Nonverbal Switching Ability of Monolingual and Bilingual Children with and without Developmental Language Disorder

Bibliographic Data

ID5900995
AuthorsTessel Boerma (0000-0002-1649-2308, Utrecht University, corresponding author), Merel Van Witteloostuijn (0000-0003-3159-8247, Utrecht University), E Blom (0000-0001-8984-3650, Utrecht University)
Year2022
Volume7
Issue2
Pages108
Publication date2022-04-28
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguages (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2226-471X • E-ISSN: 2226-471X
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/languages7020108
OpenAlexW4225130446
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited71

Bilingualism is associated with enhanced switching skills, while a developmental language disorder (DLD) may negatively impact switching ability. However, both studies with bilinguals as well as studies including children with DLD have revealed mixed results. Moreover, the interaction of bilingualism and DLD has not been addressed and the origin of the stronger or weaker switching performance is unknown. The current study aimed to fill these gaps. Monolingual and bilingual children with and without DLD (n = 32 in each of the four groups) completed a nonverbal color/shape switching task when they were 7 to 8 years old, and a Continuous Performance Task two years earlier. The latter tapped into their response inhibition and sustained attention skills, which may underlie switching ability. No differences between monolinguals and bilinguals were found on the switching task. Children with DLD had higher mixing costs than peers without DLD, which was driven by differences in sustained attention skills. These results add to the body of research indicating that the cognitive advantages of bilingualism are unstable. Additionally, the results substantiate the hypothesis that attention processes are foundational for complex cognitive skills, such as switching, and suggest cascading effects for children with weaker attention skills, such as children with DLD

Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Developmental psychology · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Nonverbal communication · Task (project management · Task switching · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Neuroscience · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development

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