingeborg Sophie; Simonsen, Hanne Gram; Norvik, Monica I.; Lehtonen, Minna H; Murstad, Jeanett & Theimann, Ane [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2024). Prediction ability in bilingual individuals: an eye tracking study with younger and older adults. Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science. ISSN 2520-100X. doi: 10.1007/s41809-024-00155-5. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Studies with monolingual speakers show that people predict upcoming linguistic elements during sentence processing. Linguistic prediction behavior has been found to be less consistent in studies with bilingual individuals performing in their non-native language and in neurotypical older monolingual adults. The present study utilized an eye-tracking paradigm to investigate whether bilingual younger and older neurotypical individuals predict upcoming nouns in sentences that include constraining verbs, and if they do so both in their first language (L1) and in their second language (L2). Data were analyzed from 44 Norwegian-English proficient bilingual adults; 27 younger (20–35 years, mean age 27) and 17 older adults (54–81 years, mean age 64) who completed the eye-tracking experiment in each of the two languages, as well as cognitive and linguistic tests. The results demonstrated similar prediction abilities in L1 and L2 for both the younger and older participants on sentences with constraining verbs. Older adults predicted slower than younger adults. Participants’ working memory span and language proficiency did not explain prediction performance; cognate status of the stimuli partially did. The study adds to the relatively sparse existing data on prediction abilities in bilingual people and in older individuals.

• Theimann, Ane; Kuzmina, Ekaterina & Hansen, Pernille (2021). Verb-Mediated Prediction in Bilingual Toddlers. Frontiers in Psychology. 12. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.719447. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Prediction is an important mechanism for efficient language processing. It has been shown that as a part of sentence processing, both children and adults predict nouns based on semantically constraining verbs. Language proficiency is said to modulate prediction: the higher proficiency, the better the predictive skill. Children growing up acquiring two languages are often more proficient in one of them, and as such, investigation of the predictive ability in young bilingual children can shed light on the role of language proficiency. Furthermore, according to production-based models, the language production system drives the predictive ability. The present study investigates whether bilingual toddlers predict upcoming nouns based on verb meanings in both their languages, and whether this ability is associated with expressive vocabulary. Seventeen Norwegian-English bilingual toddlers (aged 2;5–3;3), dominant in Norwegian, participated in the study. Verb-mediated predictive ability was measured via a visual world paradigm (VWP) experiment, including sentences with semantically constraining and neutral verbs. Expressive vocabulary was measured by MacArthurBates CDI II. The results suggested that the toddler group predicted upcoming noun arguments in both their dominant and non-dominant languages, but were faster in their dominant language. This finding highlights the importance of language dominance for predictive processing. There was no significant relationship between predictive ability and expressive vocabulary in either language.

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• Theimann, Ane; Köder, Franziska Maria; Norvik, Monica Irene; Mani, Nivedita & Ronderos, Camilo Rodriguez (2024). Exploring the Relationship Between Semantic and Action Prediction in Toddlers. Full text in Research Archive
• Theimann, Ane; Köder, Franziska Maria; Norvik, Monica Irene; Ronderos, Camillo Rodriguez & Mani, Nivedita (2024). Investigating a potential link between semantic prediction and action prediction. Full text in Research Archive
• Theimann, Ane; Köder, Franziska Maria; Norvik, Monica I. & Ronderos, Camilo Rodriguez (2023). Linguistic and non-linguistic prediction in toddlers: an ongoing eye-tracking study. Full text in Research Archive
• Kartushina, Natalia; Onnis, Luca; Rosslund, Audun; Singh, Arun Prakash; White, Michelle Jennifer & Theimann, Ane [Show all 14 contributors for this article] (2023). Babies and kids - how do they acquire and learn multiple lects? Full text in Research Archive
• Ribu, Ingeborg Sophie; Goral, Mira; Theimann, Ane; Iacorossi, Michela; Lehtonen, Minna & Norvik, Monica I. [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2022). Eye-tracking Measures of Prediction in L1 and L2 in Bilingual People with and without Aphasia. Full text in Research Archive
• Ribu, Ingeborg Sophie; Theimann, Ane Ylje Opedal; Kuzmina, Ekaterina; Goral, Mira; Iacorossi, Michela & Lehtonen, Minna [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2021). Predictive ability in bilingual speakers with and without aphasia. Full text in Research Archive
• Fyndanis, Valantis; Cameron, S.; Caplan, D.; Davril, C.; Kaldhol, Nina Hagen & Knoph, Monica I. K. [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2018). The impact of successive bi-/multilingualism on the cognitive abilities of healthy older speakers: Evidence from Norwegian academics. Full text in Research Archive

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