TY - JOUR
T1 - Executive functions and inhibitory control in multilingual children
T2 - Evidence from second-language learners, bilinguals, and trilinguals
AU - Poarch, Gregory J.
AU - van Hell, Janet G.
N1 - Funding Information:
The writing of this article was supported by DAAD Grant D/09/50588 to Gregory Poarch and NSF Grants BCS-0955090 and OISE-0968369 to Janet van Hell. We are greatly indebted to the children, parents, and teachers for their enthusiastic participation and support. We thank Constanze Dreßler and Julia Poyant for their research assistance using the TROG. We also thank Ellen Bialystok and Albert Costa for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.
PY - 2012/12
Y1 - 2012/12
N2 - In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and trilinguals that differed in nonnative language proficiency and language learning background. German 5- to 8-year-old second-language learners of English, German-English bilinguals, German-English-Language X trilinguals, and 6- to 8-year-old German monolinguals performed the Simon task and the Attentional Networks Task (ANT). Language proficiencies and socioeconomic status were controlled. We found that the Simon effect advantage, reported in earlier research for bilingual children and adults over monolinguals, differed across groups, with bilinguals and trilinguals showing enhanced conflict resolution over monolinguals and marginally so over second-language learners. In the ANT, bilinguals and trilinguals displayed enhanced conflict resolution over second-language learners. This extends earlier research to child second-language learners and trilinguals, who were in the process of becoming proficient in an additional language, while corroborating earlier findings demonstrating enhanced executive control in bilinguals assumed to be caused by continuous inhibitory control processes necessary in competition resolution between two (or possibly more) languages. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children, both for early second-language learners and for early bilinguals and trilinguals.
AB - In two experiments, we examined inhibitory control processes in three groups of bilinguals and trilinguals that differed in nonnative language proficiency and language learning background. German 5- to 8-year-old second-language learners of English, German-English bilinguals, German-English-Language X trilinguals, and 6- to 8-year-old German monolinguals performed the Simon task and the Attentional Networks Task (ANT). Language proficiencies and socioeconomic status were controlled. We found that the Simon effect advantage, reported in earlier research for bilingual children and adults over monolinguals, differed across groups, with bilinguals and trilinguals showing enhanced conflict resolution over monolinguals and marginally so over second-language learners. In the ANT, bilinguals and trilinguals displayed enhanced conflict resolution over second-language learners. This extends earlier research to child second-language learners and trilinguals, who were in the process of becoming proficient in an additional language, while corroborating earlier findings demonstrating enhanced executive control in bilinguals assumed to be caused by continuous inhibitory control processes necessary in competition resolution between two (or possibly more) languages. The results are interpreted against the backdrop of the developing language systems of the children, both for early second-language learners and for early bilinguals and trilinguals.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.06.013
DO - 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.06.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 22892367
AN - SCOPUS:84867704906
SN - 0022-0965
VL - 113
SP - 535
EP - 551
JO - Journal of experimental child psychology
JF - Journal of experimental child psychology
IS - 4
ER -