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Abstract
Bilingualism may modulate executive functions (EFs), but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated two potential sources of variability in bilinguals’ EF performance: (1) interactional contexts and code-switching, and (2) dominance profiles. Previous research on code-switching often relied on self-reports of regular code-switching habits. In this study, we investigated the effects of experimentally induced language modes (single language versus code-switching modes) on bilinguals’ EF performance. Crucially, in the bilingual conditions, we differentiated between different types of intra-sentential code-switching (Insertion, Alternation, and Dense code-switching). Moreover, we investigated the interaction of the effects of temporary language modes with bilinguals’ sociolinguistic code-switching habits. All our participants were L1-dominant German–English bilinguals (N = 29) immersed in an L2 context. We assessed the effects of dominance by correlating individual bilinguals’ L1-dominance with their EF performance. In addition, we investigated whether language modes activate different EF patterns in bilinguals, as opposed to monolinguals, i.e., individuals who have no additional language to suppress. Based on models of bilingual language processing, we predicted our bilinguals to display the best EF performance in L2 single language contexts, as these require them to activate inhibitory schemata to suppress their dominant L1. Indeed, bilinguals performed better in the single language than in the code-switching conditions. The results also suggested that bilinguals activated more inhibitory control compared to monolinguals, supporting the notion that bilingual processing involves inhibition. The task conditions inducing different code-switching modes differed only in terms of the predictors explaining EF performance in the regression. We observed negative correlations between the frequency of engaging in a given type of code-switching and performance in language modes inducing non-corresponding control modes. The results suggested that Dense code-switching draws upon proactive control modes that differ from the reactive control involved in Alternation. Importantly, bilinguals’ dominance profiles played a crucial role in explaining EF performance. The more balanced individuals in our overall L1-dominant sample displayed better EF performance in the bilingual conditions, suggesting that more balanced bilingualism trains the control modes involved in code-switching. This highlights the importance of assessing bilinguals’ sociolinguistic profiles in bilingualism research.
Highlights
Some studies suggest that bilingualism modulates individuals’ executive functions (EFs) because the demands of managing more than one language challenge and train cognitive control (Bialystok, 2017)
This study focused on two aspects that have repeatedly been put forward as sources of variability in bilinguals’ EF performance: (1) the interactional context or language mode in which bilinguals operate and (2) bilinguals’ language dominance profiles
Whilst EF performance in the singlelanguage and bilingual modes differed significantly, there was no significant difference in EF performance across the different code-switching modes
Summary
Some studies suggest that bilingualism modulates individuals’ executive functions (EFs) because the demands of managing more than one language challenge and train cognitive control (Bialystok, 2017). Results in the field of bilingualism and executive functions have been inconsistent, with some largescale studies finding no interaction between bilingual processing and EFs (Paap and Greenberg, 2013; Duñabeitia and Carreiras, 2015; Lehtonen et al, 2018). To achieve their large sample sizes, many of these studies have combined different types of bilinguals into the same group. The present study focused on a specific type of bilinguals and mapped the language history and language usage profiles of each individual participant
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