No compelling evidence for a bilingual advantage in switching or that frequent language switching reduces switch cost

Paap, Kenneth R.; Myüz, Hunter A.; Anders, Regina T.; Bockelman, Morgan F.; Mikulinsky, Roman; Sawi, Oliver

doi:10.1080/20445911.2016.1248436

Cited by 148 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…However, some studies have not been able to capture the effect of LSF on the task-switching ability when comparing bilingual groups differing in how often individuals switch languages. For example, both Paap et al (2017) and Yim and Bialystok (2012) failed to find an association between their LSF measures and nonlinguistic task-switching costs. In contrast, yet similarly to Barbu et al (2018), we found that those participants who switched languages more often were faster (i.e., more efficient) when switching in a non-verbal switching task.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Nevertheless, recent reports regarding the relation between bilingualism and EC are heterogeneous and mixed (Sanchez-Azanza et al, 2017), contributing to the debate on the key factors involving bilingualism-related effects on EC. For instance, there are also several studies showing findings that are in conflict or nuance the literature presented in the two previous paragraphs regarding the AoA (Vega-Mendoza et al, 2015), PL2 (Pelham & Abrams, 2014) and LSF (Paap et al, 2017) factors. One of the possible reasons for this mixture of results might be the divergent sample characteristics, in particular regarding the bilingual groups (Luk & Bialystok, 2013;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Latent variable evidence on the interplay between language switching frequency and executive control in Spanish-Catalan bilinguals

Sanchez-Azanza

López-Penadés

Aguilar‐Mediavilla

et al. 2020

International Journal of Bilingualism

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Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: We characterized the impact of several bilingualism-related factors on the executive control of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals. Design/methodology/approach: Participants self-reported information regarding their age of acquisition, second language proficiency and frequency of natural language switching, and performed non-linguistic tasks tapping into specific executive control subcomponents, including inhibition, switching and updating. Data and analysis: Data were analyzed by means of a structural equation model (SEM) approach. Findings/conclusions: Results revealed that the frequency of natural language switching positively modulated the executive control performance of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals, while neither age of acquisition nor second language proficiency had an effect. Moreover, we found that the impact of natural language switching exerted general-processing influences, affecting all subcomponents of executive control. Findings are discussed in relation to context-specific effects on the cognitive system of a particular bilingual population. Originality: The current study applied an SEM approach to provide new evidence on the previously ambiguous relation between bilingualism-related factors and executive control. Significance/implications: Our findings suggest that the frequency of natural language switching does globally influence the executive control of Spanish-Catalan bilinguals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Latent variable evidence on the interplay between language switching frequency and executive control in Spanish-Catalan bilinguals

Sanchez-Azanza

López-Penadés

Aguilar‐Mediavilla

et al. 2020

International Journal of Bilingualism

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“…The opponents of this hypothesis have failed to replicate this advantage in young adults [82,83], children [84], and the elderly [85], and have hence suggested that such advantage may be a product of factors other than bilingualism proper (for example, small sample sizes and inconsistencies in the methods [86,87], for a response see [88]; or a result of a publication bias [89], for a response see [90]; for a thorough review of the evidence for and against the bilingual advantage hypothesis please refer to [91]).…”

Section: Experience Dependent Bilingual Advantagementioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Validity in Bilingualism Research and the Bilingual Advantage

Blanco-Elorrieta

Pylkkänen

2018

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

104

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Traditional research in bilingualism has consistently found that switching languages is effortful, placing demands on neural systems of cognitive control. This finding runs counter to most bilinguals' intuitive experience. We review a body of recent work showing that, in fact, when bilinguals switch languages voluntarily, both the behavioral cost of switching and the associated recruitment of cognitive control areas are greatly reduced or completely eliminated. This suggests that switching languages is not inherently effortful, but rather, particular communicative demands may make it costly. The new evidence also challenges the basic premise underlying the bilingual advantage hypothesis. We articulate a more nuanced version of it, in which the advantage is limited to bilinguals who frequently switch languages based on external constraints. Language-Switching and Traditional Ways to Model It Commanding more than one language is the norm for the majority of the world's population [1,2], and multilingualism has been notably increasing in recent years [3]. A remarkable feature of multilingual individuals is their ability to quickly and accurately switch back and forth between their different languages. Thus, multilingual individuals not only command each of their languages independently, but they are additionally able to alternate and coordinate the rules that govern each language. What are the mechanisms that allow bilingual individuals to effectively do this? How are these systems organized to achieve seamless transitions from one language to the other? Highlights Results of traditional language switching tasks have suggested that language switching is behaviorally effortful and requires increased involvement of cognitive control areas. Recent evidence has challenged this conclusion, showing that when bilinguals are allowed to switch languages freely, this cognitive effort and behavioral cost are either greatly reduced or completely eliminated.

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“…Yet despite the evidence reported in favor of an advantage, recent investigations have cast doubt over whether bilinguals really do outperform monolinguals on these tasks, and whether it is necessarily bilingualism that is the reason when they do (e.g., Antón et al., ; Antón, García, Carreiras, & Duñabeitia, ; Duñabeitia et al., ; Hilchey, Saint‐Aubin, & Klein, ; Morton & Harper, ; Paap, ; Paap & Greenberg, ; Paap, Johnson, & Sawi, , , ; Paap et al., ). For example, large‐scale studies of bilingual and monolingual children failed to find any evidence of an advantage on the ANT (Antón et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Effects Rather Than a Bilingual Advantage in Cognition: A Review and an Empirical Study

et al. 2018

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The bilingual advantage hypothesis contends that the management of two languages in the brain is carried out through domain-general mechanisms, and that bilinguals possess a performance advantage over monolinguals on (nonlinguistic) tasks that tap these processes. Presently, there is evidence both for and against such an advantage. Interestingly, the evidence in favor has been thought strongest in children and older adults, leading some researchers to argue that young adults might be at peak performance levels, and therefore bilingualism is unable to confer an improvement. We conducted a large-scale review of the extant literature and found that the weight of research pointed to an absence of positive evidence for a bilingual advantage at any age. We next gave a large number of young adult participants a task designed to test the bilingual advantage hypothesis. Reasoning from the literature that young adults from an East Asian (Korean) culture would likely outperform those from a Western (British) culture, we also compared participants on this factor. We found no evidence for a bilingual advantage but did find evidence for enhanced performance in the Korean group. We interpret these results as further evidence against the bilingual advantage hypotheses.

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No compelling evidence for a bilingual advantage in switching or that frequent language switching reduces switch cost

Cited by 148 publications

References 62 publications

Latent variable evidence on the interplay between language switching frequency and executive control in Spanish-Catalan bilinguals

Latent variable evidence on the interplay between language switching frequency and executive control in Spanish-Catalan bilinguals

Ecological Validity in Bilingualism Research and the Bilingual Advantage

Cultural Effects Rather Than a Bilingual Advantage in Cognition: A Review and an Empirical Study

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