Effect of Bilingualism on Multitasking: A Pilot Study

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
A Cell ◽  
The Difference

Bilingual speakers rely on attentional and executive control to continuously inhibit or activate linguistic representations of competing languages, which leads to an increased efficiency known as “bilingual advantage”. Both monolingual and bilingual speakers were asked to perform multiple tasks of talking on a cell phone while simultaneously attending to simulated driving events. This study examined the effect of bilingualism on participants' performance during a dual-task experiment based on 20 monolingual and 13 bilingual healthy adults. The within-subject and between-subject comparisons were conducted on reaction times of a visual event detection task for (a) only driving and (b) driving while simultaneously engaged in a phone conversation. Results of this study showed that bilingual speakers performed significantly faster than monolingual speakers during the multitasking condition, but not during the driving only condition. Further, bilingual speakers consistently showed a bilingual advantage in reaction times during the multitasking condition, despite varying degrees on a bilingual dominance scale. Overall, experiences in more than one language yield bilingual advantage in better performance than monolingual speakers during a multitasking condition, but not during a single task condition. Regardless of the difference in bilingual proficiency level, such language experience reveals a positive impact on bilingual speakers for multitasking.

Bilingualism and Attention in Typically Developing Children and Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4105-4118
Author(s):  
Jisook Park ◽  
Carol A. Miller ◽  
Teenu Sanjeevan ◽  
Janet G. van Hell ◽  
Daniel J. Weiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Attentional Networks ◽  
Orienting Effect ◽  
Age Range

Purpose The aim of the current study was to investigate whether dual language experience modulates the efficiency of the 3 attentional networks (alerting, orienting, and executive control) in typically developing (TD) children and in children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Method We examined the attentional networks in monolingual and bilingual school-aged children (ages 8–12 years) with and without DLD. TD children (35 monolinguals, 23 bilinguals) and children with DLD (17 monolinguals, 9 bilinguals) completed the Attention Network Test ( Fan et al., 2002 ; Fan, McCandliss, Fossella, Flombaum, & Posner, 2005 ). Results Children with DLD exhibited poorer executive control than TD children, but executive control was not modified by bilingual experience. The bilingual group with DLD and both TD groups exhibited an orienting effect, but the monolingual group with DLD did not. No group differences were found for alerting. Conclusions Children with DLD have weak executive control skills. These skills are minimally influenced by dual language experience, at least in this age range. A potential bilingual advantage in orienting may be present in the DLD group.

Is There a Cognitive Advantage for Spanish Heritage Bilinguals? A First Look

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 292-309
Author(s):  
Julio Torres ◽  
Cristina Sanz
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Cognitive Benefits ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Network Component

We report the findings from an ongoing study on the relationship between bilinguals’ language experience and cognitive control. Previous research suggests that early bilingualism exerts an advantage on executive control, possibly due to the cognitive requirements involved in the daily juggling of two languages (Adesope, Lavin, Thompson, & Ungerleider, 2010). However, other researchers also have argued against a cognitive control advantage in bilinguals (Hilchey & Klein, 2011). It remains unclear whether cognitive benefits hold true for bilinguals across different contexts, given differences in sociolinguistic and socioeducational settings that shape individual bilingualism. In the current study, following Costa, Hernández and Sebastián-Gallés (2008) who tested Catalan-Spanish bilinguals, young adult simultaneous heritage bilinguals and late classroom emerging bilinguals of Spanish in the U.S. completed three blocks of the Attentional Network Task (ANT) (Fan, McCandliss, Sommer, Raz, & Posner, 2002) to gauge executive control abilities. Results for the executive network component of the ANT reveal no significant differences between the two bilingual groups, although the descriptive data trend suggests that HL bilinguals experienced less difficulty in solving conflicting information and demonstrated fewer switching costs between trials. These first findings imply that the bilingual advantage is not replicated across contexts, and that socioeducational practices determine individual patterns of language use, which in turn leads to variation in cognitive outcomes.

scholarly journals The bilingualism wars: Is the bilingual advantage out of (executive) control?

