Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition
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Isabelle Darcy
Abstract
This chapter discusses the relationship between cognitive control and phonological processing in a second language (L2). Cognitive control is globally referred to as executive functions, mainly consisting of attention control, working memory and inhibitory control. Our research examines how dealing with multiple languages early on relates to differences in cognitive abilities, and how individual differences in cognitive abilities in turn impact phonological processing in L2. Building on evidence that functional bilinguals develop fine-grained advantages in cognitive control over monolinguals (Bialystok 2011), we investigate whether language learners with greater cognitive control are also better equipped to acquire a new phonological system. We report on data from two groups of L2 learners (L1 Spanish) who started learning English during adolescence. One group of learners grew up in a Spanish monolingual environment; the other grew up in a bilingual environment (Spanish/Catalan). The early bilingual participants used both Catalan and Spanish daily, but differed in the amount of use of their less dominant language (either Catalan or Spanish). We measured attention control, phonological memory and inhibitory control, and assessed L2 phonological processing skills via a perception task. The results indicate that phonological short-term memory and inhibition are related to L2-phonological processing, but not in the same way for all groups. The relationship interacts with the participants’ linguistic profile. Specifically, inhibitory control strongly correlates with L2 phonological processing for the participants from the monolingual environment: participants with stronger inhibitory control were more accurate in the perception task. This relationship was not visible for the participants with bilingual experience. We propose that the effects of individual differences in inhibitory control for these bilinguals might have been “washed out” due to the daily practice they receive in inhibiting one language over the other.
Abstract
This chapter discusses the relationship between cognitive control and phonological processing in a second language (L2). Cognitive control is globally referred to as executive functions, mainly consisting of attention control, working memory and inhibitory control. Our research examines how dealing with multiple languages early on relates to differences in cognitive abilities, and how individual differences in cognitive abilities in turn impact phonological processing in L2. Building on evidence that functional bilinguals develop fine-grained advantages in cognitive control over monolinguals (Bialystok 2011), we investigate whether language learners with greater cognitive control are also better equipped to acquire a new phonological system. We report on data from two groups of L2 learners (L1 Spanish) who started learning English during adolescence. One group of learners grew up in a Spanish monolingual environment; the other grew up in a bilingual environment (Spanish/Catalan). The early bilingual participants used both Catalan and Spanish daily, but differed in the amount of use of their less dominant language (either Catalan or Spanish). We measured attention control, phonological memory and inhibitory control, and assessed L2 phonological processing skills via a perception task. The results indicate that phonological short-term memory and inhibition are related to L2-phonological processing, but not in the same way for all groups. The relationship interacts with the participants’ linguistic profile. Specifically, inhibitory control strongly correlates with L2 phonological processing for the participants from the monolingual environment: participants with stronger inhibitory control were more accurate in the perception task. This relationship was not visible for the participants with bilingual experience. We propose that the effects of individual differences in inhibitory control for these bilinguals might have been “washed out” due to the daily practice they receive in inhibiting one language over the other.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
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Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
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Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
-
Introduction
- Introduction. Cognitive individual differences in second language learning and processing 1
-
Part 1. Theoretical and methodological issues
- Foreign language aptitude, acquisitional sequences, and psycholinguistic processes 17
- Miniature natural language learning in L2 acquisition research 41
- Working memory, language processing, and implications of malleability for second language acquisition 69
- Methodological implications of working memory tasks for L2 processing research 89
- Analyzing individual differences in second language research 105
-
Part 2. Empirical studies
- Music, song and speech 131
- An empirical study of working memory, personality, and second language construction learning 157
- Elicited imitation as a measure of implicit L2 knowledge 185
- Working memory and L2 English speakers’ primed and subsequent production of passives 205
- Interrelationships among L2 linguistic knowledge, working memory functions, and L2 reading 223
- Executive control and phonological processing in language acquisition 249
- Corrective feedback and working memory capacity 279
- The interaction between feedback exposure condition and phonetic coding ability 303
- The role of explicit language aptitude in implicit, explicit, and mixed feedback conditions 327
- Index 351
