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Does learning a language in the elderly enhance switching ability?
Abstract
The bilingual advantage has been subject of research repeatedly over the last decade. Many studies have supported the idea of the existence of a higher functioning in domain general cognitive abilities among bilingual samples as compared to monolingual samples. However, this idea has been recently challenged by a number of scholars, and a recent body of evidence suggests that the acquisition of a new language does not necessarily involve an enhancement of domain-general non-linguistic abilities. In the current study we aimed at exploring the relationship between language learning and switching ability in elderly monolingual participants who learned a second language during a whole academic year. A colour-shape switching task was used as a measure of switching ability and was administered twice in a pre-test/post-test design, both to the critical group of seniors attending a language-learning course on a regular basis and to a group of age-matched monolingual seniors who did not attend to any language-learning course and that served as controls. Results showed that switching costs in the post-test were not significantly different from those in the pre-test in either the experimental or the control groups, demonstrating that the acquisition of a second language in the elderly does not necessarily lead to an enhancement of switching ability as measured by switching costs. We acknowledge the need of further longitudinal L2 training studies to reach clear conclusions on the effects of language learning in domain-general executive control.
... Yet, it should be noted that all studies varied considerably in methodology, with most studies targeting different and partly non-specific cognitive domains (e.g., global cognition) and interventions ranging in duration and intensity. Other caveats of previous studies are that most had no follow-up period (Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018;Bubbico et al., 2019;Valis et al., 2019;Berggren et al., 2020;Long et al., 2020;Meltzer et al., 2021) and did not exclude participants with suspected cognitive impairment Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018;Long et al., 2020;Meltzer et al., 2021). For a more detailed summary and discussion of the current body of research, see the literature reviews of Pot et al. (2019) and Ware et al. (2021). ...
... Yet, it should be noted that all studies varied considerably in methodology, with most studies targeting different and partly non-specific cognitive domains (e.g., global cognition) and interventions ranging in duration and intensity. Other caveats of previous studies are that most had no follow-up period (Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018;Bubbico et al., 2019;Valis et al., 2019;Berggren et al., 2020;Long et al., 2020;Meltzer et al., 2021) and did not exclude participants with suspected cognitive impairment Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018;Long et al., 2020;Meltzer et al., 2021). For a more detailed summary and discussion of the current body of research, see the literature reviews of Pot et al. (2019) and Ware et al. (2021). ...
... The lack of improvement is consistent with findings from previous studies on the cognitive benefits of foreign language learning (Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017;Valis et al., 2019;Berggren et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). Our results may underline the notion of missing far-transfer effects of foreign language acquisition on supposedly affected cognitive domains. ...
Introduction: The world’s population is aging, increasing the prevalence of dementia. Recently, foreign language learning in later life has been suggested to improve cognition and thus support healthy cognitive aging. To date, however, there are only a few studies with conflicting findings. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether learning a foreign language can improve executive attention and executive functions in healthy older adults. Additionally, we sought to identify factors affecting cognitive change in foreign language learners, such as cognitive reserve, previous foreign knowledge and usage, and global cognition at baseline.
Methods: In a randomized-controlled trial, we assigned 34 monolinguals between the ages of 65 and 80 to a language learning or a waiting list control group. The participants enrolled in a Spanish course for beginners that met five days a week for 1.5 h for a total of 3 weeks. The waiting list control group received no intervention but had the opportunity to join the language training at the end of the study. All participants underwent an assessment of executive attention (primary outcome), executive functions, verbal fluency, and attention (secondary outcomes) before, immediately after the course, or after a waiting period of 3 weeks for the control group and 3 months after the course or the waiting period.
Results: Foreign language learning did not significantly improve primary or secondary outcomes, neither immediately nor 3 months after the course. However, moderation analyses revealed that participants with lower global baseline cognition tended to improve more on response inhibition than individuals with higher baseline cognition. This relationship was not evident in the waiting list control group.
Discussion: Our results suggest that studying a foreign language does not generally improve executive attention or executive functioning. Nevertheless, individuals with poorer baseline cognition may benefit cognitively from foreign language learning in response inhibition, a domain particularly affected by cognitive aging. Our findings highlight the need of focusing dementia prevention efforts on groups that are more vulnerable to cognitive decline. Additionally, more individualized approaches, including utilizing technology-assisted learning, might enable participants to practice at their performance level, increasing the likelihood of discernible cognitive gains.
... Most of the studies in Table 1 compared the L2 training to control conditions, such as relaxation training (Berggren et al. 2020). Other studies used passive control conditions (PASV) for comparison (Ramos et al. 2017;Bubbico et al. 2019;Valis et al. 2019); yet others used both a passive and an active (ACTV) control group. Table 1 also provides an overview of the cognitive variables for which pre-and post-training performance was compared between groups. ...
... Hence, 1 week of L2 training alone was not sufficient to yield long-term changes in cognitive ability (see also Antoniou et al. 2013). The remaining studies with training durations of 3-8 months could either not identify any change in cognitive performance at all or did not find a group*time interaction (Ramos et al. 2017;Ware et al. 2017;Valis et al. 2019;Wong et al. 2019a;Berggren et al. 2020). Importantly, three of the studies (Ware et al. 2017;Bubbico et al. 2019;Valis et al. 2019) applied either the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) or the MMSE to assess cognitive changes, both of which are screening tools for cognitive impairment that manifest ceiling effects in healthy older adults and have been shown to be susceptible to practice effects, particularly between the first and (Duff et al. 2007;Cooley et al. 2015). ...
... Hence, it is possible that by using more sensitive assessment tasks and measures, such as reaction times (RTs) and tasks assessing specific cognitive domains, differences in cognition between experimental groups could be observed. In three studies where this was done, however, the authors in question (Ramos et al. 2017;Wong et al. 2019a;Berggren et al. 2020) could not find any transfer effects of L2 learning. For instance, Ramos et al. (2017) and Berggren et al. (2020) applied Bayesian statistics and found the null hypothesis to be more probable, which lead the authors of the latter study to conclude that 'an entry-level language course aimed at older healthy adults is unlikely to have any substantial effect on general cognitive ability' (218). ...
Second language (L2) learning has been promoted as a promising intervention to stave off age-related cognitive decline. While previous studies based on mean trends showed inconclusive results, this study is the first to investigate nonlinear cognitive trajectories across a 30-week training period. German-speaking older participants (aged 64–75 years) enrolled for a Spanish course, strategy game training (active control) or movie screenings (passive control). We assessed cognitive performance in working memory, alertness, divided attention, and verbal fluency on a weekly basis. Trajectories were modeled using Generalized Additive Mixed Models to account for temporally limited transfer effects and intra-individual variation in cognitive performance. Our results provide no evidence of cognitive improvement differing between the Spanish and either of the control groups during any phase of the training period. We did, however, observe an effect of baseline cognition, such that individuals with low cognitive baselines increased their performance more in the L2 group than comparable individuals in the control groups. We discuss these findings against the backdrop of the cognitive training literature and Complex Dynamic Systems Theory.
... measures, especially when comparing the efficiency of different training types on cognitive performance. Thus, by comparing older FL learners to purely passive control groups without accounting for training motivation (Bubbico et al., 2019;Ramos et al., 2016;Valis et al., 2019), it is impossible to say whether FL-related benefits were a result of the FL training itself or simply poor motivation of the passive group. Direct measurements of the activity in the brain at rest are ideally suited to complement cognitive-behavioural data in that they provide an objective estimate of brain function that is paradigm-free and therefore unaffected by task motivation (Campbell & Schacter, 2016). ...
