Effects of language experience, use, and cognitive functioning on bilingual word production and comprehension

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 666-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlyn A. Litcofsky ◽  
Darren Tanner ◽  
Janet G. van Hell
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
The Impact

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Considerable research has investigated how bilinguals produce and comprehend words, focusing mainly on how bilinguals are able to select words from the appropriate language. Less research, however, has investigated whether production and comprehension involve the same underlying mechanisms. The present study explores this issue by examining whether production and comprehension, in the first language (L1) and second language (L2), are similarly influenced by factors relating to language experience, language use, and cognitive functioning. Design/methodology/approach Spanish-English bilinguals living in an English-speaking environment completed a picture naming task and a lexical decision task in their L1 and L2. In addition, participants completed the Operation Span task testing working memory and the Flanker task testing inhibitory control, and completed a language history questionnaire probing their language experience, relative proficiency, and codeswitching behavior. Data and analysis: Performance on all tasks was submitted to correlation analyses and the impact of individual difference measures on word production and comprehension was assessed via regression analyses. Findings/conclusions: Results showed that (1) production and comprehension were more closely linked in L1 than in L2; (2) production in L1 and L2 was predicted by language proficiency; and (3) comprehension in L1 and L2 was predicted by working memory. Originality: This is the first study to compare lexical processing in production and comprehension in both L1 and L2 and how these processes are influenced by language experience, use, and cognitive factors. Significance/implications: Word production and comprehension appear to be more tightly linked in L1 than L2, but seem to rely on different processing mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Daily Rapid-Eye Movement Sleep and Cognitive Functioning in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 159-159
Author(s):  
Tiana Broen ◽  
Tomiko Yoneda ◽  
Jonathan Rush ◽  
Jamie Knight ◽  
Nathan Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Cognitive Tests ◽  
Rapid Eye Movement ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Previous cross-sectional research suggests that age-related decreases in Rapid-Eye Movement (REM) sleep may contribute to poorer cognitive functioning (CF); however, few studies have examined the relationship at the intraindividual level by measuring habitual sleep over multiple days. Applying a 14-day daily diary design, the current study examines the dynamic relationship between REM sleep and CF in 69 healthy older adults (M age=70.8 years, SD=3.37; 73.9% female; 66.6% completed at least an undergraduate degree). A Fitbit device provided actigraphy indices of REM sleep (minutes and percentage of total sleep time), while CF was measured four times daily on a smartphone via ambulatory cognitive tests that captured processing speed and working memory. This research addressed the following questions: At the within-person level, are fluctuations in quantity of REM sleep associated with fluctuations in next day cognitive measures across days? Do individuals who spend more time in REM sleep on average, perform better on cognitive tests than adults who spend less time in REM sleep? A series of multilevel models were fit to examine the extent to which each index of sleep accounted for daily fluctuations in performance on next day cognitive tests. Results indicated that during nights when individuals had more REM sleep minutes than was typical, they performed better on the working memory task the next morning (estimate = -.003, SE = .002, p = .02). These results highlight the impact of REM sleep on CF, and further research may allow for targeted interventions for earlier treatment of sleep-related cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Am I truly monolingual? The importance of understanding linguistic experiences in monolinguals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sofía Castro ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka ◽  
Kalinka Timmer
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Monolingualism has typically been understood as a homogeneous phenomenon. The linguistic experiences of monolinguals are usually overlooked when analysing the impact of foreign language experiences on language processing and cognitive functioning. In this study, we analyse the linguistic experiences of 962 English-speaking individuals from the United Kingdom (UK) who identified as monolinguals. Through an online survey, we found that more than 80% of these monolinguals had in fact learned at least one foreign language, dialect, or type of jargon. More than half of this 80% of monolinguals also used languages they had learned at some point in their lives. Moreover, nearly 40% of all the studied monolinguals confirmed that they had been exposed to foreign languages or dialects in their environment; approximately a fourth of these monolinguals who declared exposure to at least one foreign language (or dialect) confirmed that they also used these languages. Furthermore, activities that involved passive use of languages (e.g., watching TV) were occasionally carried out in foreign languages: around 26% of these monolinguals confirmed the passive use of more than one language. Lastly, around 58% of them who had visited one or more non-English-speaking countries declared the active use of foreign languages during their stay(s). These results suggest that the linguistic experiences of monolinguals from the UK often include exposure to and use of foreign languages. Moreover, these results show the need to consider the specificity of the monolingual language experience when analysing the impact of foreign languages on cognitive functioning, as differences in the language experiences of bilinguals also have divergent impacts on cognition. Lastly, monolingual experiences are different from bilingual experiences; therefore, questionnaires that target the particular linguistic experiences of monolinguals should be developed.

scholarly journals Indonesian EFL students’ views on their explicit and implicit language aptitude profiles, TOEFL scores and language proficiency.

