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New Perspectives on Bilingual Cognition in Children
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New Perspectives on Bilingual Cognition in Children

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2022) | Viewed by 8534

Special Issue Editors

Assoc. Prof. Leher Singh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 288062, Singapore
Interests: language acquisition; bilingualism
Dr. Marina Kalashnikova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language, Paseo Mikeletegi 69, San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa 20009, Spain
Interests: infancy; language acquisition; bilingualism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Currently, there is active debate on whether monolingual and bilingual learners differ in the development of a range of cognitive processes (Paap and Greenberg, 2013). In this Special Issue, we invite submissions that focus on new and alternative perspectives on the relationship between bilingual experience and cognitive development, which include replication efforts of past studies in this area. Examples of relevant areas of cognitive development include, but are not limited to, executive functions, auditory/visual learning and memory, and social cognition. Replication studies and null results of theoretically sound experiments are welcome, as are studies that bear on the specificity of the effects of the bilingual experience on cognitive development. We are soliciting manuscripts that focus on infants and children. However, we would also welcome manuscripts involving adult participants that are relevant to childhood bilingual development. For manuscripts involving adult participants, specific links to child development should be made clear during abstract submission.

In the past, studies on childhood bilingual cognition focused overwhelmingly on executive function advantages. More recent research with young children reveals more broad-based effects of the bilingual experience on early development. At the same time, the field is beginning to investigate and further qualify prior demonstrations of reported executive function advantages in children in view of a reported publication advantage for submissions that supports bilingual cognitive enhancement (de Bruin, Treccani, and Della Sala, 2015). This Special Issue provides a forum for well-designed empirical studies that bear on the existence and/or extent of this advantage as well, as those that offer alternative perspectives.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400-600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected] and [email protected]) or to /Languages/ editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Tentative completion schedule:
• Abstract submission deadline: July 1, 2021
• Notification of abstract acceptance: October 1, 2021
• Full manuscript deadline: March 1, 2022

References

de Bruin, A., Treccani, B., & Della Sala, S. (2015). Cognitive advantage in bilingualism: An example of publication bias? Psychological Science, 26(1), 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614557866

Paap, K. R., & Greenberg, Z. I. (2013). There is no coherent evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive processing. Cognitive Psychology, 66(2), 232–258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogpsych.2012.12.002   

Assoc. Prof. Leher Singh
Dr. Marina Kalashnikova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bilingualism
  • cognitive development
  • childhood