... G. Cox, 2017;Gathercole, 2016;Grey et al., 2015;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018;Pfenninger & Singleton, 2019) and literacy skills (e.g., Adesope et al., 2010). Conversely, it has been suggested that cognitive capacities are enhanced in older bilingual adults as compared to their monolinguals peers S. R. Cox et al., 2016;Lee Salvatierra & Rosselli, 2011), although the opposite has also been found de Bruin et al., 2015;Papageorgiou et al., 2019;Ramos et al., 2016). ...
... 2. Empirical Part -Page 82 Most of the studies in Table 1 compared the FL training to control conditions, such as relaxation training (Berggren et al. 2020) (Berggren et al., 2020). Other studies used passive control conditions (PASV) for comparison (Bubbico et al. 2019;Ramos et al. 2016;Valis et al. 2019); yet others used both a passive and an active (ACTV) control group. Table 1 also provides an overview of the cognitive variables for which pre-and post-training performance was compared between groups. ...
... Six studies had a control group, four of which were randomized. In these studies, the control groups included either passive controls that did not change their habits (Ramos et al., 2017;Bubbico et al., 2019;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020) or active controls involved either in other university courses (Bak et al., 2016) or online games like Sudoku and crossword puzzles . Of note, these two last studies had both active and passive control groups, although in the former they were not assigned randomly, as participants chose their intervention group. ...
... Only two studies used standardized second language proficiency tests before and after the intervention (Ramos et al., 2017;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018). One study used a vocabulary test, but only after the intervention (Berggren et al., 2020), while the other studies did not evaluate the second language proficiency attained at posttest (Bak et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Bubbico et al., 2019;Long et al., 2019;Wong et al., 2019;Klimova et al., 2020). ...
... All studies scored as fair, except one that had a poor-quality score, or high RoB (Ramos et al., 2017). Although none of the studies had high enough scores to be considered good quality, based on the scoring guidelines of Cotelli et al. (2020), five studies scored higher than the average six points (scores ≥7), and we therefore refer to them here as the higher quality studies (Bak et al., 2016;Pfenninger and Polz, 2018;Bubbico et al., 2019;Wong et al., 2019;Berggren et al., 2020). ...
As the population ages, understanding how to maintain older adults' cognitive abilities is essential. Bilingualism has been linked to higher cognitive reserve, better performance in executive control, changes in brain structure and function relative to monolinguals, and delay in dementia onset. Learning a second language thus seems a promising avenue for cognitive enhancement in older adults. Our review aims to determine whether learning a foreign language in later life improves cognition and promotes neuroplasticity. We screened articles from the Pubmed, Scopus, and Science Direct databases to identify interventional studies using second language training in senior participants, including either cognition or neuroimaging as outcome measures. A total of nine articles were found, with only one neuroimaging study. Results from these studies are inconsistent, but tend to suggest that second language learning is associated with improvement in attentional switching, inhibition, working memory, and increased functional connectivity. We discuss the implications of these results, and suggest new directions and methodological recommendations for future research.
... So far, however, research on cognitive outcomes of foreign language learning in older age is still sparse and has produced mixed results. In a small review summarising results of studies involving a foreign language training intervention [21], five papers [22][23][24][25][26] investigated cognitive outcomes before and after a language course intervention. After adding three more recently published studies to this overview [27][28][29], no clear cognitive advantage of foreign language learning became evident. ...
... Half of the studies detected benefits in one or more cognitive domains, including attentional switching [26], inhibition [24], working memory [29], and global cognition [27,29]. In contrast, others found no effect on spatial and verbal intelligence [22], working memory [22], task switching [23], and global cognition [25,28]. This inconsistent picture could be due to several reasons. ...
... It is also important to note that some previous studies exhibited limitations, e.g. lack of a control group [24,25], no randomised group allocation [23,26], lack of follow-up periods [22-25, 27, 28] and missing control of cognitive impairment [24][25][26]. These should be considered in future studies. ...
Background
With age, most cognitive functions decline. As the number of people aged 60 years and older is expected to rise rapidly within the next decades, identifying interventions that promote healthy cognitive ageing is of utmost importance. Promising research on bilingualism has led to the notion that learning a foreign language could protect against cognitive decline. Foreign language learning likely promotes executive functions, which are higher-order cognitive abilities particularly affected by age-related cognitive decline. However, evidence is still sparse and has produced contradictory results. This study aims to investigate the effects of short and intensive foreign language learning on executive functions in healthy older adults.
Methods
In a randomised controlled trial, we will assign 60 native German-speaking monolingual healthy older adults, aged 65–80 years, to either a foreign language learning or a waiting list control group. Language learners will attend a face-to-face, group-based Spanish course for beginners for 1.5 h a day, 5 days a week, for a total of 3 weeks. Cognitive performance in executive functions will be assessed before and after the intervention or after a waiting period of 3 weeks (waiting list control group). Participants will be tested again after 3 months to evaluate longitudinal effects of foreign language learning. The waiting list control group will receive Spanish lessons only after the final assessment and will be invited to an additional voluntary evaluation after completion of the course.
Discussion
To the best of our knowledge, we are conducting the first randomised controlled trial on the effects of short and intensive foreign language learning in older adulthood on executive functions. Enhanced cognitive performance after foreign language learning would indicate that learning a foreign language could enlarge cognitive reserve and thus promote healthy cognitive ageing in older adults.
Trial registration
German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00016552. Registered on 11 February 2019.
... Building on the now often debated studies examining the effects of lifelong bilingualism on seniors' cognitive functioning (Luk et al., 2011;Mukadam, Sommerlad, & Livingston, 2017;Perani & Abutalebi, 2015;Ramos, García, Antón, Casaponsa, & Dunabeitia, 2017), a much smaller body of work explores whether foreign language learning in functionally monolingual seniors can have outcomes comparable to lifelong bilingualism. A handful of researchers have provided seniors with language training and measured the outcomes on cognition and the results are mixed: some studies found positive effects of language learning on cognition whereas others did not. ...
... In addition to cognitive skills, the study also included measures of proficiency and socio-affective parameters to measure the linguistic and social outcomes of the course rather than solely focusing on cognitive ramifications. Pfenninger and Polz' results contrast starkly with those obtained by Ramos et al. (2017), who did not find any signs of improved cognitive functions in their study. Participants were 43 monolingual Spanish speakers who were either enrolled in an eightmonth Basque course or not taking any language course, and therefore served as a passive control group. ...
... Specifically, the scantly available effect studies into third-age language learning differ in their (1) operationalisation of bilingualism, or in some cases a lack of operationalisation; (2) sample sizes, smaller samples (Pfenninger & Polz, 2018;Ware et al., 2017) versus larger samples (Bak et al., 2016;Ramos et al., 2017); (3) inclusion of passive control groups (Ramos et al., 2017), passive and active control groups (Bak et al., 2016), or no control groups (Pfenninger & Polz, 2018;Ware et al., 2017); (4) variation in duration of the training, ranging from one week (Bak et al., 2016) to eight months (Ramos et al., 2017); (5) variation in training intensity, from two hours a week (Ware et al., 2017) to fourteen (Bak et al., 2016); and (6) cognitive measures and cognitive tasks to measure cognitive outcomes. Regarding the latter, Ware and colleagues focussed on global cognitive functioning, whereas Ramos and colleagues focussed on switching abilities. ...