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-280
Author(s):  
Kartini Tobroni ◽  
Farah Natchiar ◽  
Wan Mazlini
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Factors ◽  
Individual Factors ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Language Aptitude ◽  
Affective Factors ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

This study is designed to find out students’ views on their explicit and implicit language aptitude profiles, TOEFL scores and language proficiency. Based on purposive sampling scheme, the data were collected from sixty-five students in the end of their eighth semester at the English department in faculty of teacher training in UIN Raden Fatah Palembang. The students were asked to respond to the five points Likert scale questionnaire which consists of four parts: Part A elicits the participants’ demographic information, Part B on language experience, Part C on language aptitude, and Part D especially on TOEFL and language proficiency.  The findings revealed that language learning success is attributed to a number of individual factors. The individual factors related to foreign language learning can be divided into affective factors (e.g., motivation, attitude, and personality) and cognitive factors (e.g., intelligence, aptitude). The cognitive factors interact with affective factors for learning a particular language which may explain why a person is better able to learn a language over another language. Thus, a full model of language learning that considers the impact of language aptitude on learning should also investigate the combined mediating role of individual differences such as motivation, anxiety, and learner’s beliefs.

scholarly journals Does Late-Life Depression Counteract the Beneficial Effect of Physical Activity on Cognitive Decline? Results From the NESDO Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872110026
Author(s):  
Marieke Henstra ◽  
Erik Giltay ◽  
Roos van der Mast ◽  
Nathalie van der Velde ◽  
Didi Rhebergen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Older Age ◽  
Late Life Depression ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: Depression both affects physical activity (PA) and cognition in older persons, yet its impact on the association between PA and cognitive decline is to be determined. We aimed to investigate the association between baseline PA and cognitive functioning over time, stratified for depression. Methods: We used data of the Netherlands Study of Depression in Older persons (NESDO), a multi-site cohort study with 6-years follow-up. Patients with complete data on PA and cognitive functioning at baseline were included, yielding 394 participants for the analyses of whom 297 were depressed and 97 non-depressed. PA (continuous) was measured with the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Linear mixed models were used to determine differential effects of baseline PA on the rate of decline of 5 standardized outcomes of cognitive functioning over 6-year follow-up. For this purpose, we examined the significance of the interaction-term (PA*time) in both basic and adjusted models. We also assessed the association between time and cognitive functioning. All analyses were stratified for depression. Results: In both groups, no robust significant interactions of PA with time were found. Furthermore, only decline in working memory was significantly worse in the depressed compared to the non-depressed. Conclusion: At older age, the impact of a more inactive lifestyle on cognitive decline was shown to be limited, irrespective of depression that appeared to worsen age-related decline of working memory only. As a higher PA-level at older age has a positive effect on a multitude of other health outcomes, PA should still be encouraged in this population.

scholarly journals Sequential Multilingualism and Cognitive Abilities: Preliminary Data on the Contribution of Language Proficiency and Use in Different Modalities

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlijne Boumeester ◽  
Marije C. Michel ◽  
Valantis Fyndanis
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Fluid Intelligence ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Trail Making ◽  
Listening Proficiency ◽  
L2 Listening ◽  
Disengagement Of Attention ◽  
The Impact

