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Associations of natural language switching with executive control in early bilinguals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2020

Raúl López-Penadés Open the ORCID record for Raúl López-Penadés [Opens in a new window] ,
Victor A. Sanchez-Azanza Open the ORCID record for Victor A. Sanchez-Azanza [Opens in a new window] ,
Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla Open the ORCID record for Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla [Opens in a new window] ,
Lucía Buil-Legaz  and
Daniel Adrover-Roig Open the ORCID record for Daniel Adrover-Roig [Opens in a new window]
Raúl López-Penadés*
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears (Spain).
Victor A. Sanchez-Azanza
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears (Spain).
Eva Aguilar-Mediavilla
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears (Spain).
Lucía Buil-Legaz
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears (Spain).
Daniel Adrover-Roig
Affiliation:
Department of Applied Pedagogy and Educational Psychology, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Illes Balears (Spain).
*
Address for correspondence: Raúl López-Penadés, Ph.D., E-mail: raul.lopez@uib.es
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Abstract

This study aimed at identifying linguistic factors that could contribute to understanding individual differences in executive control among bilinguals. Directionality and type of natural language switching, age of second language acquisition, and language proficiency were evaluated in a sample of 112 early bilingual adults. Participants performed several computerized tasks tapping into three dimensions of executive control: inhibition of interference, working memory updating, and shifting. Regression analyses showed that frequent switching to the second language was associated with more efficient executive processing, enhanced working memory updating processes, and better shifting ability. Moreover, higher frequency of unintended language switches was associated with lower interference control abilities. Frequency of language switching behavior was the principal predictor of executive control, beyond age of second language acquisition and language proficiency. Results suggest that frequent language switching is related to enhanced executive control, while the unintended switching of languages could be associated with low interference control.

Keywords

executive controlbilingual switching questionnairelanguage controlnatural language switchingunintended language switching
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , November 2020 , pp. 1008 - 1019
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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