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-33
Author(s):  
María Fernández-López ◽  
Manuel Perea
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
Two Sides

AbstractWhether bilingualism has an effect on the executive function of non-verbal representations is probably one of the most controversial issues in cognitive psychology and cognitive neuroscience. As bilinguals have to alternate between two languages that compete for selection in their daily lives, they make use of selection, inhibition, and monitoring (i.e., components of executive function) more often than monolinguals. Thus, it would not be surprising that these highly trained abilities at selecting and monitoring the linguistic processes would also help the processing of non-linguistic representations. Although the “bilingual advantage” in executive control (Bialystok, 1999) has been repeatedly demonstrated, a number of recent studies—in particular since the publication of the Paap and Greenberg (2013) study—have questioned this effect. Both positive and null findings are currently being published from each of the two sides, thus making it difficult to reach consensus in the scientific community. Here, we propose a plausible solution to this debate: a group of independent researches should carry out a carefully planned large-scale study.

Contributions of bilingualism and public speaking training to cognitive control differences among young adults

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZHILONG XIE ◽  
YANPING DONG
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Conflict Monitoring ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Stroop Tasks

The Flanker and Number Stroop tasks, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were adopted to examine how bilingualism and public speaking training would contribute to cognitive control differences among young adults. Four groups of participants (of similar cultural and language backgrounds) were tested: monolinguals, general bilinguals, L1 public speaking bilinguals, and L2 public speaking bilinguals. Both ANOVA and multiple regression analyses showed that public speaking experience (esp. in L2) significantly contributed to conflict monitoring as tested in the global reaction times in the Flanker and Number Stroop tasks, whereas bilingualism (L2 verbal fluency, to be more specific) significantly contributed to mental set shifting as tested in the WCST. These results suggest that specific aspects of language experience, either in L1 or in L2, may incur enhancement in specific aspects of cognitive control, which has implications for bilingual advantage research.

scholarly journals Perceptual categorization of handling handshapes in British Sign Language

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
ZED SEVCIKOVA SEHYR ◽  
KEARSY CORMIER
Keyword(s):  
Sign Language ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Perceptual Categorization ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
Processing Times ◽  
British Sign Language ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
Category Discrimination ◽  
British Sign ◽  
Deaf Signers

abstractSign languages like British Sign Language (BSL) include partially lexicalized constructions depicting object handling or manipulation – handling constructions. Object sizes gradiently vary, yet it is unclear whether handling handshapes depict handled objects categorically or gradiently. This study investigates the influence of sign language experience on perception of handling handshapes. Deaf signers and hearing non-signers completed perceptual handshape identification and discrimination tasks. We examined whether deaf BSL signers perceived handshape continua categorically or continuously compared with hearing non-signers, and whether reaction times were modulated by linguistic representations. The results revealed similar binary categorization of dynamically presented handling handshapes as deaf and hearing perceivers displayed higher discrimination accuracy on category boundaries, and lower, but above chance, within-category discrimination, suggesting that perceptual categorization was not uniquely mediated by linguistic experience. However, RTs revealed critical differences between groups in processing times; deaf signers’ RTs reflected stronger category bias and increased sensitivity to boundaries, suggesting underlying linguistic representations. Further, handshape variability within categories influenced deaf signers’ discrimination RTs in a manner that suggested graded category organization, with handshape prototype grounding the category. These findings provide an insight into the internal organization of handling handshapes and highlight the complex relationship between sign language, cognition, and gesture.

scholarly journals A bilingual advantage in task switching? Age-related differences between German monolinguals and Dutch-Frisian bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIENKE HOUTZAGER ◽  
WANDER LOWIE ◽  
SIMONE SPRENGER ◽  
KEES DE BOT
Keyword(s):  
Task Switching ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Switching Costs ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Related Language ◽  
Mixing Costs

This study investigated whether lifelong bilingualism can be associated with enhanced executive control, particularly mental flexibility, and with a modulation of an age-related decline in these functions. We compared performance of middle-aged and elderly speakers of German and bilingual speakers of Dutch and Frisian in a cued task-switching paradigm. All bilinguals were fluent in the same, closely-related language pairs. Bilinguals incurred significantly lower switching costs than monolinguals, and elderly bilinguals were less affected by an age-related increase in switching costs than monolinguals. Bilinguals did not differ from monolinguals in the size of the mixing costs. Our findings suggest that lifelong bilingualism correlates with enhanced ability to shift between mental sets, as well as increased resistance to proactive interference. The fact that we found significant group differences – while some previous studies did not – may be attributable to the choice of our task and to the cognateness of the languages involved.

