Abstract
Solving arithmetic problems is a cognitive task that heavily relies on language processing. One might thus wonder whether this language-reliance leads to qualitative differences (e.g., greater difficulties, error types, etc.) in arithmetic for bilingual individuals who frequently have to solve arithmetic problems in more than one language. The present study investigated how proficiency in two languages interacts with arithmetic problem solving throughout language acquisition in adolescents and young adults. Additionally, we examined whether the number word structure that is specific to a given language plays a role in number processing over and above bilingual proficiency. We addressed these issues in a German–French educational bilingual setting, where there is a progressive transition from German to French as teaching language. Importantly, German and French number naming structures differ clearly, as two-digit number names follow a unit-ten order in German, but a ten-unit order in French. We implemented a transversal developmental design in which bilingual pupils from grades 7, 8, 10, 11, and young adults were asked to solve simple and complex additions in both languages. The results confirmed that language proficiency is crucial especially for complex addition computation. Simple additions in contrast can be retrieved equally well in both languages after extended language practice. Additional analyses revealed that over and above language proficiency, language-specific number word structures (e.g., unit-ten vs. ten-unit) also induced significant modulations of bilinguals' arithmetic performances. Taken together, these findings support the view of a strong relation between language and arithmetic in bilinguals.
Highlights
Every human can manipulate approximate numerical quantities independently from language (Xu and Spelke, 2000), acquiring and mastering symbolic representations of exact quantities critically depends on language and instruction
Complex Additions) Preliminary analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a strong effect of complexity on both response time (RT) [F(1, 184) = 893.961; p < 0.001; η2 = 0.829] and
Since all factors of the preliminary ANOVA interacted with complexity, we will directly report below separate analyses and results for both complexity levels
Summary
Every human can manipulate approximate numerical quantities independently from language (Xu and Spelke, 2000), acquiring and mastering symbolic representations of exact quantities critically depends on language and instruction. Amazonian tribes who have restricted or no Language and arithmetic in bilinguals number words for quantities larger than five (or even two) impressively illustrate the importance of language for exact quantity representations. While their members can handle and manipulate large numerosities approximately, they are not able to process and represent them exactly (Gordon, 2004; Pica et al, 2004). We investigated whether and how the progressive acquisition of multiple languages modulates arithmetic problem solving in bilinguals
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