With the average life expectancy in especially developed countries steadily increasing, healthy ageing is prioritised on the research agenda. Various studies have looked into bilingualism as a possible anti-ageing tool to delay the onset of symptoms of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, with as perhaps the most promising recent line of work intervention studies that introduce bilingual experiences to seniors in the form of foreign language courses meant to induce a protective effect on cognitive decline. Unfortunately, the scant studies available have not found convincing results, most likely due to several pitfalls in their designs, one of the most important being that method of instruction is rarely specified or controlled for. In this paper, we identify methodological concerns that need to be addressed when conducting experimental work related to third-age language learning, resulting in a research agenda for third-age language learning studies.
... The remaining nine provided no information on comorbid psychiatric illness (n = 5), comorbid neurological illnesses (n = 5), substance or medication abuse (n = 8), or medication status (n = 8). Only two studies used language learning interventions in a group of seniors [117,118]. A complete overview of the individual studies can be found below in Table 3. ...
... This can be partially explained by the fact that studies on this topic are scarce, but also because some of the studies on this subject employed neuropsychological tests, not from our predefined list (e.g., [138,139]). Only two studies on late-life language learning could be included [117,118]. These two studies employed no common neuropsychological tests between them, meaning that a pooled average could not be calculated. ...
... However, the authors did conclude that global cognition, as measured on the basis of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale [140], had improved significantly both in the group learning a foreign language as in those enrolled in the gaming intervention. Ramos and colleagues on the other hand asked participants to complete an eight-month language course [117]. Changes in cognitive flexibility were measured using a color-shape switch task. ...
Late-life depression (LLD) affects about an eighth of community-dwelling seniors. LLD impacts well-being, with loneliness and small social networks being typical. It has also been linked to cognitive dysfunction and an increased risk of developing dementia. Safety and efficacy of pharmacological treatments for LLD have been debated, and cognitive dysfunction often persists even after remission. Various cognitive interventions have been proposed for LLD. Among these, one has received special attention: foreign language learning could serve as a social intervention that simultaneously targets brain structures affected in LLD. Lifelong bilingualism may significantly delay the onset of cognitive impairment symptoms by boosting cognitive reserve. Even late-life foreign language learning without lifelong bilingualism can train cognitive flexibility. It is then counterintuitive that the effects of language learning on LLD have never been examined. In order to create a theoretical basis for further interdisciplinary research, this paper presents a status quo of current work through two meta-analyses investigating cognitive functioning in LLD on the one hand and in senior bilinguals or seniors following a language course on the other hand. While LLD was consistently associated with cognitive dysfunction, inconsistent results were found for bilingualism and language learners. Possible reasons for this and suggestions for future research are subsequently discussed.
... The studies vary considerably with respect to their sample sizes and group setup with the majority of studies (unsurprisingly for an emergent research field) comprising (pilot) feasibility studies with small sample sizes ( [46][47][48]) had medium sample sizes and therefore more statistical power. However, Bak et al. [46] compared participants across age groups, which implied that only around one third of the participants were older adults (n = 21). ...
... Cox [47] furthermore investigated whether explicit grammar instructions were helpful to older adults and therefore recruited an implicit and explicit senior condition. Those studies that were interested in language learning as a tool to enhance cognition also included passive control groups [46,48], and/or active control groups but used different means to do so. Bak et al. [46] set off language learning vis-à-vis an English teaching qualification course, an art class, a documentary film course, and a passive control group whereas Berggren et al. [49] included an active relaxation yoga control group. ...
... Ware et al. [43]). Choosing a typologically more distinct (minority) language, as in the case of Bak et al. [46] and Ramos et al. [48] may be more demanding, leading to more substantial effects, but at the same time runs the risk of being too challenging, with a possible decrease in motivation to learn it as a result (cf. Reference Ramirez-Gomesz [50] on critical foreign language gerontology principles for more details). ...
Bilingualism has been put forward as a life experience that, similar to musical training or being physically active, may boost cognitive performance and slow down age-related cognitive decline. In more recent years, bilingualism has come to be acknowledged not as a trait but as a highly individual experience where the context of use strongly modulates any cognitive effect that ensues from it (cf. van den Noort et al., 2019). In addition, modulating factors have been shown to interact in intricate ways (Pot, Keijzer and de Bot, 2018). Adding to the complexity is the fact that control processes linked to bilingualism are bidirectional—just as language control can influence cognitive control, individual differences in cognitive functioning often predict language learning outcomes and control. Indeed, Hartsuiker (2015) posited the need for a better understanding of cognitive control, language control as well as the transfer process between them. In this paper, we aim to shed light on the bidirectional and individual cognitive, social and linguistic factors in relation to bilingualism and second language learning, with a special focus on older adulthood: (1) we first show the intricate clustering of modulating individual factors as deterministic of cognitive outcomes of bilingual experiences at the older end of the lifespan; (2) we then present a meta-study of work in the emergent field of third-age language learning, the results of which are related to lifelong bilingualism; (3) objectives (1) and (2) are then combined to result in a blueprint for future work relating cognitive and social individual differences to bilingual linguistic outcomes and vice versa in the context of third-age language learning.
... Conversely, it has been suggested that cognitive capacities are enhanced in older bilingual adults as compared to their monolinguals peers (Bialystok et al., 2014;Cox et al., 2016;Lee Salvatierra & Rosselli 2011), although the opposite has also been found de Bruin, Treccani, & Della Sala, 2015;Papageorgiou et al., 2019;Ramos et al., 2016). ...
... learning in the third age has repeatedly been proposed as a measure to stave off age-related cognitive decline (e.g., Antoniou et al., 2013;Antoniou & Wright, 2017). While two studies have reported improved cognitive performance in older learners following L2 learning Wong et al., 2019), others have not been able to show any cognitive benefits (Berggren et al., 2020;Pot et al., 2019;Ramos et al., 2016). If, as we have shown, intact cognitive capacities are beneficial for high L2 attainment but not equally so at all stages of L2 proficiency, the question remains whether the cognitive benefit that could result from L2 learning is also limited to stages in which the learner is actually required to tap into these capacities. ...
The question of cognition in second language (L2) acquisition later in life is of importance inasmuch as L2 learning is largely mediated by domain‐general cognitive capacities. While a number of these capacities have been shown to decline with age, individual differences in cognition increase over the lifespan. This microdevelopment study investigates the L2 trajectories of 28 older German‐speaking adults (age 64+) who participated in a combined computer‐assisted and classroom‐instructed 7‐month Spanish training for beginners. We made use of generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to quantify linear and nonlinear learner trajectories as well as any predictors thereof. Participants were assessed on a range of behavioral, L2, socioaffective, and background variables. We found a significant (linear and nonlinear) increase across all measures of L2 proficiency. Between‐subject cognitive, socioaffective, and background variables significantly predicted the overall level of L2 proficiency as well as developmental patterns over time. Daily variances in cognitive performance and socioaffect had little impact on fluctuations in L2 performance. Findings are discussed against the backdrop of complex dynamic systems theory and highlight the necessity for dense longitudinal research designs to capture nonlinearity in third‐age L2 learning.
... This indicates that immersion schooling (emerging bilingualism) plays a role in the developmental trajectories of working memory-related processes in younger children. However, Ramos et al. (2017) did not observe any positive effects of language learning on executive functions in older monolingual participants. They studied elderly monolinguals (mean age 67.42 years) who underwent L2 learning and showed that training had no effects on the switching ability. ...
