1
|
van Koert M, Leona N, Rispens J, Tijms J, Molen MVD, Grunberg HL, Snellings P. English Grammar Skills in Dutch Grade 4 Children: Examining the Relation Between L1 and L2 Language Skills. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLINGUISTIC RESEARCH 2023; 52:1737-1753. [PMID: 37184734 PMCID: PMC10520197 DOI: 10.1007/s10936-023-09968-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Second language proficiency may be related to first language acquisition (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991), but relatively little is known about the relation between first and second language grammatical proficiency in primary school children who are in their first stages of foreign language learning. This study aims to determine whether differences in Dutch and English vocabulary and Dutch grammar skills predict differences in English grammatical proficiency in Dutch speaking children who are in grade 4 in primary school. The selected participants are monolingual Dutch pupils (N = 152), aged 9;0-10;0. To measure the children's vocabulary the PPVT was used in Dutch (Schlichting, 2005) and in English (Dunn & Dunn, 2007). In addition, two grammar tasks in English and one in Dutch of the CELF (Semel et al., 2003) were used. The results show that English vocabulary is a strong predictor of English grammar skills, and that the Dutch vocabulary skills are weaker predictors of English grammar skills. Moreover, Dutch grammar skills predict English grammar skills for one of the grammar tasks. These results are discussed vis-à-vis hypotheses about cross-domain transfer and cross-linguistic transfer (Blom et al., 2012; Cummins, 1979; Ganschow & Sparks, 1991; Paradis, 2011; Sparks, 1995).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Jurgen Tijms
- University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Testing the predictive power of executive functions, motivation, and input on second language vocabulary acquisition: a prospective study. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10212-022-00597-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
|
3
|
How does bilingualism modify cognitive function? Attention to the mechanism. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:1246-1269. [PMID: 35091993 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02057-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
It has been claimed that bilingual experience leads to an enhancement of cognitive control across the lifespan, a claim that has been investigated by comparing monolingual and bilingual groups performing standard executive function (EF) tasks. The results of these studies have been inconsistent, however, leading to controversy over the essential assumptions underlying the research program, namely, whether bilingualism produces cognitive change. We argue that the source of the inconsistency is not in the evidence but rather in the framework that has typically been used to motivate the research and interpret the results. We examine the componential view of EF with its central role for inhibition and argue that it provides a poor fit to both bilingual experience and the results of these studies. As an alternative, we propose a more holistic account based on attentional control that overrides the processes in the componential model of EF and applies to a wider range of tasks. The key element in our account is that behavioral differences between monolingual and bilingual individuals reflect differences in the efficiency and deployment of attentional control between the two language groups. In support of this point we show how attentional control provides a more satisfactory account for a range of findings that cannot reasonably be attributed to inhibition. We also suggest that group differences will emerge only when the attentional demands of a task exceed the control abilities of one of the groups, regardless of the EF components involved. We then review literature from across the lifespan to evaluate the extent to which this account is consistent with existing evidence, and conclude with some suggestions on how the field may be advanced by new lines of empirical enquiry.
