The contributions of language control to executive functions: From the perspective of bilingual comprehension

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (8) ◽  
pp. 1984-1997 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Jiao ◽  
Cong Liu ◽  
Lijuan Liang ◽  
Patrick Plummer ◽  
Charles A Perfetti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Mixed Block ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Beneficial Effects ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Language Context ◽  
L1 And L2

Previous studies have suggested that bilingual production experience has beneficial effects on executive functions. In the current study, four experiments were conducted to investigate whether bilingual comprehension experience influences executive functions. In Experiments 1 and 2, Chinese–English bilinguals completed a flanker task interleaved with a language comprehension task (reading comprehension in Experiment 1 and listening comprehension in Experiment 2). There were three blocks distinguished by language context, with a Chinese (L1) block, an English (L2) block, and a mixed (L1 and L2) block. Results showed that performance in the mixed block was better on both congruent and incongruent flanker trials when compared with the L1 and L2 blocks, indicating better monitoring functions overall. In Experiments 3 and 4 (reading comprehension and listening comprehension, respectively), participants were also exposed to three language contexts (i.e., L1, L2, and mixed block) but performed a non-conflict control task that did not require any conflict resolution. The results of Experiments 3 and 4 showed similar performance under the three different language contexts. Taken together, these results indicate that language control mechanisms involved in bilingual comprehension contribute to domain-general executive control performance. The results suggest a monitoring mechanism establishes a bridge connecting executive functions and bilingual language control during comprehension.

scholarly journals Research on individual differences in executive functions

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi P. Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Response Inhibition ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Set Shifting ◽  
Interference Control ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Multicomponent Nature

Abstract Executive functions (EFs), such as response inhibition, interference control, and set shifting, are general-purpose control mechanisms that enable individuals to regulate their thoughts and behaviors. Because bilingual individuals use EF-like processes during language control, researchers have become interested in the hypothesis that this use might train EFs, resulting in better performance on non-linguistic EF tasks. Although this bilingual advantage hypothesis seems straightforward to test, it involves a number of important decisions in terms of how to assess bilingualism and EFs. In this article, I focus on the complexity of measuring EFs, drawing on individual differences research (conducted with participants not selected for bilingualism). Specifically, I discuss issues related to (1) the measurement of EFs (particularly the effects of task impurity and unreliability) and (2) the multicomponent nature of EFs. Within each of these topics, I elaborate on consequences for research on bilingual advantages and provide some recommendations.

scholarly journals Bilingual Language Control and General Purpose Cognitive Control among Individuals with Bilingual Aphasia: Evidence Based on Negative Priming and Flanker Tasks

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Dash ◽  
Bhoomika R. Kar
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Negative Priming ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
General Purpose ◽  
Interactive Systems ◽  
Cumulative Distribution ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Reactive Control ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Bilingual Aphasia

Background. Bilingualism results in an added advantage with respect to cognitive control. The interaction between bilingual language control and general purpose cognitive control systems can also be understood by studying executive control among individuals with bilingual aphasia.Objectives. The current study examined the subcomponents of cognitive control in bilingual aphasia. A case study approach was used to investigate whether cognitive control and language control are two separate systems and how factors related to bilingualism interact with control processes.Methods. Four individuals with bilingual aphasia performed a language background questionnaire, picture description task, and two experimental tasks (nonlinguistic negative priming task and linguistic and nonlinguistic versions of flanker task).Results. A descriptive approach was used to analyse the data using reaction time and accuracy measures. The cumulative distribution function plots were used to visualize the variations in performance across conditions. The results highlight the distinction between general purpose cognitive control and bilingual language control mechanisms.Conclusion. All participants showed predominant use of the reactive control mechanism to compensate for the limited resources system. Independent yet interactive systems for bilingual language control and general purpose cognitive control were postulated based on the experimental data derived from individuals with bilingual aphasia.

Linguistic and reading comprehension in simultaneous dual language instruction: Evidence against unitary constructs

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Savage ◽  
Adriana Pace
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Reading Processes ◽  
School Year ◽  
Language Groups ◽  
L1 And L2

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This paper describes a study investigating the relationships between reading and listening comprehension in a simultaneous dual language instruction context. We explored whether listening and reading comprehension are unitary constructs across the first language (L1) and the second language (L2). Design/Methodology/Approach: Listening comprehension and reading comprehension measures were administered twice over a school year in English and French. Data and Analysis: Stepwise regression analyses were undertaken with 206 typical children in grade 4 classrooms in French Immersion programs. Findings/Conclusions: Analyses showed listening comprehension in the L1 and listening comprehension in the L2 both independently predicted reading comprehension concurrently. Reading comprehension in the L1 and reading comprehension in the L2 both predicted reading comprehension in the L1 and L2 longitudinally and symmetrically within, as well as across, home language groups. Originality and Significance/Implications: Findings suggest that listening comprehension and reading comprehension are not unitary constructs and possibly suggest synergistic recruitment of distinct L1 and L2 listening comprehension and reading comprehension resources in dual language comprehension, as suggested by the Development Interdependence Hypothesis. Both dual language policy and school-based practices might be enhanced through collaborative planning and activities that support this natural interdependence of component reading processes across languages, while also being aware that language comprehension abilities may not be at comparable levels across L1s and L2s by grade 4 in immersion contexts.