... Also, the study considered a range of executive function tasks to see where train effects emerge. However, the second-language training period in the present study was short compared to longitudinal studies that have looked at students in immersion programs or acquisition of foreign language (Javan and Ghonsooly 2017;Poncelet 2013, 2015;Puric et al. 2017;Ramos et al. 2017). Therefore, with these results, we can suggest that short-term second-language training of university students does influence working memory and general vocabulary, including general executive control (as reflected in global RT) on some tasks. ...
This study investigated whether a short training (8 weeks) in the second-language (English) has any facilitative effect on components of executive functions in young adults. A pre-post design was used with two groups of participants: one group (experimental group) of students received English language training for eight weeks, and another group (control group) matched on age and background did not. Executive function tasks (Flanker, Stroop, and color-shape switching task) along with the object naming and working memory tasks were administered before and after the training. We observed that the experimental group demonstrated significant improvement in task switching, working memory capacity, and language skills. Findings from the study provide evidence that short training in second-language can enhance some components of executive functions besides improving language skills in young adult students. This finding contributes to a better understanding of language training and executive function among young adult bilinguals.
... It has also been suggested that learning a foreign language can help older persons' cognition by activating their vast linguistic network and possibly slowing age-related cognitive decline (Antoniou et al., 2013). However, the evidence supporting the general cognitive benefits of language learning in older adults has been weak (Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017), and it has been just recently demonstrated that an introductory Italian course did not confer any general cognitive advantage compared to relaxation training (Berggren et al., 2020). Independent of attained vocabulary competency, the study of Nilsson et al. (2021) showed no proof of differential structural change after language instruction. ...
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the best approaches to teaching a foreign language to older people to help them achieve the desired results and explore their benefits. This review strictly follows the PRISMA methodology for systematic reviews and meta-analyses to identify the core experimental studies that deal with the topic of foreign language learning approaches among the older generations. Altogether eight studies detected were included in the systematic review. The available sources were found in Web of Science and Scopus. The findings indicate that foreign language learning can promote seniors’ welfare and successful aging despite their learning outcomes, which means that the key benefit for third-age foreign language learners while learning a foreign language is not the achieved proficiency level, but the feeling of subjective satisfaction. This can be a good incentive to achieve better learning outcomes, provided that learners have been offered a pleasant and safe learning environment, using suitable learning approaches during which they can build on their acquired knowledge and experience, as well as discuss the topics they are interested in. Thus, foreign language teachers play an important part in seniors’ educational process because their teaching methods and materials when adapted to the elderly’s educational needs can have a positive impact on the maintenance and possibly, enhancement of the older people's cognitive functions and on the improvement of their mental activity, which consequently maintains their healthy aging.
... Therefore, dense code switchers may be more similar to the monolingual group in the context of language and task-switching. Our results are also in line with Ramos et al. (2017) who found no improvement in the switch costs (in a colour-shape switching task) amongst older adults who undertook a language learning course for a year. However, our results are inconsistent with Calabria et al. (2015) who found an age-related difference in switch costs in a shape-colour task across bilingual speakers, with the switch cost being more pronounced in the elderly compared to young adults. ...
Both ageing and bilingualism can have positive as well as adverse cognitive effects. We investigated their combined impact on subcomponents of attention. We used the Attention Network Task to examine alerting, orienting, executive control and task-switching costs. Group comparisons revealed age-related declines for alerting alongside benefits for executive control, for mono- and bilinguals alike. For orienting, age-related decline was more pronounced for bilinguals than monolinguals. Task-switching was unaffected by age or language group. Within bilinguals, we found limited impact of individual differences in L2 proficiency, language switching or mixing: proficiency improves orienting and decreases switch costs, for young and older bilinguals alike; but no other individual differences effects were found. Thus, attention is a multi-faceted network, with clear adverse (alerting) and protective (executive control) ageing effects. We found these to be largely similar for mono- and bilinguals, with variability within bilinguals having only limited impact.
... Nilsson and colleagues interpreted these results as an indication of the gradual loss of the brain's ability to adapt its structure as we age. Such findings echo behavioral studies that also did not find effects of bilingual experiences in seniors on inhibitory control (Antón et al., 2016) and switching (Ramos et al., 2017; but see Bak et al., 2014). It also prompts the DRM and other models of neuroplasticity to incorporate the age at which a new experience is exercised into the models' predictions (effects of age on L2 are further discussed in Fromont, this volume). ...
... Because of this coined potential, it becomes important to study both the language learning process itself and any effects that ensue from it in later life. The majority of earlier work has focused on cognitive outcomes of later-life language learning (LLLL), albeit with mixed results (Bak et al., 2016;Bubbico et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018;Ramos et al., 2017;Valis et al., 2019;Ware et al., 2017;Wong et al., 2019). At the same time, gerontological work in a broader sense has focused on the importance of detailing the causes of self-fulfilment and well-being in older adulthood. ...
... Among them, half reported positive effect of FLL on the senior learners' cognitive functioning (Wong et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018), the degree of which ranging from slight enhancement (Valis et al., 2019), moderate modulation (Bak et al., 2016) to significant improvement (Bubbico et al., 2019;). The remaining ones found that FLL did little to improve cognitive functioning (Ramos et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). In spite of these differences, these studies were alike in that they all construed cognition as an independent ability or set of abilities that reside within an individual and assess these abilities with measurements, from which numerical results were generated and subject to quantitative analysis. ...
This symposium is the third one proposed in a series of three symposia, bringing together ten researchers from seven
countries, focusing on time, space, and rhythms in adult education (Alhadeff-Jones, Finnegan, Dakka & Cappa, this
volume; Alhadeff-Jones, Maubant, Roquet, Biasin, & Wittorski, this volume). The specific aim of this third symposium
is to question how we can access and describe the heterogenous temporalities and rhythms through which adults learn,
transform, and develop themselves throughout their lifespan. The particularity of the three contributions presented in this
text is to focus on the use of life history and biographical approaches, as research and training methods developed and
promoted in adult and higher education (e.g., Alheit, Bron-Wojciechowska, Brugger, & Dominicé, 1995; Delory-
Momberger, 2003; Dominicé, 2000; Pineau, 2000; West, Alheit, Andersen, & Merrill, 2007). Following three different
paths, each of these contributions revisit existing practices referring to life history and (auto)biography in adult education,
by stressing and analysing the temporal and rhythmic dimensions they involve, as they relate to various forms/formats of
adult learning. Doing so, they demonstrate the need and the relevance to enrich research and practices, through a more
detailed account and understanding of the multiple temporalities, and the relational (re)framing of subjectivity in time
identities, as part of modern biography and rhythms that shape people’s learning experiences throughout the course of
their lives
... Among them, half reported positive effect of FLL on the senior learners' cognitive functioning (Wong et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018), the degree of which ranging from slight enhancement (Valis et al., 2019), moderate modulation (Bak et al., 2016) to significant improvement (Bubbico et al., 2019;). The remaining ones found that FLL did little to improve cognitive functioning (Ramos et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). In spite of these differences, these studies were alike in that they all construed cognition as an independent ability or set of abilities that reside within an individual and assess these abilities with measurements, from which numerical results were generated and subject to quantitative analysis. ...
... Among them, half reported positive effect of FLL on the senior learners' cognitive functioning (Wong et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018), the degree of which ranging from slight enhancement (Valis et al., 2019), moderate modulation (Bak et al., 2016) to significant improvement (Bubbico et al., 2019;). The remaining ones found that FLL did little to improve cognitive functioning (Ramos et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). In spite of these differences, these studies were alike in that they all construed cognition as an independent ability or set of abilities that reside within an individual and assess these abilities with measurements, from which numerical results were generated and subject to quantitative analysis. ...
