Abstract
The bilingual advantage is a heavily debated topic in research on bilingualism. The current study further investigated one specific aspect of bilingualism proposed to be a determining factor for the bilingual advantage, namely language switching behaviour. We investigated whether a bilingual advantage can be detected in the executive functions of inhibition and shifting by comparing monolingual and bilingual participants on a Simon task and a colour–shape switching task. Furthermore, we examined the relation between these executive functions and language switching proficiency, as measured by a semantic verbal fluency task. In addition, the current study set out to investigate the convergence of self-reported language switching estimates and actual language switching proficiency. Results revealed a bilingual advantage for shifting, but not for inhibition. However, this bilingual advantage for shifting was not related to language switching behaviour. Additionally, we were unable to identify a relation between objective and subjective measures of switching abilities. These findings seem to confirm the existence of a bilingual advantage, but also once again validate its elusiveness, as demonstrated by the absence of bilingual benefits on our measure of inhibition. It furthermore questions the validity of switching measures employed in previous studies.
Highlights
People tend to benefit from being bilingual in one way or another, but one beneficial consequence of bilingualism in particular has gained a lot of attention over the past two decades
As the abovementioned research revealed a possible moderating effect of language switching on the bilingual advantage phenomenon, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of this linguistic variable on two measures of executive function: inhibition and shifting
There were, significant differences for frequency of L1 use, L2 proficiency, age of L2 acquisition, frequency of L2 use and language switching frequency. Bilinguals employed their L1 less frequently and their L2 more frequently. They acquired their L2 at an earlier age than monolinguals and reported higher proficiency
Summary
People tend to benefit from being bilingual in one way or another, but one beneficial consequence of bilingualism in particular has gained a lot of attention over the past two decades. This is the possible effect that controlling two or more languages might have on cognitive or executive control. Miyake and colleagues proposed an influential subdivision of executive functioning into three main processes: inhibition, shifting and updating. The nature of the advantage is proposed to stem from a bilingual’s need to constantly and simultaneously govern two competing languages (e.g., by Bialystok and colleagues [2])
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