Collapse
|
4
|
Fernández García L, Merchán A, Phillips-Silver J, Daza González MT. Neuropsychological Development of Cool and Hot Executive Functions Between 6 and 12 Years of Age: A Systematic Review. Front Psychol 2021; 12:687337. [PMID: 34456803 PMCID: PMC8385409 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.687337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies on the development of executive functions (EFs) in middle childhood have traditionally focused on cognitive, or "cool," EFs: working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility. However, knowledge of the development of socio-emotional, or "hot," EFs, such as delay of gratification, decision-making and theory of mind, is more limited. The main aims of this systematic review were to characterize the typical development of both the primary cool and hot EFs in middle childhood, and to identify the main tools for evaluating EFs as a whole. We conducted a systematic search on studies of cognitive and socio-emotional EFs published in the last 5 years in Pubmed, PsycInfo, and WoS databases. Of 44 studies selected, we found a variety of tasks measuring cool EFs, while measures of hot EFs were limited. Nevertheless, the available data suggest that cool and hot components follow distinct, but related, developmental trajectories during middle childhood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Fernández García
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- Center for Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation (CERNEP), University of Almería, Almería, Spain
| | - Ana Merchán
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
| | - Jessica Phillips-Silver
- Department of Neuroscience, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
| | - María Teresa Daza González
- Department of Psychology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
- Center for Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehabilitation (CERNEP), University of Almería, Almería, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Mulder E, van de Ven M, Segers E, Krepel A, de Bree EH, van der Maas H, de Jong PF, Verhoeven L. Serious game-based word-to-text integration intervention effects in English as a second language. CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.101972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
|
6
|
Bialystok E, Shorbagi SH. Subtle Increments in Socioeconomic Status and Bilingualism Jointly Affect Children’s Verbal and Nonverbal Performance. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2021.1901711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
|
7
|
Goriot C, McQueen JM, Unsworth S, van Hout R, Broersma M. Perception of English phonetic contrasts by Dutch children: How bilingual are early-English learners? PLoS One 2020; 15:e0229902. [PMID: 32160213 PMCID: PMC7065789 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate whether early-English education benefits the perception of English phonetic contrasts that are known to be perceptually confusable for Dutch native speakers, comparing Dutch pupils who were enrolled in an early-English programme at school from the age of four with pupils in a mainstream programme with English instruction from the age of 11, and English-Dutch early bilingual children. Children were 4-5-year-olds (start of primary school), 8-9-year-olds, or 11-12-year-olds (end of primary school). Children were tested on four contrasts that varied in difficulty: /b/-/s/ (easy), /k/-/ɡ/ (intermediate), /f/-/θ/ (difficult), /ɛ/-/æ/ (very difficult). Bilingual children outperformed the two other groups on all contrasts except /b/-/s/. Early-English pupils did not outperform mainstream pupils on any of the contrasts. This shows that early-English education as it is currently implemented is not beneficial for pupils' perception of non-native contrasts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Goriot
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - James M. McQueen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Centre for Cognition, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sharon Unsworth
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roeland van Hout
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mirjam Broersma
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Verhagen J, de Bree E, Unsworth S. Effects of Bilingual Language Use and Language Proficiency on 24-month-olds’ Cognitive Control. JOURNAL OF COGNITION AND DEVELOPMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2019.1673752] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
|
9
|
Unsworth S, Chondrogianni V, Skarabela B. Experiential Measures Can Be Used as a Proxy for Language Dominance in Bilingual Language Acquisition Research. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1809. [PMID: 30386273 PMCID: PMC6199388 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Language dominance is a multidimensional construct comprising several distinct yet interrelated components, including language proficiency, exposure and use. The exact relation between these components remains unclear. Several studies have observed a (non-linear) relationship between bilingual children’s amount of exposure and absolute proficiency in each language, but our understanding of the relationship between language exposure and use and relative proficiency is limited. To address this question, we examined whether experiential-based measures of language dominance, operationalised here in the narrow sense of relative language proficiency, can provide an efficient alternative to the more labor-intensive performance-based measures often used in the literature. In earlier work, Unsworth (a) examined the relationship between relative proficiency and language exposure and use in a group of English–Dutch bilingual preschool children residing in the Netherlands. This study expands these findings by examining Dutch–English preschool children of the same age residing in the United Kingdom in order to cover the full dominance continuum. Participants were 35 simultaneous bilingual children (2;0–5;0) exposed to English and Dutch, 20 resident in the Netherlands and 15 in the United Kingdom. Relative amount of language exposure and use were estimated using a parental questionnaire. To obtain performance-based measures of language proficiency, children’s spontaneous speech was recorded during a half-hour play session in each language. The transcribed data were used to derive MLU (words), average length of the longest five utterances, the number of different verb and noun types. Single word vocabulary comprehension was assessed using standardized tests in both languages. Following Yip and Matthews (2006), relative proficiency was operationalised using differentials. In line with Unsworth (2016a), English-dominant children typically had less than approx. 35% exposure to Dutch and used Dutch less than approximately 30% of the time. Curve-fitting analyses revealed that non-linear models best fit the data. Logistic regression analyses showed that both exposure and use were good predictors of dominance group membership assigned using the same approach as Unsworth (2016a), that is, using SDs. Dominance groups derived independently using cluster analyses overlapped with the groups derived using SDs, confirming that relative amount of exposure and use can be used as a proxy for language dominance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Unsworth
- Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Vicky Chondrogianni
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Barbora Skarabela
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|