... Among them, half reported positive effect of FLL on the senior learners' cognitive functioning (Wong et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018), the degree of which ranging from slight enhancement (Valis et al., 2019), moderate modulation (Bak et al., 2016) to significant improvement (Bubbico et al., 2019;). The remaining ones found that FLL did little to improve cognitive functioning (Ramos et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). In spite of these differences, these studies were alike in that they all construed cognition as an independent ability or set of abilities that reside within an individual and assess these abilities with measurements, from which numerical results were generated and subject to quantitative analysis. ...
... Among them, half reported positive effect of FLL on the senior learners' cognitive functioning (Wong et al., 2019;Pfenninger & Polz, 2018), the degree of which ranging from slight enhancement (Valis et al., 2019), moderate modulation (Bak et al., 2016) to significant improvement (Bubbico et al., 2019;). The remaining ones found that FLL did little to improve cognitive functioning (Ramos et al., 2016;Ware et al., 2017;Berggren et al., 2020;Klimova et al., 2020;Kliesch et al., 2021). In spite of these differences, these studies were alike in that they all construed cognition as an independent ability or set of abilities that reside within an individual and assess these abilities with measurements, from which numerical results were generated and subject to quantitative analysis. ...
... Older adults who participated in foreign language learning reported having better subjective happiness (Pikhart et al., 2021) and higher quality of life . However, Ramos et al. (2017) found no difference between the intervention and control group after learning an L2 for a whole academic year. In spite of the conflicting results, language learning as a cognitive training method has practical application in real life and therefore deserves further exploration. ...
Full text available here: https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/handle/200/12383
Bilingualism has been attracting interest from the cognitive science field for years as it is suggested to be a protective factor against cognitive decline in ageing. It is often reported that bilinguals performed better than monolinguals in inhibitory control tasks. The mechanism behind the better inhibitory control was that bilinguals would have to suppress the interference from the unwanted language all the time, and such linguistic control is thought to be, at least partially, overlapped with the general inhibitory control network. However, inconsistent results have been reported. It is common for the literature to compare monolinguals with bilinguals as two homogenous groups without considering the individual variations between and among them. Moreover, as the Adaptive Control Hypothesis (Green & Abutalebi, 2013) suggested, the interaction context affects the cognitive demand in controlling the languages. Three experiments were designed to explore how different aspects of bilingualism contribute to cognition and the bilingual advantage effect.
The first experiment recruited older adults to complete a comprehensive set of cognitive tests together with questionnaires on their language and demographic profiles. Comparing the monolinguals and bilinguals, we found the classic bilingual advantage effect: bilinguals scored higher in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), indicating better cognitive status. Moreover, within the bilinguals, the scores in the cognitive battery were predicted with demographic and linguistic variables using linear regression analysis. We found that L2 proficiency predicts better inhibitory control and verbal ability performance in lifelong bilinguals. We propose that, because our participants are L1-dominant speakers, only the sufficiently proficient L2 would provide enough interference in the practice of linguistic inhibition control.
The second experiment investigated the cognitive changes in older foreign language learners. Older adults were recruited to study in an elementary English course for six weeks, with cognitive tests taken before and after the course. Although the statistical results between the intervention group and the active and passive control groups were not significant, the language learning-induced differences were observed in some tasks, including the accuracy of Picture Naming and the Conflicting Effect in the Attention Network Task. Correlation analysis suggested that successful language learners showed an improvement in inhibitory control and a decline in verbal fluency.
The third experiment investigated the organisation of the mental lexicon through an interesting language phenomenon in Hong Kong: dense code-switching. Whereas the literature often suggested that the comprehension of code-switching requires a switch in lexicon and is therefore challenging, we found that switching lexicon was needed only in the case of non-habitual word usage, regardless of whether it was unilingual and code-switching. From the result of this experiment, we proposed that the language input from the community had formed the bilingual prefabs, which integrated into the dominantly Cantonese lexicon.
Collectively, we suggest that the environment, language and cognition form a looping circle in that each component is interrelated. Moreover, they each affect the organisation of the bilingual mental lexicon and the retrieval of concepts from the lexicon. In view of that, we propose the Experience-based Bilingual Mental Lexicon Model, which is modified based on the Revised Hierarchical Model (Kroll & Stewart, 1994). Two critical assumptions are incorporated into the existing model: (1) the language lexicon is organised by experience but not by language origin, and (2) language dominance is dynamic. We believe the proposed model could better capture the dynamic change of language by experience. It could explain how individual differences contribute to the bilingual advantage effect.
References:
Green, D. W., & Abutalebi, J. (2013). Language control in bilinguals: The adaptive control hypothesis. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(5), 515-530. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2013.796377
Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E. (1994). Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 33(2), 149-174. https://doi.org/10.1006/jmla.1994.1008
... Therefore, dense code switchers may be more similar to the monolingual group in the context of language and task-related switching. Our results are also in line with Ramos et al. (2017) who found no improvement in the switch costs (in a colour-shape switching task) amongst older adults who undertook a language learning course for a year. However, our results are inconsistent with Calabria et al. (2015) who found an age-related difference in switch costs in a shape-colour task across bilingual speakers, with the switch cost being more pronounced in the elderly compared to young adults. ...
Both ageing and bilingualism can have positive as well as adverse cognitive effects. We investigated their combined impact on attention and executive functions. We used the Attention Network Task to examine alerting, orienting, executive inhibitory control and task-related switch costs. Group comparisons revealed age-related declines for alerting alongside benefits for executive control, for mono- and bilinguals alike. Task-switching was unaffected by age or language group. For orienting, age-related decline was more pronounced for bilinguals than monolinguals. Within bilinguals, we found limited impact of individual differences in L2 proficiency, language switching or mixing: proficiency improves orienting and decreases switch costs, for young and older bilinguals alike; but no other individual differences effects were found. Thus, attention and executive functions are multi-faceted networks, with clear adverse (alerting) and protective (executive control) ageing effects. We found these to be largely similar for mono- and bilinguals, with variability within bilinguals having only limited impact.
... However, the studies conducted so far have yielded mixed results (cf. [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]; for an overview of the studies, see [17]), which may be partly explained by the fact that seniors' language learning needs have not been structurally taken into account [17]. Indeed, as a relatively new learner demographic, insights obtained from applied linguistic investigations into effective foreign language pedagogies have been predominantly based on younger learners. ...
With the field of late-life language learning (LLLL) expanding fast, ample attention has been paid to cognitive benefits ensuing from LLLL. However, these studies have yielded mixed results, which may be partly explained by seniors’ language learning needs not being taken into account, and theoretical insights on effective language teaching have not included seniors. In order to link seniors’ language learning needs to possible cognitive benefits, and to expand the second language acquisition literature, 16 Dutch seniors took part in a three-month English course, with or without explicit grammar instruction, to ascertain the effects of more implicit versus more explicit language teaching pedagogies on cognitive flexibility. More specifically, we used linear mixed effects models to determine these methods’ differential effects on attention, working memory, processing and switching speed, inhibition, and shifting and switching abilities, as subdomains of cognitive flexibility, by using a pretest–post-test–retention test design. On the digit span tasks, the explicitly taught group showed significant improvements compared to the implicitly taught group. For Dutch verbal fluency, participants’ performance significantly improved regardless of condition. On the other measures, no differences between the groups were found. Hence, if the goal is to improve seniors’ working memory, then explicit language instruction appears more fruitful than implicit language instruction.
