A Bilingual Advantage? An Appeal for a Change in Perspective and Recommendations for Future Research, 2019
The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy... more The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy the research community. There is an ever-growing research body focusing on adjudicating whether there is, in fact, an effect of using two or more languages regularly on cognition. In this paper, we briefly review some of the more pertinent literature that has attempted to identify attenuating, modulating, and confounding factors in research comparing monolingual and bilingual populations, and we highlight issues that should be taken into account in future research to move forward as a research community. At the same time, we argue for a change in perspective concerning what is deemed an advantage and what is not and argue for more ecologically valid research that investigates real-life advantages.
Given the increased influx of migrants into the European Union, the German education system is fa... more Given the increased influx of migrants into the European Union, the German education system is faced with catering to increasing numbers of migrant children who have already acquired a first language or multiple languages in their home countries. Helping these children successfully develop language and literacy skills in the new majority language, German, and in the first foreign language taught at German schools, English, will be an important challenge, as will the support of these children's heritage languages. Ultimately, assisting these children in successfully becoming multilingual would substantially benefit the development of their executive control and in turn boost their chances of long-term academic success.
The sustained use of two languages by bilinguals has been shown to induce broad changes in langua... more The sustained use of two languages by bilinguals has been shown to induce broad changes in language and cognitive abilities across the lifespan. The largest changes are seen as advantages in executive control, a set of processes responsible for controlled attention, inhibition, and shifting. Moreover, there is evidence that these executive control advantages mitigate cognitive decline in older age and contribute to cognitive reserve. In this paper, we examine some of the evidence for these findings and explain their relation to bilingual language use. These effects are considered in terms of their implications for our understanding of cognitive and brain plasticity. Some implications for social policy are discussed.
Because both languages of bilinguals are constantly active, bilinguals need to manage attention t... more Because both languages of bilinguals are constantly active, bilinguals need to manage attention to the target language and avoid interference from the non-target language. This process is likely carried out by recruiting the executive function (EF) system, a system that is also the basis for multitasking. In previous research, bilinguals have been shown to outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring EF, suggesting that the practice using EF for language management benefits performance in other tasks as well. The present study examined 203 children, 8-11 years old, who were monolingual, partially bilingual, bilingual, or trilingual performing a flanker task. Two results support the interpretation that bilingualism is related to multitasking. First, bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on the conflict trials in the flanker task, confirming previous results for a bilingual advantage in EF. Second, the inclusion of partial bilinguals and trilinguals set limits on the role of experience: partial bilingual performed similarly to monolinguals and trilinguals performed similarly to bilinguals, suggesting that degrees of experience are not well-calibrated to improvements in EF. Our conclusion is that the involvement of EF in bilingual language processing makes bilingualism a form of linguistic multitasking.
In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and tr... more In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and trilinguals that differed in nonnative language proficiency and language learning background. German 5-to 8-year-old second-language learners of English, German-English bilinguals, German-English-Language X trilinguals, and 6-to 8-year-old German monolinguals performed the Simon task and the Attentional Networks Task (ANT). Language proficiencies and socioeconomic status were controlled. We found that the Simon effect advantage, reported in earlier research for bilingual children and adults over monolinguals, differed across groups, with bilinguals and trilinguals showing enhanced conflict resolution over monolinguals and marginally so over second-language learners. In the ANT, bilinguals and trilinguals displayed enhanced conflict resolution over second-language learners. This extends earlier research to child second-language learners and trilinguals, who were in the process of becoming proficient in an additional language, while corroborating earlier findings demonstrating enhanced executive control in bilinguals assumed to be caused by continuous inhibitory control processes necessary in competition resolution between two (or possibly more) languages. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children, both for early second-language learners and for early bilinguals and trilinguals.
In five experiments, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in various gr... more In five experiments, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in various groups of bilinguals and trilinguals who differed in nonnative language proficiency, language learning background, and age. In Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5, German 5-to 8-year-old second the German monolinguals (Experiment 4) and, critically, the child second language learners (Experiment 1) in whom only native language (L1) German had an effect on second language (L2) English. The findings demonstrate how the integration of languages into a child's system follows a developmental path that, at lower levels of proficiency, allows only limited cross-language activation. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children both for early second language learners and for early bi-and trilinguals.
