Continuous effects of bilingualism and attention on Flanker task performance
Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim, Geoffrey B Sorge, Ellen Bialystok
Abstract
Both bilingualism and attention contribute to the development of executive functioning (EF), with higher levels of both leading to better outcomes. The present study treats bilingualism and attention as continuous variables to investigate their impact on EF. Eighty-two 9-year-olds who were attending a French school in an anglophone community completed a flanker task. Children's progress in French represented their level of bilingualism, and attention was assessed through a standard standardized instrument. Degree of bilingualism and degree of attention were both positively related to performance, but exposure to a third language in the home did not further affect outcomes.
Topics & Concepts
Neuroscience of multilingualismPsychologyTask (project management)Affect (linguistics)Selective attentionDevelopmental psychologyCognitive psychologyCognitionCommunicationNeuroscienceManagementEconomicsNeurobiology of Language and BilingualismReading and Literacy DevelopmentLanguage Development and Disorders