This exploratory study focuses on sequential bi-/multilinguals (specifically, nonimmigrant young Dutch native speakers who learned at least one foreign language (FL) at or after the age of 5) and investigates the impact of proficiency-based and amount-of-use-based degrees of multilingualism in different modalities (i.e., speaking, listening, writing, reading) on inhibition, disengagement of attention, and switching. Fifty-four participants completed a comprehensive background questionnaire, a nonverbal fluid intelligence task, a Flanker task, and the Trail Making Test. Correlational and regression analyses considering multilingualism related variables and other variables that may contribute to the cognitive abilities under investigation (e.g., years of formal education, socioeconomic status, physical activity, playing video-games) revealed that only proficiency-based degrees of multilingualism impacted cognitive abilities. Particularly, mean FL writing proficiency affected inhibition (i.e., significant positive flanker effect) and L2 listening proficiency influenced disengagement of attention (i.e., significant negative sequential congruency effect). Our findings suggest that only those speakers who have reached a certain proficiency threshold in more than one FL show a cognitive advantage, which, in our sample, emerged in inhibition only. Furthermore, our study suggests that, regarding the impact of proficiency-based degrees of multilingualism on cognitive abilities, for our participants the writing and listening modalities mattered most.

Masked translation priming: Varying language experience and word type with Spanish–English bilinguals

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRIS DAVIS ◽  
ROSA SÁNCHEZ-CASAS ◽  
JOSÉ E. GARCÍA-ALBEA ◽  
MARC GUASCH ◽  
MARGARITA MOLERO ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Lexical Processing ◽  
Word Type ◽  
Unrelated Word ◽  
Repetition Effect ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Single Group ◽  
Language Experience

Spanish–English bilingual lexical organization was investigated using masked cognate and non-cognate priming with the lexical decision task. In Experiment 1, three groups of bilinguals (Spanish dominant, English dominant and Balanced) and a single group of beginning bilinguals (Spanish) were tested with Spanish and English targets primed by cognate and non-cognate translations. All the bilingual groups showed cognate but not non-cognate priming. This cognate priming effect was similar in magnitude to the within-language repetition priming effect; it did not vary across participants who had different second-language acquisition histories, nor was the size of the priming effect modulated by the direction of the translation. The beginning bilingual group only showed cognate priming when the primes were in Spanish (L1) and the targets in English (L2). In Experiment 2, both form-related and unrelated word baselines were used with a single group of bilinguals. The results were the same as Experiment 1: cognate priming and no non-cognate priming. Experiment 3 examined the cognate priming effect with reduced orthographic and phonological overlap. Despite this reduced form overlap, it was found that the cognate effect was the same size as the within-language repetition effect. These results indicate that cognate translations are special and ways of modifying models of bilingual lexical processing to reflect this were considered.

scholarly journals Intercultural projects in learning Russian as a native and foreign language: experience of social partnership of a school and a higher education institution

2019 ◽  
pp. 207-210
Author(s):  
Yelena V. Alikina ◽  
Tat'yana V. Kudymova ◽  
Mariya V. Malkova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Intercultural Education ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
The Impact

The article demonstrates the need for continuous intercultural education in teaching Russian both as a native and a foreign language. The authors focus on the fact that intercultural education not only contributes to increase the level of language proficiency, but also has a positive impact on learners' personal, intellectual, emotional, and creative potential formation, regardless of their age group. The paper describes the essence and functions of project-based learning, which is considered an effective educational technology for intercultural education. Its potential is shown through the example of the intercultural project carried by a general school in cooperation with a polytechnic higher education institution. The authors aim to demonstrate how the problems and interests of younger schoolchildren, who tend to be more open to intercultural communication, match with those of their parents and teachers on the one hand, as well as with the problems and interests of foreign pupils and teachers of Russian as a foreign language, on the other. In conclusion, the research summarises the impact of intercultural projects on learning a foreign language. The authors also mark the importance of school and post-school socialpartnership in conditions of modern intercultural education.

Object clitic production in French-speaking L2 children and children with SLI

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen Scheidnes ◽  
Laurice Tuller ◽  
Philippe Prévost
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Resource Allocation ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact ◽  
L1 English

Abstract This study examines French object clitic production in 20 typically developing L2 children (L1 English) compared to 19 monolingual children with SLI. We collected spontaneous and elicitation data twice at a one-year interval (T1, T2) in order to better evaluate the impact of age- and time-related factors on the L2-SLI comparison, as well as the impact of proficiency and working memory on object clitic production. The data revealed considerable group overlap at T1 in both tasks, but the L2 children produced significantly more object clitics than the SLI group at T2 in spontaneous language, thus suggesting that the L2-SLI overlap decreases when the L2 children have more language exposure. In elicitation, clitic production in both groups increased from T1 to T2 when all clitic types were included, but when only 3p accusative clitics were analyzed, the L2 children outperformed the SLI group. Age played an important role in elicitation in both groups, thus suggesting that mature performance systems, including unimpaired working memory, are required for object clitic production in this task. Language-related measures were linked to both tasks, thus suggesting that object clitic production is particularly sensitive to overall language proficiency, possibly because of issues with resource allocation.

