Bilingualism

Talmy (2007) was the first to propose a language typology based on the lexicalization patterns of motion verbs. According to his typology, certain languages tend to encode certain elements within the main verb of motion event descriptions. It has been proposed that Spanish and English exist on opposites sides of this typology and Slobin (1996 & 2006) speculates these structural differences may affect what aspects of external events are more salient to speakers of these languages.
The present study investigates the verbal and nonverbal behavior of English monolinguals and Spanish-English bilinguals to see if any differences exist in the aspects of the motion event that they describe in an elicitation task or prefer in a similarity judgement task. This study provides evidence that Spanish-English bilinguals may be less likely to encode manner when speaking in English. The present study provides no evidence that this extends to nonverbal behavior as all groups showed a preference for categorizing motion events based on the manner (e.g., run, walk, crawl, etc.) of motion rather than the path (up, down, left, right, etc.).

The purpose of this study was to determine if there is an influence of bilingualism as well as musical experience and training on performance during tasks of executive function using electrophysiological (EEG) measures. The aims included: 1) analyzing differences across groups of bilinguals, monolinguals, bilingual musicians, and monolingual non-musicians on executive function tasks in their performance as well as in their corresponding event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate the effects of experience-dependent neuroplasticity, and 2) correlating the ERP measures during executive function tasks with measures of bilingualism and musical training.
We used three questionnaires to determine the level of bilingualism, years of instrument use, and musical experience, which were provided online in the first phase of the study through Qualtrics. For the second in-person testing phase of the study, three cognitive tasks that measured stimulus evaluation and working memory (Oddball), response inhibition (Go/No-Go), and cognitive flexibility (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test; WCST) were administered. Also, three behavioral tasks: Digit Span, Short Term Visual Memory Binding, and Corsi block tapping test assessed differences in working memory across the groups.
Latency differences were observed for bilingual musicians in Standard trials at frontal electrodes, and faster reaction times to Deviant stimuli were observed in bilingual musicians compared to bilinguals, with no other significant results in response inhibition and cognitive flexibility. Therefore, this study demonstrated that musical experience may influence an individual’s speed in performing a task that uses working memory and stimulus evaluation of unexpected stimuli, as well as in their cognitive efficiency of updating as reflected by earlier peaks in the P300 ERP component.

Controversy surrounds the idea that bilingualism leads to enhanced executive function (EF) and brain volume changes, potentially leading to delays in cognitive decline and dementia onset. The purpose of this research was to explore these claims in a sample of elderly monolinguals and bilinguals. This study explored gray matter volume (GMV) in 214 monolinguals and bilinguals (Mage = 71.21, SD = 7.53) who were cognitively normal (CN) or diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. Neuropsychological performance was also examined between CN and MCI monolinguals and bilinguals (N = 153) across two visits. Scores from the Digit Span Backwards, Stroop interference, Trail Making Test A minus Trail Making Test B, and category fluency average scores were used. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) brain regions associated with memory, language, and EF were selected. Additionally, the study examined how a Bilingualism Index (BI) and the age of acquisition of English could predict GMV and EF in Spanish/English bilinguals whose native language was Spanish.
Lastly, the initial age of cognitive decline across language groups was compared. Results suggested higher GMV in language and EF regions in bilinguals, but differences were not found in memory regions. Furthermore, neuropsychological performance over time did not vary across language groups; however, bilinguals exhibited reduced Stroop interference as well as lower scores on Digit Span Backwards and category fluency. The age of acquisition of English did not predict GMV or EF scores, while the BI predicted category fluency, with lower scores associated with a higher degree of balanced bilingualism. Overall, the influence of bilingualism appears to be reflected in increased GMV in specific language and EF regions relative to neuropsychological performance.

An EEG experiment was design to test the influence of level of proficiency on processing of emotion content between languages in a sample of Spanish-English bilinguals divided by proficiency levels between two groups of bilinguals, one group of balanced (n=23) and another of unbalanced bilinguals (n=26). The participants rated words in three categories (negative, neutral, and positive) in terms of emotional valence in English and Spanish while EEG was recorded. Event-related potentials were calculated for two components related to emotion processing: the early posterior negativity (EPN) and the late positive complex LPC. 2 (Bilingual group) x 2 (language) x 3 (valence) x 3 (electrode) analyses were conducted on each component, separately for latency and amplitude. The results for the EPN latency indicated a marginally significant valence effect, with emotion words presenting shorter latencies than neutral words across conditions indicating a processing advantage of emotion content in both languages. The EPN amplitude also reflected the effect of valence, with larger amplitudes both emotion categories than for neutral words. The overall EPN amplitude was larger in Spanish than in English for both bilingual groups across valence categories. The LPC latency was longer in English than in Spanish for both bilingual groups, possibly related to Spanish being identified as native language in most of the sample. The LPC amplitude was larger for negative than for emotion than for neutral words for both groups in English and in Spanish for the Balanced group. The Unbalanced group, however, presented larger for positive than for neutral, and for neutral than for negative words. These results suggest that the Balanced and Unbalanced groups process emotion content similarly in English, but differently in Spanish. The Valence effects were consistent across languages for the Balanced group, but not for the Unbalanced group which might reflect an attenuation of the valence effect for negative words in Spanish for this group, and could indicate weaker emotional reactivity to negative words in the less proficient language.

