Factors influencing bilinguals’ speed and accuracy of number judgments across languages: A meta-analytic review

García, Omar; Faghihi, Nafiseh; Raola, Akash R.; Vaid, Jyotsna

doi:10.1016/j.jml.2020.104211

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Moreover, they found no significant language differences in performance measures. These findings are consistent with a recent meta-analysis suggesting that performance differences across languages may be driven by factors like proficiency rather than the language of original learning (Garcia et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…Recently, in a reevaluation of the language bias for arithmetic, Cerda et al (2022) found that proficient, early bilingual adults accessed multiplication facts from memory with equivalent efficiency across languages. These findings are consistent with a recent meta-analysis study suggesting that performance differences across languages may be due more to proficiency in a language than differences in cognitive processing across languages (Garcia et al, 2021). However, it is possible that language differences may arise in more subtle ways, even in more proficient bilinguals, especially when comparing the processing of simple problems to more difficult problems, such as the problem size effect (PSE).…”

supporting

confidence: 92%

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Bilingual problem size effect: An ERP study of multiplication verification and production in two languages.

Cerda,

Flaugher,

Montufar Soria

et al. 2023

Translational Issues in Psychological Science

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The problem size effect (PSE) is defined by better performance solving small problems (e.g., 2 × 4) than large problems (e.g., 8 × 9). For monolinguals, the PSE is larger when problems are presented in unfamiliar formats (e.g., written words), reflecting increased processing difficulty. Bilinguals are typically faster and more accurate at retrieving multiplication facts in the language of learning (LA+) than in their other language (LA−). We hypothesized that the less familiar arithmetic language (i.e., LA−) would elicit larger PSEs than LA+. Here, fluent Spanish-English bilingual adults verified spoken multiplication problems presented in LA+ and LA− while event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded (Experiment 1A). To further promote language differences, we increased task difficulty by presenting problems at a faster pace (Experiment 1B) and requiring bilinguals to verbally produce solutions (Experiment 2). Language differences in performance were only observed for Experiment 2, where solutions were produced more slowly in LA− than LA+. In the ERPs, a PSE was driven by larger P300s for small than large solutions. A language effect was only observed under time pressure where LA− elicited a PSE at the second operand. Additionally, the PSE was smaller for LA− at the solution. This suggests that categorizing multiplication facts is more effortful in LA−. In sum, very subtle language differences arise in fluent bilinguals when problems are more difficult, such as larger problems presented under time pressure in a weaker language. Critically, the effect of LA+ is at the level of response production and not access to the facts from memory.What is the significance of this article for the general public? Many bilingual students entering U.S. schools learn foundational concepts in a language other than English, leaving them at a potential developmental disadvantage compared to their monolingual peers when tested on this knowledge. This study investigates how the bilingual brain processes simple and more difficult multiplication facts across languages. Our results suggest that fluent bilingual adults only exhibit subtle language differences for the most difficult problems in their weaker language.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

supporting

confidence: 92%

Bilingual problem size effect: An ERP study of multiplication verification and production in two languages.

Cerda,

Flaugher,

Montufar Soria

et al. 2023

Translational Issues in Psychological Science

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“…For example in school curricula where the first language for learning mathematics is German (LM1) and math classes later switch to a second language (French, LM2), systematic costs have been found for LM2 arithmetic problem solving despite an equal number of years training the LM2 [ 57 ]. A recent meta-analysis found an advantage for solving arithmetic and naming numbers (but not for magnitude comparison tasks) in the L1 [ 58 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Number transcoding in bilinguals—A transversal developmental study