In a picture naming study, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in thre... more In a picture naming study, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in three groups of trilinguals: L3-immersed German-English-Dutch, non-L3-immersed Dutch-English-German, and L3-immersed Russian-English-German trilinguals. All trilinguals named pictures with cognate and non-cognate names in their L2 and their L3. Specifically, we examined cognate effects in same-script trilinguals who were either immersed or not immersed in their L3 and trilinguals whose first language (Russian) differs in script from their other two languages (German, English) to address the questions (1) whether, as non-target language knowledge is co-activated, cognate effects accrue across languages during word production, and (2) whether immersion in L3 is a modulating factor in cross-language activation. We found cognate facilitation in the same-script trilinguals across all languages, although with patterns modulated by the trilinguals' L3-immersion status and L3 proficiency, corroborating and extending earlier findings in bilingual adults and children. Critically, we also found cognate effects in the different-script trilinguals when the pictures had cognate names in all three languages, indicating that the L1 Russian phonology was activated during naming in L2 English when L3 German was also present, and vice versa.
The self-regulation of learning behavior is an important key competence for university students. ... more The self-regulation of learning behavior is an important key competence for university students. In this presented study, we aimed at fostering students' self-regulation of learning by means of a standardized learning journal. In two of four courses that were included in the study, students had to keep a structured learning diary and/or received further intervention on self-regulated learning through a weekly course. Students who received these interventions were compared to students who received no treatment whatsoever in their self-regulation and learning achievement. The study reports pre-post measures as well as process analyses. Results revealed that keeping a structured learning diary without any further intervention did not improve students' self-regulation. Those students who only kept learning diaries even showed a decrease in their motivation. Students who kept the learning diary and at the same time received further information on self-regulation showed increases in their strategy use and their self-efficacy. However, no improvements were found for students' academic performance. It can be concluded that in order for students to profit in Eur J Psychol Educ
A Bilingual Advantage? An Appeal for a Change in Perspective and Recommendations for Future Research, 2019
The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy... more The debate on possible cognitive advantages bilinguals have over monolinguals continues to occupy the research community. There is an ever-growing research body focusing on adjudicating whether there is, in fact, an effect of using two or more languages regularly on cognition. In this paper, we briefly review some of the more pertinent literature that has attempted to identify attenuating, modulating, and confounding factors in research comparing monolingual and bilingual populations, and we highlight issues that should be taken into account in future research to move forward as a research community. At the same time, we argue for a change in perspective concerning what is deemed an advantage and what is not and argue for more ecologically valid research that investigates real-life advantages.
Given the increased influx of migrants into the European Union, the German education system is fa... more Given the increased influx of migrants into the European Union, the German education system is faced with catering to increasing numbers of migrant children who have already acquired a first language or multiple languages in their home countries. Helping these children successfully develop language and literacy skills in the new majority language, German, and in the first foreign language taught at German schools, English, will be an important challenge, as will the support of these children's heritage languages. Ultimately, assisting these children in successfully becoming multilingual would substantially benefit the development of their executive control and in turn boost their chances of long-term academic success.
The sustained use of two languages by bilinguals has been shown to induce broad changes in langua... more The sustained use of two languages by bilinguals has been shown to induce broad changes in language and cognitive abilities across the lifespan. The largest changes are seen as advantages in executive control, a set of processes responsible for controlled attention, inhibition, and shifting. Moreover, there is evidence that these executive control advantages mitigate cognitive decline in older age and contribute to cognitive reserve. In this paper, we examine some of the evidence for these findings and explain their relation to bilingual language use. These effects are considered in terms of their implications for our understanding of cognitive and brain plasticity. Some implications for social policy are discussed.
