Short-term memory and working memory in children as a function of language-specific knowledge in English and Spanish

Rethinking Bilingual Enhancement Effects in Associative Learning of Foreign Language Vocabulary: The Role of Proficiency in the Mediating Language

The present study investigated claims that learning vocabulary in an unfamiliar language is more efficient in bilinguals than in monolinguals and the possible effects of language proficiency and dominance. In Experiment 1, monolingual (n = 48) and bilingual participants (n = 96) learned Japanese words paired with English translations and completed cued-recall and associative-recognition tests. Accuracy did not differ across monolingual and bilingual or language dominance groups. Nevertheless, in bilinguals, higher English proficiency was associated with higher accuracy. In Experiment 2, Japanese-English bilinguals (n = 40) learned Spanish-Japanese word pairs, and higher Japanese proficiency was associated with higher accuracy. Associative strategies were reported at a higher rate in bilingual than in monolingual participants but were not associated with more accurate performance. Careful comparisons of the present and previous results support the conclusion that higher proficiency in the language through which bilinguals learn foreign vocabulary enhances associative memory, but bilingualism itself does not.

Judgements about double-embedded relative clauses differ between languages

When the middle verb phrase is removed from an English double-embedded sentence, the remainder of the sentence is read faster in spite of the ungrammaticality. It has been shown that this “missing-VP effect” is reversed in German and Dutch. The current study demonstrates that the same cross-linguistic difference holds for sentences judgments: Native speakers consider English double-embedded sentences more comprehensible and acceptable when the middle verb phrase is removed, whereas the same is not the case in Dutch. This interaction between language and grammaticality also appears in a within-subjects replication that tests Dutch native speakers in both languages. These results, in combination with earlier findings, give rise to a hybrid account according to which the missing-VP effect is caused by properties of the language as well as properties of working memory.

Cross-Linguistic Differences in Processing Double-Embedded Relative Clauses: Working-Memory Constraints or Language Statistics?

An English double-embedded relative clause from which the middle verb is omitted can often be processed more easily than its grammatical counterpart, a phenomenon known as the grammaticality illusion. This effect has been found to be reversed in German, suggesting that the illusion is language specific rather than a consequence of universal working memory constraints. We present results from three self-paced reading experiments which show that Dutch native speakers also do not show the grammaticality illusion in Dutch, whereas both German and Dutch native speakers do show the illusion when reading English sentences. These findings provide evidence against working memory constraints as an explanation for the observed effect in English. We propose an alternative account based on the statistical patterns of the languages involved. In support of this alternative, a single recurrent neural network model that is trained on both Dutch and English sentences is shown to predict the cross-linguistic difference in the grammaticality effect.

Specificity of the bilingual advantage for memory: examining cued recall, generalization, and working memory in monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual toddlers

The specificity of the bilingual advantage in memory was examined by testing groups of monolingual, bilingual, and trilingual 24-month-olds on tasks tapping cued recall, memory generalization and working memory. For the cued recall and memory generalization conditions, there was a 24-h delay between time of encoding and time of retrieval. In addition to the memory tasks, parent-toddler dyads completed a picture-book reading task, in order to observe emotional responsiveness, and a parental report of productive vocabulary. Results indicated no difference between language groups on cued recall, working memory, emotional responsiveness, or productive vocabulary, but a significant difference was found in the memory generalization condition with only the bilingual group outperforming the baseline control group. These results replicate and extend results from past studies (Brito and Barr, 2012, 2014; Brito et al., 2014) and suggest a bilingual advantage specific to memory generalization.

The Cognitive Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review

Dual language exposure and bilingualism are relatively common experiences for children. The present review set out to synthesize the existing research on cognitive development in bilingual children and to identify the gaps and the methodological concerns present in the existing research. A search of major data bases for research conducted with typically-developing, preschool-age dual language learners between 2000-2013 yielded 102 peer-reviewed articles. The existing evidence points to areas of cognitive development in bilingual children where findings are robust or inconclusive, and reveals variables that influence performance. The present review also identifies areas for future research and methodological limitations.