Predictors of processing-based task performance in bilingual and monolingual children (original) (raw)
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Verbal working memory in bilingual children
Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR, 2004
The present study compared the performance of 44 Latino children on the Competing Language Processing Task (CLPT; C. Gaulin and T. Campbell, 1994) and the Dual Processing Comprehension Task (DPCT; S. Ellis Weismer, 1996). First, it was of interest to know if there were significant differences between children with and without bilingual proficiency on processing tasks that were assumed to require limited vocabulary knowledge. The second goal of this research was to determine whether there were cross-linguistic differences in verbal working memory by examining performance within bilinguals and between children with limited proficiency in a second language. The performance of the participating children was also examined in the context of research with other English-speaking groups. Finally, given that the CLPT and the DPCT may differ in their processing demands (from a relative focus on storage to one of attention inhibition or resistance to interference), it was important to know the ...
Working memory in multilingual children: Is there a bilingual effect?
Memory, 2011
This research investigates whether early childhood bilingualism affects working memory performance in 6- to 8-year-olds, followed over a longitudinal period of three years. The study tests the hypothesis that bilinguals might exhibit more efficient working memory abilities than monolinguals, potentially via the opportunity a bilingual environment provides to train cognitive control by combating interference and intrusions from the non-target language. Forty-four bilingual and monolingual children, matched on age, sex, and socioeconomic status, completed assessments of working memory (simple span and complex span tasks), fluid intelligence, and language (vocabulary and syntax). The data showed that the monolinguals performed significantly better on the language measures across the years whereas no language group effect emerged on the working memory and fluid intelligence tasks after verbal abilities were considered. The study suggests that the need to manage several language systems in the bilingual mind affects children’s language skills whilst having little impact on the development of working memory abilities.
The Performance of Bilingual and Monolingual Children on Working Memory Tasks
Iranian Rehabilitation Journal, 2015
Objectives: The purpose of this research was to explore the possible differences in the working memory of monolingual (Persian) and bilingual (Persian-Baluchi) children. We wanted to examine if there is a statistically significant relationship between working memory and bilingualism. Methods: Four working memory (WM) tests, assessing three WM components, were administered to 140 second grade school students, of whom 70 were monolinguals (35 girls and 35 boys) and 70 were bilinguals (35 girls and 35 boys). The tests used are the following: Forward Digit Span Test, Backward Digit Span Test, Non Word Repetition Test, Maze Memory Test. The results of the two groups were analyzed with multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, aiming to find out any differences in the working memory function of bilingual and monolingual children, and to determine which group has an advantage. Results: The multi-group confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure various WM factors across the two langua...
Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 2012
PURPOSE: This study explored the impact of test language and cultural status on vocabulary and working memory performance in multilingual language minority children. METHOD: Twenty 7-year-old Portuguese-speaking immigrant children living in Luxembourg completed several assessments of first- and second-language vocabulary (comprehension and production), executive-loaded working memory (counting recall and backward digit recall), and verbal short-term memory (digit recall and nonword repetition). Cross-linguistic task performance was compared within individuals. The language minority children were also compared with multilingual language majority children from Luxembourg and Portuguese-speaking monolinguals from Brazil without an immigrant background matched on age, sex, socioeconomic status, and nonverbal reasoning. RESULTS: Results showed that (a) verbal working memory measures involving numerical memoranda were relatively independent of test language and cultural status; (b) language status had an impact on the repetition of high- but not on low-wordlike L2 nonwords; (c) large cross-linguistic and cross-cultural effects emerged for productive vocabulary; (d) cross-cultural effects were less pronounced for vocabulary comprehension with no differences between groups if only L1-words relevant to the home context were considered. CONCLUSION: The study indicates that linguistic and cognitive assessments for language minority children require careful choice among measures to ensure valid results. Implications for testing culturally and linguistically diverse children are discussed.
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 2013
Purpose In this study, the authors explored the impact of test language and cultural status on vocabulary and working memory performance in multilingual language-minority children. Method Twenty 7-year-old Portuguese-speaking immigrant children living in Luxembourg completed several assessments of first (L1)- and second-language (L2) vocabulary (comprehension and production), executive-loaded working memory (counting recall and backward digit recall), and verbal short-term memory (digit recall and nonword repetition). Cross-linguistic task performance was compared within individuals. The language-minority children were also compared with multilingual language-majority children from Luxembourg and Portuguese-speaking monolinguals from Brazil without an immigrant background matched on age, sex, socioeconomic status, and nonverbal reasoning. Results Results showed that (a) verbal working memory measures involving numerical memoranda were relatively independent of test language and cult...
Effects of proficiency and age of language acquisition on working memory performance in bilinguals
Psihologija, 2010
This study examined language proficiency and age of language acquisition influences on working memory performance in bilinguals. Bilingual subjects were administered reading span task in parallel versions for their first and second language. In Experiment 1, language proficiency effect was tested by examination of low and highly proficient second language speakers. In Experiment 2, age of language acquisition was examined by comparing the performance of proficient second language speakers who acquired second language either early or later in their lives. Both proficiency and age of language acquisition were found to affect bilingual working memory performance, and the proficiency effect was observed even at very high levels of language competence. The results support the notion of working memory as a domain that is influenced both by a general pool of resources and certain domain specific factors.
