What Influences Executive Function Skills in Bilingual Children and Do Those Influences Create a Bilingual Advantage? Evidence from Longitudinal Data

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Attention, Learning, Memory

Abstract

The question of whether bilingualism enhances executive function (EF) skills is hotly debated. Several studies have found that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals on tasks that measure inhibition and other components of executive function. However, many studies have failed to replicate this finding and conclude there are no group-related differences. Bilinguals are a heterogeneous population, and one possible reason for the mixed results is that only some bilinguals have the kind of bilingual skills or bilingual experiences that confer an advantage in executive functioning. The aims of the current study were (1) to test competing hypotheses regarding the relation to inhibitory control of several bilingual experiences and skills that have been proposed as the basis for a bilingual advantage in executive functions, and (2) to examine whether children who possess the experiences or skills that are positive predictors of inhibitory control among bilinguals enjoy an advantage in inhibitory control relative to monolinguals. Five preregistered hypotheses and one exploratory hypothesis regarding the basis of a bilingual advantage in executive function were tested. In this longitudinal study, 102 Spanish-English bilingual children and 25 English monolingual children were administered a test of inhibitory control, the flanker task, at 7, 8 and 9 years. Measures of the children’s early and concurrent bilingual exposure and their concurrent English and Spanish skill were available from the larger longitudinal study in which these children participated. A series of multilevel models was conducted to individually examine the association between the predictors and inhibitory control. Tests of the preregistered hypotheses yielded null findings: Early exposure to mixed input, degree of balanced exposure in early dual language exposure, degree of balance in concurrent exposure, degree of bilingualism, and total language skill were not associated with the children’s inhibitory control (all ps> .05). The test of an exploratory hypothesis revealed that (1) among these Spanish-English bilingual children, English vocabulary score was a positive predictor of inhibitory control, (2) bilinguals with high levels of English vocabulary enjoyed a marginal advantage in inhibitory control compared to monolinguals (p = .055), and (3) English vocabulary was unrelated to inhibitory control among monolinguals. We propose that English development is a distinct and more challenging task for children with dual language exposure than it is for monolingual children, and bilinguals who excel at this task may enjoy enhanced executive functioning.

Authors

• David Giguere, California State University - Sacramento
  Presenting Author

• Daniel Joseph Dickson
  Non-Presenting Author

• Michelle K. Tulloch, Florida Atlantic University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Erika Hoff, Florida Atlantic University
  Non-Presenting Author