Domain-general inhibition ability predicts the intensity of inhibition on non-target language in bilingual word production: An ERP study

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1056-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunyan Kang ◽  
Fengyang Ma ◽  
Shuhua Li ◽  
Judith F. Kroll ◽  
Taomei Guo
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Flanker Task ◽  
Word Production ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Flanker Effect ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Control Processes ◽  
Language Control ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Inhibition Ability

AbstractThis study investigated the predictive effects of executive functions on bilingual language control processes. We used a flanker task, a switching task and an n-back task to investigate inhibition, shifting, and updating, respectively. We adopted a cued language switching task to investigate the language control processes during bilingual word production. Results of linear mixed effects models showed that picture naming in switch trials was significantly slower and elicited larger stimulus-locked N2 and N400-like components. The results further showed that the flanker effect alone robustly predicted the variability of the N2 but not N400-like switch effects. These findings suggest that domain-general inhibition appears to predict the intensity of inhibition exerted on the lexical items in the non-target language during bilingual word production, but bilingual language control only partially overlaps with executive functions.

scholarly journals Executive and Language Control in the Multilingual Brain

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Pak-Hin Kong ◽  
Jubin Abutalebi ◽  
Karen Sze-Yan Lam ◽  
Brendan Weekes
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Left Frontal Lobe ◽  
Discourse Production ◽  
The Neural Network ◽  
Language Control

Neuroimaging studies suggest that the neural network involved in language control may not be specific to bi-/multilingualism but is part of a domain-general executive control system. We report a trilingual case of a Cantonese (L1), English (L2), and Mandarin (L3) speaker, Dr. T, who sustained a brain injury at the age of 77 causing lesions in the left frontal lobe and in the left temporo-parietal areas resulting in fluent aphasia. Dr. T’s executive functions were impaired according to a modified version of the Stroop color-word test and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test performance was characterized by frequent perseveration errors. Dr. T demonstrated pathological language switching and mixing across her three languages. Code switching in Cantonese was more prominent in discourse production than confrontation naming. Our case suggests that voluntary control of spoken word production in trilingual speakers shares neural substrata in the frontobasal ganglia system with domain-general executive control mechanisms. One prediction is that lesions to such a system would give rise to both pathological switching and impairments of executive functions in trilingual speakers.

Examining the Reading and Cognitive Profiles of Students With Significant Reading Comprehension Difficulties

2021 ◽  
pp. 073194872198997
Author(s):  
Philip Capin ◽  
Eunsoo Cho ◽  
Jeremy Miciak ◽  
Greg Roberts ◽  
Sharon Vaughn
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Profile Analysis ◽  
Fourth Grade ◽  
Cognitive Profiles ◽  
Cognitive Predictors ◽  
Cognitive Difficulties ◽  
Fourth Grade Students

This study investigated the word reading and listening comprehension difficulties of fourth-grade students with significant reading comprehension deficits and the cognitive difficulties that underlie these weaknesses. Latent profile analysis was used to classify a sample of fourth-grade students ( n = 446) who scored below the 16th percentile on a measure of reading comprehension into subgroups based on their performance in word reading (WR) and listening comprehension (LC). Three latent profiles emerged: (a) moderate deficits in both WR and LC of similar severity (91%), (b) severe deficit in WR paired with moderate LC deficit (5%), and (c) severe deficit in LC with moderate WR difficulties (4%). Analyses examining the associations between cognitive attributes and group membership indicated students with lower performance on cognitive predictors were more likely to be in a severe subgroup. Implications for educators targeting improved reading performance for upper elementary students with significant reading difficulties were discussed.

scholarly journals Evidence for complementary effects of code- and knowledge-focused reading instruction

2021 ◽  
pp. 026565902110142
Author(s):  
Meghan Vollebregt ◽  
Jana Leggett ◽  
Sherry Raffalovitch ◽  
Colin King ◽  
Deanna Friesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Listening Comprehension ◽  
Nonsense Word ◽  
Dialogic Reading ◽  
Written Expression ◽  
Word Decoding ◽  
School Year ◽  
One Year

There is growing recognition of the need to end the debate regarding reading instruction in favor of an approach that provides a solid foundation in phonics and other underlying language skills to become expert readers. We advance this agenda by providing evidence of specific effects of instruction focused primarily on the written code or on developing knowledge. In a grade 1 program evaluation study, an inclusive and comprehensive program with a greater code-based focus called Reading for All (RfA) was compared to a knowledge-focused program involving Dialogic Reading. Phonological awareness, letter word recognition, nonsense word decoding, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, written expression and vocabulary were measured at the beginning and end of the school year, and one year after in one school only. Results revealed improvements in all measures except listening comprehension and vocabulary for the RfA program at the end of the first school year. These gains were maintained for all measures one year later with the exception of an improvement in written expression. The Dialogic Reading group was associated with a specific improvement in vocabulary in schools from lower socioeconomic contexts. Higher scores were observed for RfA than Dialogic Reading groups at the end of the first year on nonsense word decoding, phonological awareness and written expression, with the differences in the latter two remaining significant one year later. The results provide evidence of the need for interventions to support both word recognition and linguistic comprehension to better reading comprehension.

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