Math Difficulties and Working Memory Growth in English Language Learner Children: Does Bilingual Proficiency Play a Significant Role?

Swanson, H. Lee; Kong, Jennifer E.; Petcu, Stefania D.

doi:10.1044/2018_lshss-17-0098

Cited by 18 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…These studies have found that the degree of bilingual language exposure can result in incremental cognitive benefits in children and older adults (Poarch & Van Hell, 2012). Additionally, gains in EF (i.e., working memory) and high language proficiencies across both languages in bilingual NT children predicted gains in math skills, even among bilingual children with significant math difficulties (Blair & Razza, 2007; Bull, Espy, & Wiebe, 2008; Swanson, Kong, & Petcu, 2018). These findings suggest a complex relationship between bilingual language learning, EF, and academic development in NT children.…”

Section: Academic Skills In Nt Bilingual Childrenmentioning

confidence: 98%

Academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual or bilingual experience

Vanegas

2019

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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Background and aims: The academic development of children with autism spectrum disorders is important to investigate as it can provide opportunities for higher education, independent living, and successful employment in adulthood. Although educational data find that children with autism spectrum disorders can achieve similar levels of academic achievement in inclusive settings as neurotypical children, little is known about how children with diverse language experiences with autism spectrum disorders develop academically. Research on neurotypical, bilingual children finds that although many may lag behind their monolingual peers on measures of academic achievement, these gaps can be minimized with bilingual education programs. Within clinical practice, concerns are still raised about bilingual exposure in children with autism spectrum disorders, with assumptions and recommendations made to limit the language of exposure to minimize risks to development. To improve the evidence-base on bilingual experience in children with autism spectrum disorders, the present study will examine whether basic academic skills (i.e., word reading, numerical operations, spelling) vary as a function of language experience (i.e., monolingual vs. bilingual). Methods: The data presented in this study were based on medical records of children with autism spectrum disorders who visited a clinic in a large, urban city in the United States. Records were included for this study if children had information/data on language status, nonverbal cognition, and standardized scores for reading, math, and spelling on a standardized academic achievement test. The final sample included children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual language experience (n ¼ 18) or bilingual language experience (n ¼ 13). Results: Repeated measures analysis of variance analyses found that children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual experience had higher scores on word reading skills when compared to children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience. However, a different pattern was found for numerical operations, with children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience outperforming children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual experience. No differences were found between groups on spelling skills. Conclusions: The preliminary findings suggest that bilingual language experience may be related to early literacy and math skills in children with autism spectrum disorders. It may be that word reading skills are slower to develop among children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience due to the development of two linguistic profiles. Math skills may be enhanced in children with autism spectrum disorders with bilingual experience through the mediation of other cognitive skills (e.g., executive functioning). Implications: This preliminary study demonstrates that bilingual experience does not negatively affect the development of academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders. Further exp...

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Section: Academic Skills In Nt Bilingual Childrenmentioning

confidence: 98%

Academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual or bilingual experience

Vanegas

2019

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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“…Mathematics difficulties among children with language disorders can be partially explained by their working memory abilities (Cross, Joanisse, & Archibald, 2019; Fyfe, Matz, Hunt, & Alibali, 2019). Furthermore, the relation between mathematics development and working memory growth is influenced by language proficiency, especially among second-language learners who perform mathematics in their second language (Swanson, Kong, & Petcu, 2018). Taken together, these findings further suggest that working memory may be a key factor in explaining the relation between language and mathematics.…”

Section: The Language Function Hypothesis In Mathematicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining the mutual relations between language and mathematics: A meta-analysis.

Peng¹,

Lin²,

Ünal³

et al. 2020

Psychological Bulletin

189

158

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This study presents a meta-analysis of the relation between language and mathematics. A moderate relation between language and mathematics was found in 344 studies with 393 independent samples and more than 360,000 participants, r = .42, 95% CI [.40, .44]. Moderation and partial correlation analyses revealed the following: (a) more complicated language and mathematics skills were associated with stronger relations between language and mathematics; after partialing out working memory and intelligence, rapid automatized naming showed the strongest relation to numerical knowledge; (b) the relation between language and mathematics was stronger among native language speakers than among second-language learners, but this difference was not found after partialing out working memory and intelligence; (c) working memory and intelligence together explained over 50% of the variance in the relation between language and mathematics and explained more variance in such relations involving complex mathematics skills; (d) language and mathematics predicted the development of one another even after controlling for initial performance. These findings suggest that we may use language as a medium to communicate, represent, and retrieve mathematics knowledge as well as to facilitate working memory and reasoning during mathematics performance and learning. With development, the use of language to retrieve mathematics knowledge may be more important for foundational mathematics skills, which in turn further strengthens linguistic thought processes for performing more advanced mathematics tasks. Such use of language may boost the mutual effects of cognition and mathematics across development.

