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Continuous effects of bilingualism and attention on Flanker task performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2020

Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim Open the ORCID record for Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim [Opens in a new window] ,
Geoffrey B. Sorge  and
Ellen Bialystok
Ashley Chung-Fat-Yim
Affiliation:
York University, Toronto, Ontario
Geoffrey B. Sorge
Affiliation:
Upper Canada College, Toronto, Ontario
Ellen Bialystok*
Affiliation:
York University, Toronto, Ontario
*
Address for correspondence: Ellen Bialystok, E-mail: ellenb@yorku.ca
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Abstract

Both bilingualism and attention contribute to the development of executive functioning (EF), with higher levels of both leading to better outcomes. The present study treats bilingualism and attention as continuous variables to investigate their impact on EF. Eighty-two 9-year-olds who were attending a French school in an anglophone community completed a flanker task. Children's progress in French represented their level of bilingualism, and attention was assessed through a standard standardized instrument. Degree of bilingualism and degree of attention were both positively related to performance, but exposure to a third language in the home did not further affect outcomes.

Keywords

bilingualismexecutive functionsattentionflanker task
Type
Research Notes
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 23 , Issue 5 , November 2020 , pp. 1106 - 1111
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2020

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