It has been widely hypothesized that while doing arithmetic, individuals use two
distinct routes for phonological output. A direct route is used for exact arithmetic which
is language dependent, while an indirect route is used during arithmetic approximation
and thought to be language independent. The arithmetic double route has been
incorporated on the triple- code model that consists of visual arabic code for identifying
strings of digits, magnitude code for knowledge in numeral quantities, and verbal code
for rote arithmetic fact. Our goal is to investigate whether language experience has an
effect on the processing of exact/approximation math using bilingual participants who
have access to two languages, using a theoretical arithmetic processing model, which has
been validated across many studies. We have measured the two groups
(monolinguals/bilinguals) processing speed for completing the two tasks
(Exact/Approximation) in two codes (Arabic digit/Verbal). We hypothesized a faster
reaction time in exact arithmetic task in compared to approximation in accordance with the triple-code model. We alsoexpected a main effect for the task (Exact vs.Approximation) independent of the input code when the stimulus was presented in either Arabic digit and/or verbal codes. Our results show exact arithmetic is faster than
approximation of arithmetic facts in all codes supporting earlier theories. Also, there was
no significant difference in processing speed between monolinguals and bilinguals when
performing the arithmetic task in either Arabic and/or verbal codes. In addition, our
investigation suggests a modification to the triple-code model when interpreting
arithmetic facts in verbal code due to interference of two languages with bilingual
participants. Additions to the model can be suggested when the stimulus is expressed in
verbal code for visual identification, which may cause interference in bilinguals leading
to a first language advantage due to language experience.

Research in second language acquisition reveals that adults have difficulty
learning the grammatical aspects of a foreign language. The present study investigated
the efficacy of three teaching methods that were predicted to help adults better learn the
grammar of a foreign language. First, lessons were presented in small pieces that
gradually increased to full sentences. Second, lesson trials were blocked such that
multiple examples of sentences with the same object or verb were presented
consecutively. Third, participants were instructed to gesture the actions of the verbs
within sentences. All three methods were predicted to increase the likelihood of learning
the grammar form of sentences through guiding adults’ attention to fewer components of language input at a time. In Experiment 1, 82 English native speakers played an
adventure videogame designed for the learning of French vocabulary and grammar of
French sentences for two one-hour sessions. All three methods were incorporated in the lessons portion of the game resulting in a 2(incremental vs. full sentence) X 2(blocked vs. unblocked order) X 2(gesture vs. no gesture) between subjects design. The results from Experiment 1 revealed a) more nouns were acquired than verbs and b) a trend that the incremental conditions performed worse than the full sentence conditions on the grammar measures. In Experiment 2, 110 adult learners played the French videogame, but only the blocked presentation and gesture imitation methods were incorporated in the lessons portion (omitting the method of incremental presentation). The results from Experiment 2 revealed a) conditions with either method of blocked presentation or gesturing performed better on vocabulary and grammar measures than the unblocked non-gesture condition, and b) the combination of blocked presentation and gesturing led to better learning of inductive grammar than either method alone. The outcome of the study suggests gesturing and blocked order teaching methods that encourage adults to attend to a few but important components within a sentence are advantageous in learning the grammar of a foreign language.

This study aims to analyze three popular U.S. children’s TV shows – Dora the
Explorer (Nickelodeon), Maya & Miguel (PBS) and Handy Manny (Disney Channel) – in
terms of their incorporation of Spanish. Qualitative and quantitative measures were used
to assess the frequency and types of code switching both in the context of bilingualism
and language pedagogy. The study revealed different strategies of language choice and
socio-cultural objectives for each show. A close analysis of language choice in the three
children’s TV programs revealed distinct approaches to TV writing in the name of raising awareness of ethnic diversity, developing cultural literacy, and brand marketing.

This study was designed to determine which prototype of bilingual education parents would most favor and which prototype parents would least favor. Subjects were randomly selected from a population of English language dominant parents and Hispanic non-English dominant parents taken from eighteen schools which had a bilingual center as well as a regular program and eighteen schools which were similar but did not have a bilingual center. Ninety parents were chosen at random from grade levels three, six and nine in twenty-four sample elementary, middle and high schools. The parents were divided into three groups: (1) those who were Spanish dominant and who had children in bilingual centers, (2) those who were English dominant and who had children who attended schools with a bilingual center and who did not participate in the bilingual program, and (3) those who were English dominant and whose children attended schools which did not have a bilingual center. The assessment instrument was a questionnaire which asked parents to rank order five bilingual prototypes with one being the most favored program and five being the least favored program. Statistical treatment of the data included an examination of frequency percentages and chi-square analyses. Analysis of data revealed that group membership had no relationship to the three levels of parents' choices of the most favored program, yet there was a significant difference revealed in the chi-square analysis of the least favored program at the .05 alpha level. The variable which proved to be significant was language dominance. Although there was no statistical significance, the study showed that 49 percent of the combined English speaking parent groups would agree to have their children involved in a Bilingual/Second Language program. The research also indicated that although English dominant parents disagreed on the type of program which should be offered to limited English proficient students, 89 percent agreed that some program should be available in the public school system.

Activation of the representations of the two languages in bilingual memory has been shown to affect recognition during initial word comprehension (e.g., Dijkstra & Van Heuven, 2002). This study investigated whether the activation of semantic (i.e., meaning) and lexical (i.e., form) representations of words in a bilingual's two languages affects word recognition after the first stages of word comprehension. False recognition of words in one language that were similar in meaning and/or form to words studied in the other language was an indication of these effects. This study further investigated whether false recognition based on meaning and/or form is modulated by bilingual language proficiency.