The relationship between bilingualism and working memory: a review
Revista do GELNE, 2017
ABSTRACT: This paper presents a review of the literature aimed at exploring the main findings regarding studies on the issue of bilingualism and working memory. It is organized with an initial discussion on the construct of working memory and its development through time, followed by the topic of bilingualism, with general evidence of its advantages and disadvantages to the cognitive system, and finally the examination of current pieces of research addressing working memory in bilingual children and adults. The objective is to illustrate what contributions research has shown so far and what future directions might be.Keywords: bilingualism; working memory; cognition. RESUMO: Este artigo apresenta uma revisão de literatura com o intuito de explorar as descobertas mais relevantes acerca de estudos sobre bilinguismo e memória de trabalho. Inicialmente, discute-se o construto memória de trabalho e como o mesmo tem evoluído enquanto objeto de pesquisa. Na sequência, apresenta-se a qu...
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 2020
The present study aims to shed light on the relationship of working memory and executive functioning in bilingual elementary school children when compared with monolingual population of the same age. The investigation of the relationship between working memory and language learning abilities of children, who are bilingual, is particularly important as it plays a key role in understanding the literacy and language competence of bilingual populations. The purpose of this study was to examine Verbal Working Memory and Executive Functions in 20 bilingual elementary school students who were compared to 20 monolingual school-age students in different cognitive tasks. The research results showed that bilingual students did not appear to perform better in Working Memory compared to the performance of monolingual students of the same age. Correspondingly, bilingual students performed better in the task of inhibitory control and cognitive change. The findings of the present study reinforce the hypothesis that when learning a language, be it the mother tongue or the foreign /second language, the working memory does not correlate to all executive functions but forms a separate cognitive function. The implications of bilingual learning strategies in multicultural class settings are discussed as a pedagogical memory frame that can empower academic achievement while acknowledging the importance of acquiring standardized language skills by promoting a variety of memory strategies.
Bilingualism and working memory capacity: A comprehensive meta-analysis
Bilinguals often outperform monolinguals on executive function tasks, including tasks that tap cognitive flexibility, conflict monitoring, and task-switching abilities. Some have suggested that bilinguals also have greater working memory capacity than comparable monolinguals, but evidence for this suggestion is mixed. We therefore conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis on the effects of bilingualism on working memory capacity. Results from 88 effect sizes, 27 independent studies, and 2,901 participants revealed a significant small to medium population effect size of 0.20 in favor of greater working memory capacity for bilinguals than monolinguals. This suggests that experience managing two languages that compete for selection results in greater working memory capacity over time. Moderator analyses revealed that largest effects were observed in children than other age groups. Furthermore, whether the task was performed in the first (L1) or second (L2) language for bilinguals moderated the effect size of the bilingual advantage; this factor is often overlooked and our results point to the importance of defining language variables that influence critical cognitive outcomes.
Journal of Communication Disorders, 2008
The identification of Specific Language Impairment (SLI) continues to be a challenge for clinicians, even in older children, (e.g., Nation, Clarke, Marshall, & Durand, 2004; Spaulding, Plante, & Farinella, 2006). Many children's language impairments still go undiagnosed and, instead, intervention often focuses on poor academic achievement and reading disabilities, which are more readily identified. Thus, a need remains for further examination of measures that can reliably identify SLI in school-aged children. Specific Language Impairment in Spanish-Speaking Children The number of undetected children with SLI who speak languages other than English might be larger, even with recent attempts to improve the accuracy of this diagnosis (e.g., Crespo-Eguilaz & Narbona, 2003). There are relatively few Spanish language assessment tools, despite the significant number of Spanish speakers in USA and worldwide (with more speakers than English). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the official resident Hispanic population in the United States was more than 42 million in July of 2005, with a projection of continuous growth. New York City had the largest Hispanic population in 2000 with more than two million people ("Hispanic Population", 2005). In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the Hispanic population had surpassed African Americans to become the nation's largest minority group; it was also the largest foreign born group (which is formed by the non U.S. citizens at birth) (Larsen, 2004; Suro, 2005). This population has greater incidence of poverty and less education than the national average (Suro, 2005). Socioeconomic Status (SES) can have negative effects on language acquisition (e.g., Schuele, 2001). If language acquisition is negatively affected by low SES, the deficits associated with SLI may be amplified. There are several approaches to bilingual instruction employed in the United States, which are usually applied only to a limited number of grades. One of the more common approaches, the dual language program, groups native speakers of English with native speakers of the target language (e.g., Spanish). Students receive 50% of their instruction in English and 50% in Spanish in integrated classrooms, with half of the children coming from Spanish-dominant homes. Instruction is provided in English and in Spanish on alternate days, according to academic subjects, or split into half days (e.g., English in the morning and Spanish in the afternoon). The goal is that students will be able to speak, understand, read, and write in both