Chapter 13. Executive functions in bilingual children

2016 ◽  
pp. 323-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anat Prior ◽  
Noa Goldwasser ◽  
Rotem Ravet-Hirsh ◽  
Mila Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Bilingual Children

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 Theory of Mind, Executive Functions, and Syntax in Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Maria Andreou ◽  
Ianthi Maria Tsimpli ◽  
Stephanie Durrleman ◽  
Eleni Peristeri
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Repetition Task

Impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM) are a core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ToM may be enhanced by various factors, including bilingualism, executive functions (EF), and complex syntax. This work investigates the language-cognition interface in ASD by exploring whether ToM can be enhanced by bilingualism, whether such ToM boosts would be due to EF or syntax, and whether routes to mentalizing would differ between bilinguals and monolinguals on the spectrum. Twenty-seven monolingual Greek-speaking and twenty-nine bilingual Albanian-Greek children with ASD were tested on ToM reasoning in verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks, an executive function 2-back task, and a sentence repetition task. Results revealed that bilingual children with ASD performed better than monolinguals with ASD in the low-verbal ToM and the 2-back tasks. In the sentence repetition task, bilinguals scored higher than monolinguals in complex sentences, and specifically in adverbials and relatives. Regarding the relations between ToM, EF, and sentence repetition, the monolingual group’s performance in the verbal ToM tasks was associated with complement syntax, whereas, for the bilingual children with ASD, performance in both verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks was associated with EF and adverbial clause repetition. The overall pattern of results suggests that mentalizing may follow distinct pathways across the two groups.

Relations between vocabulary and executive functions in Spanish–English dual language learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
VRINDA KALIA ◽  
M. PAULA DANERI ◽  
MAKEBA PARRAMORE WILBOURN
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Dual Language ◽  
Language Immersion ◽  
Dual Language Learners ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Dual Language Immersion ◽  
English Only

The role of dual language exposure in children's cognitive development continues to be debated. The majority of the research with bilingual children in the US has been conducted with children becoming literate in onlyoneof their languages. Dual language learners who are becoming literate in both their languages are acutely understudied. We compared dual language learners (n = 61) in a Spanish–English dual language immersion program to monolingual English speaking children (n = 55) who were in a traditional English only school. Children (kindergarten to 3rdgrade) completed standardized vocabulary tasks and two measures of executive functions. Despite having significantly smaller English vocabularies, the dual language learners outperformed the monolingual children on the executive function measures. Implications for our understanding of the relations between oral language development and executive function in bilingual children are discussed.

scholarly journals Evidence for executive function advantages in low SES bilingual children. But why do they arise? A commentary on Grote, Scott and Gilger (2021)

2021 ◽  
pp. 014272372110286
Author(s):  
Julia Hofweber
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
School Children ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Low Ses ◽  
Shed Light

In a study comparing executive functions among US Spanish-English bilinguals from low socio-economic (SES) backgrounds to monolinguals of each language, Grote et al. find that bilingual advantages already manifest themselves in pre-school children. This commentary recommends building on this finding, and further investigate the causes underlying the observed executive function (EF) modulations in child bilingualism. A closer investigation of bilingual children’s dominance profiles and their bilingual practices, such as code-switching, may shed light on how bilingualism shapes the developmental trajectory of executive functions. The commentary also challenges the notion of ‘monolingualism’, and discusses whether bilingualism variables should be operationalised in a continuous or in a categorical manner.

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