... While research on instructed second language (L2) acquisition in healthy older adults has recently begun to gain traction (e.g., Bak et al., 2016;Kliesch et al., 2022;Mackey & Sachs, 2012;Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017), the mechanisms of third age additional language learning are yet to be investigated. In particular, there have been calls for more research employing dynamic methods capable of revealing how significant peaks and dips in the L2 development of older individuals emerge over time in relation to variable learner behavior (e.g., Kliesch & Pfenninger, 2021). ...
This longitudinal study with time-serial data examines for the first time whether different types of intraindividual variation in second language (L2) performance and cognitive functioning are related, and how and when they influence L2 development longitudinally in older adulthood. We analyzed the L2 development of 26 German-speaking adults aged 62–79 who were taught L2 English for 2 × 90 minutes per week over 6 months. At each of the 15 measurements, the participants completed three L2 tasks and eight cognitive measures, and they answered open-ended questions about socioaffective variables such as L2 motivation. Results of generalized additive mixed models and qualitative content analyses showed, inter alia , that L2 variability—rather than inconsistency or dispersion—had a (nonlinear) effect on L2 growth, being especially large during periods of rapid development. The qualitative analyses revealed a blended operation of internal and external states being associated with periods of significant L2 growth.
... In contrast, however, De Bruin, Bak, and Della Sala (2015) observed no differences in switching between matched bilingual and monolingual older adults in an established task-switching paradigm (Prior & MacWhinney, 2010) when baseline differences were controlled for. Moreover, Ramos, Fernández García, Antón, Casaponsa, and Duñabeitia (2017) demonstrated that the acquisition of a second language (L2) in monolingual older adults did not facilitate switching abilities, relative to baseline, as indexed by the color-shape paradigm. As such, further investigation is needed to determine the dimensions of bilingualism, such as interactional contexts, that can better explain potential differences in shifting abilities among older adults (see Yang, Hartanto & Yang, 2016b, for a review). ...
Drawing on the adaptive control hypothesis, we examined whether older adults’ bilingual interactional contexts of conversational exchanges would predict important indices of executive functions (EF). We assessed participants’ engagement in each bilingual interactional context – single-language, dual-language, and dense code-switching – and their performance on a series of nonverbal EF measures. Sixty-nine healthy older adults (M age = 70.39 years; ages 60–93) were recruited from local community centers. We found that the dense code-switching context was associated with enhanced overall EF, but not individual facets of EF (inhibitory control, shifting, and updating). These findings held true when we controlled for a host of covariates. Our findings shed light on aging bilinguals’ interactional contexts as crucial bilingual experiences that modulate overall EF. Given that bilingualism is a multidimensional construct, rather than a unidimensional variable, our study underscores the importance of more fine-grained operationalisation of bilingualism when studying its impacts on EF.
... Whereas in previous versions of the CSST, graphic cues are used to circumvent possible linguistic effects; for the purpose of our experiment, it was vital to keep the luminosity of the cues constant across conditions. As such, we opted for words denoting the task (cf.Ramos et al., 2017). ...
Introduction
It has been proposed that bilinguals’ language use patterns are differentially associated with executive control. To further examine this, the present study relates the social diversity of bilingual language use to performance on a color-shape switching task (CSST) in a group of bilingual university students with diverse linguistic backgrounds. Crucially, this study used language entropy as a measure of bilinguals’ language use patterns. This continuous measure reflects a spectrum of language use in a variety of social contexts, ranging from compartmentalized use to fully integrated use.
Methods
Language entropy for university and non-university contexts was calculated from questionnaire data on language use. Reaction times (RTs) were measured to calculate global RT and switching and mixing costs on the CSST, representing conflict monitoring, mental set shifting, and goal maintenance, respectively. In addition, this study innovatively recorded a potentially more sensitive measure of set shifting abilities, namely, pupil size during task performance.
Results
Higher university entropy was related to slower global RT. Neither university entropy nor non-university entropy were associated with switching costs as manifested in RTs. However, bilinguals with more compartmentalized language use in non-university contexts showed a larger difference in pupil dilation for switch trials in comparison with non-switch trials. Mixing costs in RTs were reduced for bilinguals with higher diversity of language use in non-university contexts. No such effects were found for university entropy.
Discussion
These results point to the social diversity of bilinguals’ language use as being associated with executive control, but the direction of the effects may depend on social context (university vs. non-university). Importantly, the results also suggest that some of these effects may only be detected by using more sensitive measures, such as pupil dilation. The paper discusses theoretical and practical implications regarding the language entropy measure and the cognitive effects of bilingual experiences more generally, as well as how methodological choices can advance our understanding of these effects.
... 21 found that in younger adults learning French as a L2, pre-training resting-state (rs) power of oscillations in the beta band (13-29.5 Hz) recorded over right OPEN hemisphere electrode sites predicted various global measures of L2 proficiency. Prat et al. 22 replicated these findings in a study where younger adults learned a programming language, proficiency in which was also predicted by power in beta and low-gamma bands (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40). Similarly, Küssner et al. 23 showed that global pre-training beta power (14-35 Hz) predicted recall scores in younger adults performing a vocabulary-learning paradigm, while Kliesch, Giroud & Meyer 24 showed that global pre-training power in the lower beta band (13-14.5 Hz) was also predictive of overall L2 development in older adults. ...
Resting brain (rs) activity has been shown to be a reliable predictor of the level of foreign language (L2) proficiency younger adults can achieve in a given time-period. Since rs properties change over the lifespan, we investigated whether L2 attainment in older adults (aged 64–74 years) is also predicted by individual differences in rs activity, and to what extent rs activity itself changes as a function of L2 proficiency. To assess how neuronal assemblies communicate at specific frequencies to facilitate L2 development, we examined localized and global measures (Minimum Spanning Trees) of connectivity. Results showed that central organization within the beta band (~ 13–29.5 Hz) predicted measures of L2 complexity, fluency and accuracy, with the latter additionally predicted by a left-lateralized centro-parietal beta network. In contrast, reduced connectivity in a right-lateralized alpha (~ 7.5–12.5 Hz) network predicted development of L2 complexity. As accuracy improved, so did central organization in beta, whereas fluency improvements were reflected in localized changes within an interhemispheric beta network. Our findings highlight the importance of global and localized network efficiency and the role of beta oscillations for L2 learning and suggest plasticity even in the ageing brain. We interpret the findings against the background of networks identified in socio-cognitive processes.
... A study examining intelligence scores at ages 11 and 72 within individuals found that specifically those who went on to become bilingual significantly outperformed their childhood scores in later life (Bak et al., 2014). Contrarily, some controlled studies of language training have failed to find improvements in cognitive function (Berggren et al., 2020;Ramos et al., 2017, reviewed by Pot et al., 2019. Most training studies have relied on classroom learning, in which it is difficult to control and quantify the degree of engagement experienced by each participant. ...
