Language Proficiency in Preschool Children with Different Levels of Executive Function

Abstract

Background. According to numerous studies, people's development of executive function is a predictor of their successful acquisition of literacy skills. However, the data on the relationship between the development of verbal language and executive function in preschool aged children are insufficient and contradictory. Objective. The goal of our research was to study the connection between the three main EF components (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and various spoken language skills in children of senior preschool age. It is the first stage of a longitudinal study aimed at understanding the relationship between executive function and language development starting from ages 5-6, and proceeding through elementary school. Design. Our study sample included 279 children aged 5-6 years (M = 5.6 years) attending a senior group in Moscow kindergartens (139 boys and 140 girls). The study used NEPSY-II diagnostic complex subtests and the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) test to measure the level of executive functions (working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition). Language development (vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and word generation) was measured by neuropsychological methods (Akhutina, Pylaeva, 2015). Results. The results of the study showed significant associations between all EF components and language skills development in preschool children. Oral language skills were more closely related to the level of development of verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility than they were to inhibition or visual working memory. Children with low levels of EF development were significantly less able to cope with tasks such as understanding prepositional structures, understanding similar sounding words, and showing verbal fluency, than children with a high EF level. Furthermore, children with normal and high levels of EF development displayed no significant differences in language development. Thus, the study showed that children with a low level of EF have difficulties with language development. Conclusion. Our results provide important details about understanding the relationship between executive functioning and language development in children of senior preschool age.

Towards a Characterization of Late Talkers: The Developmental Profile of Children with Late Language Emergence through a Web-Based Communicative-Language Assessment

“…The non-significant correlations between EFs and expressive vocabulary in the whole group does not support previous findings that had found associations between measures of EFs (e.g., updating as measured in terms of working memory, inhibitory control, and shifting) and measures of lexical and grammatical development [ 28 , 69 , 70 ]. It should be noted, however, that the available evidence on the potential relation between EFs and oral language production skills in preschoolers is still limited and controversial (e.g., [ 71 ]). This may be due to the wide interindividual variability observable in the linguistic and executive abilities of children under three years of age, the selection of different measures to assess EFs, and the young age of the children in this study.…”

The Relationship between Executive Functions and Language Production in 5–6-Year-Old Children: Insights from Working Memory and Storytelling

“…There is a convincing body of research suggesting that executive functions predict the acquisition of reading and writing skills in preschool children and in children attending primary school [7,8]. However, data on the relationship between executive functions and oral language skills at preschool age is limited and contradictory [9,10]. The current study addressed this gap in knowledge and examined the relationship between working memory (as a component of executive functions) and oral narrative skills in 5-6-year-old children.…”

Features of a Project-Case Technology in Teaching Students Further Mathematics

“…While teaching mathematics at a technical university, the case method is mostly used in the study of separate matters to increase the efficiency of their development (Salnikova, 2016). In this instance there is a challenge to form not only knowledge of individual elements of mathematics, but also an integral system of mathematical representation (Testov, 2018;Veraksa, Bukhalenkova, & Kovyazina, 2018).…”