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“…When applied to EL children, Swanson et al (2004) found significant cross-language transfer in Grade 1 children on L1 STM and WM measures and L2 English word identification. Additional studies found that growth on measures of Spanish vocabulary, reading, STM, and WM accounted for significant variance in (a) predicting growth in English reading (e.g., Swanson et al, 2006) and (b) growth on Spanish measures of naming speed, STM, and working memory predicted L2 math performance (e.g., Swanson et al, 2019b).…”

Section: Do Specific Cognitive Measures Predict Latent Class Membership?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, deficits in the phonological system (phonological storage) have been attributed to RD in English (e.g., Stanovich & Siegel, 1994) and Spanish (e.g., González & Valle, 2000). More recent studies have suggested that executive processes related to WM, are also significantly related to L2 reading, as well as and math performance (e.g., Swanson et al, 2015Swanson et al, , 2019aSwanson et al, , 2019b). This executive system reflects controlled attention because the information to be recalled is presented in the context of competing information.…”

Section: Do Specific Cognitive Measures Predict Latent Class Membership?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The stability of learning disabilities among emergent bilingual children: A latent transition analysis.

Swanson¹,

Arizmendi²,

Li³

2021

Journal of Educational Psychology

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This study investigated the prevalence and stability of latent classes among elementary-aged English learning (EL) children whose first language is Spanish. To this end, EL children (N ϭ 267) in Grades 1, 2, and 3 at Wave 1 (Year 1) were administered a battery of vocabulary, reading, math, and cognitive measures (short-term memory, working memory, rapid naming, inhibition) in both Spanish and English. These same measures were also administered one year later (Wave 2). Four important findings occurred. First, four latent classes (balanced bilinguals-average achievers, unbalanced bilinguals-average achievers, children at risk for learning disabilities, English dominant) at both testing waves emerged. Second, probability estimates indicated that 20% of the total sample was at risk for learning disabilities at Wave 1, with late-emerging academic difficulties increasing the learning disabilities latent class by 5% at Wave 2. Third, the incidence of late-emerging children at risk for learning disabilities was higher among balanced bilingual average achievers, especially for those children transitioning to or from Grade 3. Finally, the cognitive measures for predicting the odds of children being correctly classified in the final wave of testing included measures of naming speed and working memory. The results support the notion that statistically distinct latent classes emerge under the umbrella of language and academic performance and that children at risk for learning disabilities can be separated among a heterogeneous sample of children who are English language learners. Educational Impact and Implications StatementChildren who are learning in their second language with potential learning disabilities are at high risk for more advanced reading and math difficulties, school drop out, and future employment. Such children are also hard to identify among children who are struggling to become proficient in their second language. The present study identified a discrete and stable group of English learning (EL) children at risk for learning disabilities over two time periods. Consistent with findings on English monolingual children, EL children at risk for learning disabilities showed a combination of reading and math difficulties related to specific inefficiencies in processing speed and working memory. The results also indicated that there is a critical period during the third grade which plays an important role in determining late-emerging risk for learning disabilities as well as variability in performance among average achieving groups after one year.

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Math Difficulties and Working Memory Growth in English Language Learner Children: Does Bilingual Proficiency Play a Significant Role?

Abstract: Growth in the executive component of WM is significantly related to growth in math computation, and increased bilingual proficiency across testing waves yielded positive gains in both math and cognitive performance in children with MD.

Cited by 18 publications

References 52 publications

Academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual or bilingual experience

Academic skills in children with autism spectrum disorders with monolingual or bilingual experience

Examining the mutual relations between language and mathematics: A meta-analysis.

The stability of learning disabilities among emergent bilingual children: A latent transition analysis.

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