Cross-language associative priming is influenced by language proficiency and executive control.

2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 264-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna C. Friesen ◽  
Corinne A. Haigh
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Associative Priming ◽  
Cross Language

scholarly journals The impact of individual differences on cross-language activation of meaning by phonology

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 323-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deanna C. Friesen ◽  
Veronica Whitford ◽  
Debra Titone ◽  
Debra Jared
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
English Word ◽  
Word Knowledge ◽  
Language Activation ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Target Words

We investigated how individual differences in language proficiency and executive control impact cross-language meaning activation through phonology. Ninety-six university students read English sentences that contained French target words. Target words were high- and low-frequency French interlingual homophones (i.e., words that share pronunciation, but not meaning across langauges; mot means ‘word’ in French and sounds like ‘mow’ in English) and matched French control words (e.g., mois – ‘month’ in French). Readers could use the homophones’ shared phonology to activate their English meanings and, ultimately, make sense of the sentence (e.g., Tony was too lazy to mot/mois the grass on Sunday). Shorter reading times were observed on interlingual homophones than control words, suggesting that phonological representations in one language activate cross-language semantic representations. Importantly, the magnitude of the effect was modulated by word frequency, and several participant-level characteristics, including French proficiency, English word knowledge, and executive control ability.

scholarly journals Language control abilities of late bilinguals

2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 580-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
JULIA FESTMAN
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
The Other ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Late Bilinguals

Although all bilinguals encounter cross-language interference (CLI), some bilinguals are more susceptible to interference than others. Here, we report on language performance of late bilinguals (Russian/German) on two bilingual tasks (interview, verbal fluency), their language use and switching habits. The only between-group difference was CLI: one group consistently produced significantly more errors of CLI on both tasks than the other (thereby replicating our findings from a bilingual picture naming task). This striking group difference in language control ability can only be explained by differences in cognitive control, not in language proficiency or language mode.

scholarly journals Latent variable evidence on the interplay between language switching frequency and executive control in Spanish-Catalan bilinguals

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 912-930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor A. Sanchez-Azanza ◽  
Raúl López-Penadés ◽  
Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla ◽  
Daniel Adrover-Roig
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Natural Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
Switching Frequency ◽  
Language Switching ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
The Impact

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: We characterized the impact of several bilingualism-related factors on the executive control of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals. Design/methodology/approach: Participants self-reported information regarding their age of acquisition, second language proficiency and frequency of natural language switching, and performed non-linguistic tasks tapping into specific executive control subcomponents, including inhibition, switching and updating. Data and analysis: Data were analyzed by means of a structural equation model (SEM) approach. Findings/conclusions: Results revealed that the frequency of natural language switching positively modulated the executive control performance of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals, while neither age of acquisition nor second language proficiency had an effect. Moreover, we found that the impact of natural language switching exerted general-processing influences, affecting all subcomponents of executive control. Findings are discussed in relation to context-specific effects on the cognitive system of a particular bilingual population. Originality: The current study applied an SEM approach to provide new evidence on the previously ambiguous relation between bilingualism-related factors and executive control. Significance/implications: Our findings suggest that the frequency of natural language switching does globally influence the executive control of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals.

Language proficiency and executive control in bilingual children

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 884-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
PERI ILUZ-COHEN ◽  
SHARON ARMON-LOTEM
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Standardized Assessment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Assessment Instruments ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Lower Performance

The relation between language proficiency and executive functions has been established for monolingual children. The present study addresses this issue in bilingual children, comparing the language proficiency of sequential English–Hebrew bilingual preschool children as determined by standardized assessment instruments and generic executive control in inhibition, sorting and shifting tasks. Participants were recruited from regular and language preschools and classified according to their language proficiency as bilinguals with high language proficiency in at least one of their languages (including balanced bilinguals with high language proficiency in both languages, L2-dominant, and L1-dominant) and bilinguals showing low language proficiency in both languages. As reported for monolingual preschool children, positive relationships between language proficiency and inhibition and shifting abilities were found, with significantly lower performance among low language proficiency bilinguals. Significantly better performance was also found for shifting among children who had already mastered their L2 compared to those who were still in the process of acquiring the new language.

scholarly journals The effect of childhood multilingualism and bilectalism on implicature understanding

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 787-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
KYRIAKOS ANTONIOU ◽  
NAPOLEON KATSOS
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Regression Analyses ◽  
Modern Greek ◽  
Comparable Level ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Do So

ABSTRACTThe present study compares the performance of multilingual children speaking Cypriot Greek, Standard Modern Greek, and English (and sometimes an additional language), bilectal children speakers of Cypriot Greek and Standard Modern Greek, and Standard Modern Greek-speaking monolingual children on a task that measures the comprehension of different types of implicature. Despite lower scores in language ability in the target language, multilingual and bilectal children performed at rates comparable to the monolinguals with implicature. Regression analyses indicated a positive correlation between implicature, language proficiency, and age (but not executive control), albeit language ability did not affect implicature within multilinguals. We suggest an interpretation according to which multilingual, bilectal, and monolingual children maintain a comparable level of implicature understanding, but they do so by relying on different resources. Finally, a principal component analysis on different implicature types revealed a single factor of implicature performance. This outcome has implications for pragmatic theory.

scholarly journals The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency

2009 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNA F. SCHEELE ◽  
PAUL P. M. LESEMAN ◽  
AZIZA Y. MAYO
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Home Language ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Strong Impact ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
Dutch Children

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the relationships between home language learning activities and vocabulary in a sample of monolingual native Dutch (n= 58) and bilingual immigrant Moroccan–Dutch (n= 46) and Turkish–Dutch (n= 55) 3-year-olds, speaking Tarifit-Berber, a nonscripted language, and Turkish as their first language (L1), respectively. Despite equal domain general cognitive abilities, Dutch children scored higher than the bilingual children on a L1 vocabulary test, and Moroccan–Dutch children had higher second language (L2) vocabulary skills compared to Turkish–Dutch children. Multigroup analyses revealed strong impact on both L1 and L2 skills of language specific input in literate and oral activities. Finally, indications were found of positive cross-language transfer from L1 to L2 as well as competition between L1 and L2 input.

scholarly journals The construct of language proficiency in the study of bilingualism from a cognitive perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAN H. HULSTIJN
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Cognitive Perspective ◽  
Comparison Groups ◽  
Language And Cognition ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
The Way

This article aims at revitalizing the debate concerning the measurement of language proficiency (LP) in the study of bilingualism (Grosjean, 1998). A review is presented of the way in which LP was measured in a corpus of 140 empirical papers published in volumes 1–14 (1998–2011) of the journalBilingualism: Language and Cognition. In 55% of these papers, in which the assessment of LP as an independent or moderating variable was a necessary or preferred requirement, LP was not measured with an objective LP test. Seldom were participants’ LP scores used in explaining variance obtained in the dependent variable(s). After the discussion of some unresolved problems concerning cross-language comparisons of LP in bilinguals’ languages, recommendations are offered for the measurement of LP. One of the recommendations is that, in studies investigating between-group contrasts, researchers carefully consider the assessment of participants’ proficiency in the language(s) concerned, even in native-speaker comparison groups.

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