et al. 2022

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Number transcoding is the cognitive task of converting between different numerical codes (i.e. visual “42”, verbal “forty-two”). Visual symbolic to verbal transcoding and vice versa strongly relies on language proficiency. We evaluated transcoding of German-French bilinguals from Luxembourg in 5th, 8th, 11th graders and adults. In the Luxembourgish educational system, children acquire mathematics in German (LM1) until the 7th grade, and then the language of learning mathematic switches to French (LM2). French `70s `80s `90s are less transparent than `30s `40s `50s numbers, since they have a base-20 structure, which is not the case in German. Transcoding was evaluated with a reading aloud and a verbal-visual number matching task. Results of both tasks show a cognitive cost for transcoding numbers having a base-20 structure (i.e. `70s, `80s and `90s), such that response times were slower in all age groups. Furthermore, considering only base-10 numbers (i.e. `30s `40s `50s), it appeared that transcoding in LM2 (French) also entailed a cost. While participants across age groups tended to read numbers slower in LM2, this effect was limited to the youngest age group in the matching task. In addition, participants made more errors when reading LM2 numbers. In conclusion, we observed an age-independent language effect with numbers having a base-20 structure in French, reflecting their reduced transparency with respect to the decimal system. Moreover, we find an effect of language of math acquisition such that transcoding is less well mastered in LM2. This effect tended to persist until adulthood in the reading aloud task, while in the matching task performance both languages become similar in older adolescents and young adults. This study supports the link between numbers and language, especially highlighting the impact of language on reading numbers aloud from childhood to adulthood.

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“…Hypothesis 1: We expected an LM2 cost for lexical retrieval, with slower VOTs for Indo-Arabic digit naming in the LM2 than in the LM1, as suggested by previous studies (Garcia et al, 2021; Lachelin et al, 2022).…”

Section: Bilingual Arithmetic and Transcodingmentioning

confidence: 73%

“…For bilingual participants who followed the Luxembourgish school system where mathematics is taught first in German for 6 years (LM1) and then in French for 7 years (LM2), slower response times and more errors for complex arithmetic are found for LM2 compared to LM1, even in adults (Van Rinsveld et al, 2015). The LM2 cost for French was further replicated in a second cross-sectional study for the more elementary task of transcoding two-digit Arabic numbers, also until adulthood (Lachelin et al, 2022; see also Garcia et al, 2021 for complementary results in a meta-analysis).…”

Section: Bilingual Arithmetic and Transcodingmentioning

confidence: 83%

Weaker semantic priming effects with number words in the second language of math learning.

Lachelin,

Marinova,

Reynvoet

et al. 2024

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

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Bilinguals' exact number representations result from associations between language-independent Indo-Arabic digits ("5"), two verbal codes ("fünf" and "cinq") and a common, largely overlapping semantic representation. To compare the lexical and semantic access to number representations between two languages, we recruited a sample of balanced highly proficient German-French adult bilinguals. At school, those bilinguals learned mathematics in German for 6 years (LM1) and then switched to French (LM2) in 7th grade (12 years old) until 13th grade. After the brief presentation of primes (51 ms) consisting of Indo-Arabic digits or number words in German or French, an Indo-Arabic digits target had to be read in either German or French in an online study. Stimuli were numbers from 1 to 9, and we varied the absolute distance between primes and targets from 0 (i.e., 1-1) to 3 (1-4; as in Reynvoet et al., 2002). The priming distance effect (PDE) was used to measure the strength of numerical semantic association. We find comparable PDEs with Indo-Arabic digits and German number word primes, independently from the target naming language. However, we did not find a clear PDE with French number word primes, neither when naming targets in German, nor in French. The weaker PDE from LM2 compared to LM1 primes is interpreted as a weaker lexico-semantic association of LM2 number words. These results indicate a critical role of the LM1 and further emphasize the role of language in processing numbers. They might have important implications for designing bilingual school curricula. Public Significance StatementThis study demonstrated a cognitive cost for highly proficient bilinguals when processing the meaning of numbers in a second language. The cost was observed even though bilinguals had attended math classes in the second language (French) during 7 school years, following math acquisition in the first language (German) over a period of 6 school years. Our findings indicate that sequential bilingual school curricula imply a cost for processing numbers in the second language. Given the hierarchical nature of math education and its fundamental importance for later academic and professional achievement, this cost should ideally be acknowledged and addressed to assure optimal learning outcomes.

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Factors influencing bilinguals’ speed and accuracy of number judgments across languages: A meta-analytic review

Cited by 12 publications

References 104 publications

Bilingual problem size effect: An ERP study of multiplication verification and production in two languages.

Bilingual problem size effect: An ERP study of multiplication verification and production in two languages.

Number transcoding in bilinguals—A transversal developmental study

Weaker semantic priming effects with number words in the second language of math learning.

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