Bilingualism has been linked to improved executive function and delayed onset of dementia, but it is unknown whether similar benefits can be obtained later in life through deliberate intervention. Given the logistical hurdles of second language acquisition in a randomized trial for older adults, few interventional studies have been done thus far. However, recently developed smartphone apps offer a convenient means to acquire skills in a second language and can be compared with brain training apps specifically designed to improve executive function. In a randomized clinical trial, 76 adults aged 65–75 were assigned to either 16 weeks of Spanish learning using the app Duolingo 30 minutes a day, an equivalent amount of brain training using the app BrainHQ, or a waitlist control condition. Executive function was assessed before and after the intervention with preregistered (NCT03638882) tests previously linked to better performance in bilinguals. For two of the primary measures: incongruent Stroop color naming and 2-back accuracy, Duolingo provided equivalent benefits as BrainHQ compared to a control group. On reaction time for N-back and Simon tests, the BrainHQ group alone experienced strong gains over the other two groups. Duolingo was rated as more enjoyable. These results suggest that app-based language learning may provide some similar benefits as brain training in improving executive function in seniors but has less impact on processing speed. However, future advancements in app design may optimize not only the acquisition of the target language but also the side benefits of the language learning experience.
... Later studies claimed that bilingualism mainly enhanced attentional switching, since bilinguals need to switch attention in order to use different languages in different contexts. However, there have also been studies that failed to obtain any evidence for a bilingual advantage in switching skills (Mor et al., 2015;Ramos et al., 2017;Goldsmith and Morton, 2018). Other studies suggested that bilingualism enhances working memory (Grundy and Timmer, 2017) or monitoring (Costa et al., 2009). ...
... It has even been proposed that foreign language training for older adults could serve as a tool to improve cognition by engaging the extensive language network and potentially mitigate age-related cognitive decline (Antoniou et al., 2013). However, evidence for general cognitive benefits following language training in older adults has so far been unconvincing (Bak et al., 2016;Ramos et al., 2017;Ware et al., 2017) and we have recently shown that an entry-level Italian course did not confer any general cognitive advantage relative to relaxation training (Berggren et al., 2020). ...
It has previously been demonstrated that short-term foreign language learning can lead to structural brain changes in younger adults. Experience-dependent brain plasticity is known to be possible also in older age, but the specific effect of foreign language learning on brain structure in language-and memory-relevant regions in the old brain remains unknown. In the present study, 160 older Swedish adults (65–75 years) were randomized to complete either an entry-level Italian course or a relaxation course, both with a total duration of 11 weeks. Structural MRI scans were conducted before and after the intervention in a subset of participants to test for differential change in gray matter in the two groups in the inferior frontal gyrus, the superior temporal gyrus, and the hippocampus, and in white matter microstructure in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), fronto-occipital fasciculus, and the hippocampal (HC) section of the cingulum. The study found no evidence for differential structural change following language training, independent of achieved vocabulary proficiency. However, hippocampal volume and associative memory ability before the intervention were found to be robust predictors of vocabulary proficiency at the end of the language course. The results suggest that having greater hippocampal volume and better associative memory ability benefits vocabulary learning in old age but that the very initial stage of foreign language learning does not trigger detectable changes in brain morphometry in old age.
... Meanwhile, 4 hours or less per week showed an inconsistent pattern: some improved but others stayed the same or deteriorated. However, a recent study with monolingual older persons attending a Spanish-Basque language course for 5.5 hours for over 8 months (Ramos et al., 2017), and older Telugu-English bilinguals (Mishra et al., 2019) did not show any difference between cognition or performances in switching paradigms. On the other hand, a study with older Dutch-Frisian bilinguals reported to switching often between the two languages as active bilinguals, did show significant differences in switching paradigms in favour of the bilinguals (Houtzager et al., 2017). ...
This article explores whether lifelong bilingualism can be associated with delayed age-related cognitive decline, with cognitive (or brain) reserve as the mechanism that compensates by positively increasing the functional capacity of the brain for older persons. A structural review of recent psychoneurolinguistic studies shows that older bilinguals display several years of delay in dementia symptoms as compared to monolinguals, as well as that positive effects exist in bilingual brain networks, also related to other neurodegenerative disorders. The field is clearly missing an established methodology, nevertheless, lifelong bilingualism can be considered to induce cognitive reserve. Drawing from these implications, we hypothesize that successful ageing could be facilitated by the active use of multiple languages, and in this light, we discuss language education for older persons, the role of Third Age Universities, the implementation of crucial aspects in such courses, and the proper assessment of the effectiveness of language proficiency and cognition.
... Moreover, only one study found a small improvement in inhibition and well-being (Pfenninger and Polz, 2018). Others, however, found no improvements in cognitive abilities, such as switching (Ramos et al., 2016) or working memory (Berggren et al., 2020), but also did not include socio-affective measures. At present, there has only been one study that examined cognitive improvements in combination with brain changes, as a function of old age language learning: Bubbico et al. (2019). ...
Introduction : With aging comes a reduction of cognitive flexibility, which has been related to the development of late-life depression and progression of general cognitive decline. Several factors have been linked to attenuating such decline in cognitive flexibility, such as education, physical exercise and stimulating leisure activities. Speaking two or more languages has recently received abundant attention as another factor that may build up cognitive reserve, thereby limiting the functional implications of compromised cognition that accompany old age. With the number of older adults reaching record levels, it is important to attenuate the development of old-age disorders. Learning to speak a foreign language might offer a powerful tool in promoting healthy aging, but up to date effect studies are sparse. Here, the protocol that forms the foundation of the current study is presented. The present study aims to: (1) examine the effects of a foreign language training on cognitive flexibility and its neural underpinnings, and on mental health; and (2) assess the unique role of foreign language training vs. other cognitive or social programs.
Method : One-hundred and ninety-eight Dutch elderly participants reporting subjective cognitive decline are included and randomized to either a language intervention, a music intervention, or a social control intervention. During 3 to 6 months, the language group learns English, the music group learns to play the guitar and the social group participates in social meetings where art workshops are offered. At baseline, at a 3-month follow-up, and at 6 months after termination of the training program, clinical, cognitive and brain activity measurements (combined EEG and fNIRS methods) are taken to assess cognitive flexibility and mental health.
Discussion : This is the first trial addressing combined effects of language learning in elderly on cognition, language proficiency, socio-affective measures, and brain activity in the context of a randomized controlled trial. If successful, this study can provide insights into how foreign language training can contribute to more cognitively and mentally healthy years in older adulthood.
Clinical Trial Registration : The trial is registered at the Netherlands Trial Register, July 2, 2018, trial number NL7137. https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7137 .
... Improved cognitive performance was maintained at 9 months follow up in individuals who practiced Gaelic for at least 5 hours a week following the end of training (95). However, these findings were not replicated in a study of Spanish monolinguals who learnt Basque (96). Differences in the study design may have impacted the overall study findings. ...
Dementia is a global public health priority which cost global societies $818 billion in 2015 and is disproportionately impacting low and middle-income countries (LMICs). With limited availability of disease modifying drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), researchers have increasingly focused on preventative strategies which may promote healthy cognitive aging and mitigate the risk of cognitive impairment in aging. Lifelong bilingualism has been presented as both a highly debated and promising cognitive reserve factor which has been associated with better cognitive outcomes in aging. A recent metanalysis has suggested that bilingual individuals present on average 4.05 years later with the clinical features of AD than monolinguals. Bilinguals are also diagnosed with AD ~2.0 years later than monolingual counterparts. In this perspective piece we critically evaluate the findings of this metanalysis and consider the specific implications of these findings to LMICs. Furthermore, we appraise the major epidemiological studies conducted globally on bilingualism and the onset of dementia. We consider how both impactful and robust studies of bilingualism and cognition in older age may be conducted in LMICs. Given the limited expenditure and resources available in LMICs and minimal successes of clinical trials of disease modifying drugs we propose that bilingualism should be positioned as an important and specific public health strategy for maintaining healthy cognitive aging in LMICs. Finally, we reflect upon the scope of implementing bilingualism within the education systems of LMICs and the promotion of bilingualism as a healthy cognitive aging initiative within government policy.
