Contributions of second language proficiency and interpreting experience to cognitive control differences among young adult bilinguals

Dong, Yanping; Xie, Zhilong

doi:10.1080/20445911.2014.924951

Cited by 50 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…An additional issue concerns the sensitivity of the dependent variables considered so far in the literature. For example, as noted earlier, measures of accuracy and/or reaction time have yielded no evidence of enhanced inhibitory skills in either ISs (Dong & Xie, 2014; Köpke & Nespoulous, 2006; Van de Putte et al, 2018) or PSIs (Babcock & Vallesi, 2017; Köpke & Nespoulous, 2006; Yudes et al, 2011). However, electrophysiological results suggest that training in at least one interpreting modality (consecutive interpreting) may distinctively modulate event-related potentials underlying monitoring and inhibitory functions (Dong & Zhong, 2017).…”

Section: Limitations Challenges and Avenues For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Neither does SI seem to distinctively tax inhibitory or task-switching mechanisms. In fact, these domains appear to be only marginally relevant for such an activity, which requires both languages to be constantly active rather than alternately inhibited (Dong & Xie, 2014; Yudes et al, 2011), without a need to unexpectedly shift between disparate processing modalities (e.g., visual, acoustic, linguistic). Likewise, although the relationship between SI and divided attention is well established (Pöchhacker, 2004), the specific strategies developed in the course of training (Cowan, 2000) might arguably enable PSIs to circumvent high demands on the more focal and sustained attentional resources assessed so far in the field.…”

Section: Discussion: On the Adaptability Of Neurocognitive Systems Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, mental-set shifting skills seem to be enhanced in first-year ISs relative to UMs, and even more so in second-year trainees (Dong & Xie, 2014). On the other, assessments of attentional (Babcock et al, 2017), inhibitory (Dong & Xie, 2014; Köpke & Nespoulous, 2006; Van de Putte et al, 2018), and switching (Babcock et al, 2017; Van de Putte et al, 2018) skills do not point to any coherent behavioral advantage for ISs after one or even two years of training. As will be argued below, the absence of effects in these domains could reflect their marginal relevance for successful performance of SI (see “Discussion”).…”

Section: Evidence From Interpreting Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Taxing the bilingual mind: Effects of simultaneous interpreting experience on verbal and executive mechanisms

2019

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This paper reviews the neurocognitive particularities of subjects with sustained experience in simultaneous interpreting, a highly demanding form of bilingual processing. The literature converges into three broad empirical patterns. First, significant neurocognitive differences, including behavioral enhancements in verbal and executive domains, are observable after only one or two years of training. Second, such effects, both in interpreting students and/or professional interpreters, seem robust for crucial linguistic (e.g., translation) and executive (e.g., working memory) aspects of the activity, but not for more marginally relevant ones (e.g., conflict resolution) – suggesting that they are non-generalizable beyond directly taxed functions. Third, though more tentatively, some of the observed verbal and executive effects seem to be mutually independent and uninfluenced by other bilingual-experience-related factors (e.g., L2 competence), which could highlight their distinctive relation with interpreting practice. In sum, this particular model of expertise sheds novel light on the adaptive capacity of cognitive systems in bilinguals.

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Section: Limitations Challenges and Avenues For Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussion: On the Adaptability Of Neurocognitive Systems Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Evidence From Interpreting Studentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Taxing the bilingual mind: Effects of simultaneous interpreting experience on verbal and executive mechanisms

2019

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“…The modulating effect of language proficiency, however, in some cases, may be less important than other factors such as frequency of language switching, at least for young adults. Dong and Xie () found that, in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, there was no difference between young adult bilinguals of different L2 proficiency, but there were significant differences between groups with different amount of interpreting training.…”

Section: Executive Functions: Bilingual Advantagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Cognitive Science of Bilingualism

Dong

2015

Language and Linguist. Compass

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Recent research in cognitive effects of bilingualism has generated both excitement and controversy. The current paper provides an overview of this literature that has taken a componential approach toward cognitive effects of bilingualism, according to which bilingual advantages in executive functions are measured in terms of executive control (inhibiting, switching, updating) and monitoring. Findings to date indicate that the presence or absence of bilingual advantages may be influenced by a variety of learner and environmental factors, including the bilingual individual's age, age of acquisition, language proficiency, frequency of language use, and difficulty of the experimental task. The cognitive effects of bilingualism must be interpreted in light of the bilingual's lifelong linguistic experience, which results in adaptive changes in the mind and the brain. We suggest directions for future research in this domain.

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“…Two additional studies examined students of interpretation on tasks of conflict resolution. Dong and Xie (2014) compared students of interpretation to students of other subjects on the flanker task and found no difference in performance. Similarly, Woumans and colleagues found no differences between students of interpretation and balanced bilinguals on the Attention Network Test (ANT) and Simon task (Woumans et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-Term Memory Improvement After Simultaneous Interpretation Training

et al. 2017

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Simultaneous interpretation (SI) is a cognitively demanding process that has been associated with enhanced memory and executive functions. It is unclear, however, if the previously evidenced interpreter advantages are developed through training and/or experience with SI or rather represent inherent characteristics that allow success in the field. The present study aimed to disentangle these possibilities through a longitudinal examination of students earning a Master of Conference Interpreting and two control populations. The students were tested at the beginning and end of their programs on measures of memory and executive functioning that have previously demonstrated an interpreter advantage. The results revealed no inherent advantage among the students of interpretation. However, an SI training-specific advantage was revealed in verbal short-term memory; the students of interpretation, but not the two control groups, showed a gain between the testing sessions. This controlled longitudinal study demonstrates that training in simultaneous interpretation is associated with cognitive changes.

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Contributions of second language proficiency and interpreting experience to cognitive control differences among young adult bilinguals

Cited by 50 publications

References 60 publications

Taxing the bilingual mind: Effects of simultaneous interpreting experience on verbal and executive mechanisms

Taxing the bilingual mind: Effects of simultaneous interpreting experience on verbal and executive mechanisms

The Cognitive Science of Bilingualism

Short-Term Memory Improvement After Simultaneous Interpretation Training

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