The Minimal and Short-Lived Effects of Minority Language Exposure on the Executive Functions of Frisian-Dutch Bilingual Children

Abstract

Various studies have shown that bilingual children need a certain degree of proficiency in both languages before their bilingual experiences enhance their executive functioning (EF). In the current study, we investigated if degree of bilingualism in Frisian-Dutch children influenced EF and if this effect was sustained over a 3-year period. To this end, longitudinal data were analyzed from 120 Frisian-Dutch bilingual children who were 5- or 6-years-old at the first time of testing. EF was measured with two attention and two working memory tasks. Degree of bilingualism was defined as language balance based on receptive vocabulary and expressive morphology scores in both languages. In a context with a minority and a majority language, such as the Frisian-Dutch context, chances for becoming proficient in both languages are best for children who speak the minority language at home. Therefore, in a subsequent analysis, we examined whether minority language exposure predicted language balance and whether there was a relationship between minority language exposure and EF, mediated by language balance. The results showed that intensity of exposure to Frisian at home, mediated by language balance, had an impact on one of the attention tasks only. It predicted performance on this task at time 1, but not at time 2 and 3. This partially confirms previous evidence that the cognitive effects of bilingualism are moderated by degree of bilingualism and furthermore reveals that substantial minority language exposure at home indirectly affects bilingual children’s cognitive development, namely through mediation with degree of bilingualism. However, the findings also demonstrate that the effect of bilingualism on EF is limited and unstable.

No Bilingual Benefits Despite Relations Between Language Switching and Task Switching

“…The absence of an effect ties in with other research that failed to find an effect of bilingualism on other cognitive control tasks (Duñabeitia et al, 2014). It confirms the conclusion that cognitive effects lack stability and robustness (Paap et al, 2015), and may depend on specific properties of the sample, such as age (Bosma et al, 2017).…”

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

“…Finally, as argued at the outset, diverse processes in bilinguals are susceptible to the impact of experience-related factors, such as age of L2 acquisition or the degree of exposure and attained proficiency in that language (e.g., Bosma et al, 2017; Grant et al, 2015). The present review indicates that, in addition to how early or how proficiently an L2 was acquired, another critical determinant in the sustained development of bilingual systems is the intensity of the demands placed on them.…”

Searching for the bilingual advantage in executive functions in speakers of Hunsrückisch and other minority languages: a literature review

“…Moreover, other language varieties or dialects from China, the Netherlands, Scotland and Germany were investigated. Some of these languages have been recognized by the government, e. g. Frisian, which is taught for at least 1 h per week and in many schools and is used as one of the languages of instruction (Bosma et al 2017). All these languages may be spoken in informal and oral contexts, and the number of speakers might be more reduced than the other languages reported in this paper.…”