The Impact of Hydroxyurea Use on Cognitive Functioning of Children with Sickle Cell Disease in Ghana

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 22-22
Author(s):  
Olubusola Oluwole ◽  
Amma owusu-Ansah ◽  
Seyed Mehdi Nouraie ◽  
Enrico M Novelli
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Sickle Cell ◽  
Organ Damage ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Psychomotor Function ◽  
Cell Disease ◽  
Sub Saharan ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Impact

Introduction: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a genetic blood disorder characterized by a mutated hemoglobin that polymerizes when deoxygenated leading to sickle-shaped red blood cells. Tissue hypoxia and organ damage are downstream effects of red blood cell sickling. A manifestation of end organ damage that is of increasing concern, given its devastating functional effects, is cognitive impairment. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for the highest annual SCD burden in the world, yet little is known about cognitive impairment in children from Africa with SCD. This knowledge gap inhibits the development of targeted interventions to prevent or mitigate cognitive deficits in children with SCD. In particular, it is unknown if hydroxyurea, the oldest FDA-approved drug for SCD, preserves cognitive functioning. The primary objective of this study was to assess the potential cognitive benefits of hydroxyurea administered over at least one year in children with SCD from Ghana. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study funded by an ASH Minority Resident Hematology Award at both the general pediatric sickle cell clinic and the hydroxyurea clinic at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana. Children with a diagnosis of SCD (HbSS, HbSC and HbS/β-thalassemia) between the ages of 5 and 13 were approached and enrolled in two arms of the study - non-hydroxyurea and hydroxyurea groups - under an IRB-approved protocol. Children without any exposure to hydroxyurea were included in the non-hydroxyurea group while children who had been taking hydroxyurea for at least one year were included in the hydroxyurea group. Children's demographic data were obtained via an ad-hoc questionnaire. Anthropomorphic and laboratory data were obtained from the patients' charts. Cognitive function was assessed using Cogstate, a computer-based neurocognitive testing tool. A brief battery of tests was administered consisting of Detection, Identification, One Back and Groton Maze Learning tests, which assess psychomotor function, attention, working memory and executive functioning, respectively. We used multiple linear regression analysis and inverse proportional to weight propensity score analysis to test the association between hydroxyurea treatment and cognitive test scores. Results: We enrolled 58 children with SCD in the study, including 28 in the non-hydroxyurea group (mean age 9.2 ± 2.40, 54% girls), and 30 in the hydroxyurea group (mean age 9.2 ± 2.17, 57% girls). Children taking hydroxyurea had higher hemoglobin (9.34 vs 8.32 g/dL, P=0.02) and mean corpuscular volume values (94 ± 9.2 vs 77 ± 9.1 fL, P=<0.01) when compared to the non-hydroxyurea group. Children in the hydroxyurea group performed significantly better in the area of working memory (adjusted difference 0.19, p=0.02, Table 1), while there was no significant difference in the other domains. Other confounders including age, nutritional status, gender and subject education level did not impact the findings.Within the hydroxyurea group, increased transcranial doppler velocity in the left internal carotid and left anterior cerebral arteries (a stroke risk factor) was associated with worse psychomotor function (correlation coefficient 0.41, p=0.047). Conclusion:To our knowledge, this is the first study conducted in Africa to explore the impact of hydroxyurea on cognitive functioning. While causality cannot be inferred in this observational study, our results support the findings of a study conducted in the United States showing that children withSCD on hydroxyurea had improved cognitive functioning as compared to those not on the drug (Puffer et al.Child Neuropsychology. 2007). It is possible that hydroxyurea may result in improved cerebral oxygenation, potentially by ameliorating anemia. In a prior study we found that higher cognitive functioning in children with SCD is associated with higher maternal education (Oluwole et al.Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2016), however, the difference in working memory remained significant after adjusting for this variable. Future longitudinal and interventional studies are needed to further assess the potential benefits of hydroxyurea on cognitive functioning, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, where other interventions aimed at reducing neurological complications of SCD, such as blood transfusions, remain limited. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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