Abstract
The present study examined whether bilingualism-related advantages in self-regulation could be observed: (a) among Chinese American immigrant children with varying levels of Chinese and English proficiencies, and (b) across different domains of self-regulation in laboratory, home, and classroom contexts. A socioeconomically diverse sample of first- and second-generation Chinese American immigrant children between ages 7 and 10 (n = 223) was administered assessments of Chinese and English language proficiencies and a multi-method, multi-informant battery of self-regulation measures. Multiple regression analyses suggested that controlling for covariates (child age, gender, and SES), children's bilingualism-related advantages were limited to higher performance only on computerized tasks of cognitive flexibility, and only among children with higher degrees of fluency in both Chinese and English. By contrast, proficiencies in one language (either Chinese or English) were uniquely and positively associated with other domains of self-regulation, including parent and teacher-reported effortful control. These results suggest that the bilingual advantage for self-regulation may be observed as a continuous variable among immigrant children with varying levels of bilingual fluency; however, this advantage may not extend across all domains and contexts of self-regulation.
Highlights
Though previous research suggests that bilingual experience may confer advantages for children’s executive functioning, recent findings indicate mixed support for the “bilingual advantage” (Antón et al, 2014; Gathercole et al, 2014; Pelham and Abrams, 2014)
Among children who are bilingual or learning two languages, is executive functioning related to the degree of dual language proficiency? Second, previous research on the bilingual advantage has been limited largely to laboratory-based tasks of executive functioning
Can bilingualism-related advantages be found in other domains of self-regulation or in other contexts? We investigated these questions using a sample of Chinese American immigrant children
Summary
Though previous research suggests that bilingual experience may confer advantages for children’s executive functioning (see Bialystok et al, 2009, for a review), recent findings indicate mixed support for the “bilingual advantage” (Antón et al, 2014; Gathercole et al, 2014; Pelham and Abrams, 2014). A more nuanced understanding of the bilingual advantage may be achieved by examining two questions that to-date remain largely unexplored. Among children who are bilingual or learning two languages, is executive functioning related to the degree of dual language proficiency? Previous research on the bilingual advantage has been limited largely to laboratory-based tasks of executive functioning. Can bilingualism-related advantages be found in other domains of self-regulation (e.g., effortful control) or in other contexts (e.g., home and school)? We tested: (a) whether English and Chinese proficiency uniquely predict higher self-regulation among English-Chinese bilingual children, and (b) whether English and Chinese proficiency interact with each other in predicting children’s self-regulation
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