Evaluation of the impact of public investment programs on social and economic performance of territories

2019 ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
I. E. Limonov ◽  
M. V. Nesena
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Export Activity ◽  
Regional Investment ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Development Institution

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public investment programs on the socio-economic development of territories. As a case, the federal target programs for the development of regions and investment programs of the financial development institution — Vnesheconombank, designed to solve the problems of regional development are considered. The impact of the public interventions were evaluated by the “difference in differences” method using Bayesian modeling. The results of the evaluation suggest the positive impact of federal target programs on the total factor productivity of regions and on innovation; and that regional investment programs of Vnesheconombank are improving the export activity. All of the investments considered are likely to have contributed to the reduction of unemployment, but their implementation has been accompanied by an increase in social inequality.

Empirical Study On Attributes Leading To Satisfaction Among Bank Customer

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
Ms.U.Sakthi Veeralakshmi ◽  
Dr.G. Venkatesan
Keyword(s):  
Service Quality ◽  
Behavioral Intention ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Quality Performance ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Private Banking ◽  
Service Gap

This research aims at measuring the service quality in public and private banking sector and identifying its relationship to customer satisfaction and behavioral intention. The study was conducted among 500 bank customers by using revised SERVQUAL instrument with 26 items. Behavioral intention of the customers was measured by using the behavioral intention battery. The researcher has used a seven point likert scaling to measure the expected and perceived service quality (performance) and the behavioral intention of the customer. The instrument was selected as the most reliable device to measure the difference-score conceptualization. It is used to evaluate service gap between expectation and perception of service quality. Modifications are made on the SERVQUAL instrument to make it specific to the Banking sector. Questions were added to the instrument like Seating space for waiting (Tangibility), Parking space in the Bank (Tangibility), Variety of products / schemes available (Tangibility), Banks sincere steps to handling Grievances of the customers (Responsiveness). The findings of the study revealed that the customer’s perception (performance) is lower than expectation of the service quality rendered by banks. Responsiveness and Assurance SQ dimensions were the most important dimensions in service quality scored less SQ gap. The study concluded that the individual service quality dimensions have a positive impact on Overall Satisfaction.

scholarly journals Locating the difference: A comparison of pedagogic strategies in high and low performing schools

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Kaylianne Rialda Aploon-Zokufa
Keyword(s):  
School Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Cognitive Demand ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Low Performing Schools ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Research Studies

A number of research studies have suggested that specific pedagogic strategies can have a positive impact on learning, and in turn, have a positive impact on school performance, in particular for children being schooled in disadvantaged contexts. This analysis describes and measures how four of these pedagogic strategies identified in research – the pacing of a lesson, the sequence and coherence of a lesson, cognitive demand and the nature of feedback within a lesson – are displayed in higher and lower performing schools located in lower-income communities in the Western Cape. The analysis forms part of a broader research project, SPADE (Schools Performing Above Demographic Expectation), and is based on fifteen video-recorded Grade 3 numeracy lessons. The analysis suggests a relationship between specific pedagogic strategies and higher performance for individual learners and for schools. The analysis also identifies further effective pedagogic strategies in higher performing schools in lower-income communities.

scholarly journals Another bilingual advantage? Perception of talker-voice information

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-536 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSANNAH V. LEVI
Keyword(s):  
Learning Task ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Social Aspect ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Social Tasks ◽  
Processing Information ◽  
Voice Processing ◽  
Better Than

A bilingual advantage has been found in both cognitive and social tasks. In the current study, we examine whether there is a bilingual advantage in how children process information about who is talking (talker-voice information). Younger and older groups of monolingual and bilingual children completed the following talker-voice tasks with bilingual speakers: a discrimination task in English and German (an unfamiliar language), and a talker-voice learning task in which they learned to identify the voices of three unfamiliar speakers in English. Results revealed effects of age and bilingual status. Across the tasks, older children performed better than younger children and bilingual children performed better than monolingual children. Improved talker-voice processing by the bilingual children suggests that a bilingual advantage exists in a social aspect of speech perception, where the focus is not on processing the linguistic information in the signal, but instead on processing information about who is talking.

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