Because both languages of bilinguals are constantly active, bilinguals need to manage attention t... more Because both languages of bilinguals are constantly active, bilinguals need to manage attention to the target language and avoid interference from the non-target language. This process is likely carried out by recruiting the executive function (EF) system, a system that is also the basis for multitasking. In previous research, bilinguals have been shown to outperform monolinguals on tasks requiring EF, suggesting that the practice using EF for language management benefits performance in other tasks as well. The present study examined 203 children, 8-11 years old, who were monolingual, partially bilingual, bilingual, or trilingual performing a flanker task. Two results support the interpretation that bilingualism is related to multitasking. First, bilingual children outperformed monolinguals on the conflict trials in the flanker task, confirming previous results for a bilingual advantage in EF. Second, the inclusion of partial bilinguals and trilinguals set limits on the role of experience: partial bilingual performed similarly to monolinguals and trilinguals performed similarly to bilinguals, suggesting that degrees of experience are not well-calibrated to improvements in EF. Our conclusion is that the involvement of EF in bilingual language processing makes bilingualism a form of linguistic multitasking.
In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and tr... more In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and trilinguals that differed in nonnative language proficiency and language learning background. German 5-to 8-year-old second-language learners of English, German-English bilinguals, German-English-Language X trilinguals, and 6-to 8-year-old German monolinguals performed the Simon task and the Attentional Networks Task (ANT). Language proficiencies and socioeconomic status were controlled. We found that the Simon effect advantage, reported in earlier research for bilingual children and adults over monolinguals, differed across groups, with bilinguals and trilinguals showing enhanced conflict resolution over monolinguals and marginally so over second-language learners. In the ANT, bilinguals and trilinguals displayed enhanced conflict resolution over second-language learners. This extends earlier research to child second-language learners and trilinguals, who were in the process of becoming proficient in an additional language, while corroborating earlier findings demonstrating enhanced executive control in bilinguals assumed to be caused by continuous inhibitory control processes necessary in competition resolution between two (or possibly more) languages. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children, both for early second-language learners and for early bilinguals and trilinguals.
In five experiments, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in various gr... more In five experiments, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in various groups of bilinguals and trilinguals who differed in nonnative language proficiency, language learning background, and age. In Experiments 1, 2, 3, and 5, German 5-to 8-year-old second the German monolinguals (Experiment 4) and, critically, the child second language learners (Experiment 1) in whom only native language (L1) German had an effect on second language (L2) English. The findings demonstrate how the integration of languages into a child's system follows a developmental path that, at lower levels of proficiency, allows only limited cross-language activation. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children both for early second language learners and for early bi-and trilinguals.
In a picture naming study, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in thre... more In a picture naming study, we examined cross-language activation during speech production in three groups of trilinguals: L3-immersed German-English-Dutch, non-L3-immersed Dutch-English-German, and L3-immersed Russian-English-German trilinguals. All trilinguals named pictures with cognate and non-cognate names in their L2 and their L3. Specifically, we examined cognate effects in same-script trilinguals who were either immersed or not immersed in their L3 and trilinguals whose first language (Russian) differs in script from their other two languages (German, English) to address the questions (1) whether, as non-target language knowledge is co-activated, cognate effects accrue across languages during word production, and (2) whether immersion in L3 is a modulating factor in cross-language activation. We found cognate facilitation in the same-script trilinguals across all languages, although with patterns modulated by the trilinguals' L3-immersion status and L3 proficiency, corroborating and extending earlier findings in bilingual adults and children. Critically, we also found cognate effects in the different-script trilinguals when the pictures had cognate names in all three languages, indicating that the L1 Russian phonology was activated during naming in L2 English when L3 German was also present, and vice versa.
The self-regulation of learning behavior is an important key competence for university students. ... more The self-regulation of learning behavior is an important key competence for university students. In this presented study, we aimed at fostering students' self-regulation of learning by means of a standardized learning journal. In two of four courses that were included in the study, students had to keep a structured learning diary and/or received further intervention on self-regulated learning through a weekly course. Students who received these interventions were compared to students who received no treatment whatsoever in their self-regulation and learning achievement. The study reports pre-post measures as well as process analyses. Results revealed that keeping a structured learning diary without any further intervention did not improve students' self-regulation. Those students who only kept learning diaries even showed a decrease in their motivation. Students who kept the learning diary and at the same time received further information on self-regulation showed increases in their strategy use and their self-efficacy. However, no improvements were found for students' academic performance. It can be concluded that in order for students to profit in Eur J Psychol Educ
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