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1723 KiB  
Article
Imitating the Robots: Measuring Memory Flexibility with Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers
by Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo, Sylvia N. Rusnak, Olivia A. Blanchfield, Sharanya Suresh, Lily Tahmassebi, Hadley Greenwood, Kimberly Chanchavac and Rachel Barr
Languages 2022, 7(4), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7040268 - 21 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1401
Abstract
Millions of children in the United States are growing up hearing multiple languages. Memory flexibility is the ability to apply information from a past experience to future situations that are perceptually different from the initial learning experience and differs between monolinguals and bilinguals [...] Read more.
Millions of children in the United States are growing up hearing multiple languages. Memory flexibility is the ability to apply information from a past experience to future situations that are perceptually different from the initial learning experience and differs between monolinguals and bilinguals during infancy. We use a new, non-verbal object sequencing imitation task (OSI) to measure memory flexibility changes in monolingual and bilingual preschoolers. In the OSI task, children imitate target actions to produce a final pose on a robot figure. Children are tested with different robots than those used to demonstrate the target actions to test memory flexibility. We hypothesized that both monolingual and bilingual children would imitate the sequences significantly above baseline, but bilingual preschoolers would do so at a greater rate than their monolingual peers. To test this hypothesis, we visited 101 3-year-olds in their homes. An experimenter demonstrated 2- to 5-step sequences on one robot, and children were tested on a functionally similar but perceptually different robot. All preschoolers performed significantly above baseline on the total composite percentage score (the correct number of movements and pairs summed across all sequences, divided by the possible maximum score). There were no significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in baseline and test trials. We repeated the same pattern of results using a multi-level model, including all trials. The common binary classification of bilinguals and monolinguals often does not adequately describe the complex experience of growing up in a bilingual environment. Modeling the heterogeneity that arises from growing up in a bilingual home is important for understanding how this arrangement could impact an individual’s cognitive development. To consider such heterogeneity, we implemented latent profile modeling to identify language groups based on a series of variables such as L2, L3 exposure, speakers’ nativeness to the languages, and speakers’ proficiency and identified three profiles (low, medium, and high multilingual exposure). The pattern of results remained the same. We conclude that memory flexibility differences exhibited during infancy may plateau during early childhood. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Bilingual Cognition in Children)
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23 pages, 975 KiB  
Article
Testing the Bilingual Cognitive Advantage in Toddlers Using the Early Executive Functions Questionnaire
by Kayla Beaudin and Diane Poulin-Dubois
Languages 2022, 7(2), 122; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020122 - 16 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2779
Abstract
The present study aims to assess differences in executive functioning between monolingual and multilingual 23-month-old toddlers, both when dichotomizing multilingualism and assessing it on a continuum. It is hypothesized that multilinguals, individuals with greater non-dominant language exposure, and individuals with more translation equivalents, [...] Read more.
The present study aims to assess differences in executive functioning between monolingual and multilingual 23-month-old toddlers, both when dichotomizing multilingualism and assessing it on a continuum. It is hypothesized that multilinguals, individuals with greater non-dominant language exposure, and individuals with more translation equivalents, would perform better in the following domains: response inhibition, attentional flexibility, and regulation. No differences are expected for working memory. The Early Executive Functions Questionnaire, a newly developed parental report, is used to measure the four executive functions of interest. Multilinguals and individuals with greater non-dominant language exposure have significantly higher response inhibition; however, no differences are noted for any other executive function. Additionally, no associations between translation equivalents and executive functioning are found. Post-hoc analyses reveal that non-dominant language production had a positive correlation with working memory. The present findings support the notion of a domain-specific cognitive advantage for multilingual toddlers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Bilingual Cognition in Children)
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17 pages, 1691 KiB  
Article
Is Early Bilingual Experience Associated with Greater Fluid Intelligence in Adults?
by Dean D’Souza and Yousra Dakhch
Languages 2022, 7(2), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020100 - 19 Apr 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3606
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that early bilingual experience constrains the development of attentional processes in infants, and that some of these early bilingual adaptations could last into adulthood. However, it is not known whether the early adaptations in the attentional domain alter more general [...] Read more.
Emerging evidence suggests that early bilingual experience constrains the development of attentional processes in infants, and that some of these early bilingual adaptations could last into adulthood. However, it is not known whether the early adaptations in the attentional domain alter more general cognitive abilities. If they do, then we would expect that bilingual adults who learned their second language early in life would score more highly across cognitive tasks than bilingual adults who learned their second language later in life. To test this hypothesis, 170 adult participants were administered a well-established (non-verbal) measure of fluid intelligence: Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM). Fluid intelligence (the ability to solve novel reasoning problems, independent of acquired knowledge) is highly correlated with numerous cognitive abilities across development. Performance on the RAPM was greater in bilinguals than monolinguals, and greater in ‘early bilinguals’ (adults who learned their second language between 0–6 years) than ‘late bilinguals’ (adults who learned their second language after age 6 years). The groups did not significantly differ on a proxy of socioeconomic status. These results suggest that the difference in fluid intelligence between bilinguals and monolinguals is not a consequence of bilingualism per se, but of early adaptive processes. However, the finding may depend on how bilingualism is operationalized, and thus needs to be replicated with a larger sample and more detailed measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Perspectives on Bilingual Cognition in Children)
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