... No evidence of cognitive improvement through foreign language learning (FLL) was found. The same was true for Ramos et al. (2017) in their study with older Spanish people. They discovered that the switching ability (i.e., the ability to shift attention between one task and another) was not enhanced by FLL, in this case Basque language. ...
The purpose of this mini-review is to investigate if there are any cognitive benefits of computer-based foreign language training for healthy older individuals aged 55+ years. The author conducted a literature search of peer-reviewed English written research articles found in Pub Med, Web of Science and Scopus. The findings of this mini-review reveal that the research on the cognitive benefits of computer-based foreign language training for healthy older individuals is small-scale. The limited research findings of only three relevant studies indicate that these computer-based foreign language training programs may bring cognitive benefits for healthy elderly people, especially as far as the enhancement of their cognitive functions such as working memory are concerned. In addition, the authors of these studies suggest that foreign language learning is a useful activity for healthy older adults since it has the benefits of being meaningful (an advantage over other cognitive training approaches) and provides the chance for acquiring important skills that can benefit other aspects of life, such as travel or communication. In conclusion, the author of this mini-review also provides several implications for practice and future research.
... While there are a considerable number of behavioural studies showing evidence for a bilingual advantage in inhibition or the ability to suppress irrelevant information (Bialystok et al., 2004(Bialystok et al., , 2008Bialystok et al., 2014) and in switching abilities or the ability to disengage attention from one stimulus or set of features and deploy it to others (Grundy et al., 2017b;Prior and Macwhinney, 2010;Vega-Mendoza et al., 2015), there are also a substantial number of studies showing no behavioural differences in inhibition (Antón et al., 2016;Kirk et al., 2014) or switching (Mor et al., 2015;Ramos et al., 2017). Several studies have also investigated other executive functions, specifically, working memory and conflict monitoring. ...
... Other researchers have attempted FL course implementations but with different specifications from our study, in terms of participants, duration, nature, structure, content, and focus. Ramos et al. [52] searched for a probable relationship between language learning and switching ability in older adults. They trained monolinguals in FL learning for a whole year and assessed them on a colour-shape switching task, before and after the FL course. ...
The purpose of the current research endeavour was to evaluate if the learning of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) could constitute an effective non-pharmacological intervention for older adults diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Specifically, the focus was on the assessment of the impact of EFL learning on a variety of cognitive and psychological functions. To this aim, a total sample of 241 Greek older adults was recruited from the day care units for patients with dementia of the Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, in Thessaloniki, Greece. An experimental research design was adopted and two groups were formulated. The intervention group comprised 98 individuals who attended an18-month EFL course and either had no prior knowledge of English or had attended some lessons decades before. The control group included 143 individuals who did not attend any cognitive stimulation programme within the premises of the day care units. A battery of neuropsychological tests, assessing general cognitive functioning, attention, verbal learning, memory, visuo-perceptual ability, executive function, and depression, was administered by the psychologists of the day care units to all of the participants. Neuropsychological data for the intervention group were collected at three time-points (i.e. pre-, mid-, and post-intervention), while neuropsychological data for the control group were collected at two time-points (i.e. pre-and post-research). Hypothesis testing revealed statistically significant differences both within the intervention group and between the intervention and control group across the evaluation time-points.
... In addition, de Bruin et al. (2015) found a switch cost advantage in older active bilinguals (defined as bilinguals who use both languages in their daily life) relative to older inactive bilinguals (defined as bilinguals who mainly used one language in their daily life) and monolinguals; however, when looking at proportional cost to correct for baseline differences, the effect was no longer significant. Finally, a study by Ramos et al. (2016), found no effect of second language training on task switching in monolingual older adults. ...
The current study investigated behavioral and electrophysiological (event-related potential; ERP) differences associated with task switching in a sample of young and older monolingual and bilingual adults. ERPs associated with task preparation (switch and mixing positivity) and task execution processes (N2 and P3b) were investigated. Participants performed a cued letter-number task switching paradigm that included single task and mixed task blocks, while their electroencephalography was recorded. Behavioral results revealed smaller switch and mixing costs in bilinguals relative to monolinguals, in both young and older participants. There were no ERP differences in the effect size of the cue-locked mixing and switch positivities, nor the target-locked mixing and switch N2 and P3b components. However, overall larger target-locked N2 amplitudes were observed in bilinguals relative to monolinguals. In addition, bilingual older adults exhibited smaller P3b amplitudes than monolingual older adults. The smaller behavioral mixing and switch costs observed in bilinguals suggest that bilinguals exhibit superior sustained attention and faster task-set reconfiguration processes compared to monolinguals. The ERP measures provide evidence for differences in brain processes between monolinguals and bilinguals and a reliance on different processing strategies in bilingual compared to monolingual older adults.
This study investigated the impact of language learning in comparison to other complex learning activities on cognitive functioning and psychosocial well-being in cognitively healthy, community-dwelling older adults. In a randomized controlled trial, 43 Dutch functionally monolinguals aged 65-78 completed a three-month English course (n = 15), music training (n = 13), or a lecture series (n = 15). Cognitive functioning (global cognition, cognitive flexibility, episodic memory, working memory, verbal fluency, and attention) and psychosocial well-being were assessed before and immediately after the intervention, and at a four-month follow-up. The language learners significantly improved on episodic memory and cognitive flexibility. However, the magnitude of cognitive change did not significantly differ between the language learning and music training conditions, except for a larger positive change in cognitive flexibility for the language learners from pretest to follow-up. Our results suggest that language learning in later life can improve some cognitive functions and fluency in the additional language, but that its unique effects seem limited.
ABSTRACT
This study aims to assess the impact of online tutoring on oral English fluency in Thai adult learners who have had only primary education in their native language but have no formal education in English. The research involved 34 adult learners participating in online hourly tutoring sessions over six months. Pre- and post-tests were used to measure oral fluency progression, and structured interviews were conducted to understand learners’ experiences and strategies. The results indicate a significant enhancement (p < 0.05) in oral fluency, with learners progressing from beginner to independent user levels on the CEFR Global Scale. While the majority exhibited substantial improvement, a subset showed moderate progress. Qualitative insights from interviews highlighted effective learning strategies employed by the participants. This research emphasizes the potential of online tutoring as an effective approach for non-native adult English learners, particularly those lacking formal education or print literacy. The findings offer valuable insights for designing and implementing language learning programs, emphasizing the importance of learner commitment and motivation. This study is a practical guide for similar learner populations, offering implications for future language learning initiatives.
From the Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST) point of view, second language development has unpredictable and non-linear patterns that vary from learner to learner. Keeping track of such dynamic development requires longitudinal studies with sufficient data points. The present systematic literature review attempts to present an overview on the previously conducted longitudinal studies that have investigated the development of second language subsystems from the CDST perspective. Starting from 1884 publications, the systematic searching strategy led to 45 articles which were examined in order to highlight the state of the art. The observations of the reviewed studies are conclusively supportive of the CDST principles in second language development. The synthesis of the findings of the papers will be presented and, finally, a multitude of suggestions for further research will be provided which can help future studies clarify the existing gaps that exist in the literature.
Purpose
The purpose of this review is to integrate an important new synthesis of the literature examining the effects of cognitive training on far transfer tests of cognitive ability with the expansive literature testing for bilingual advantages in executive functioning (EF).
Approach
The secondary meta-analysis of cognitive training on far transfer reported by Gobet and Sala is compared and contrasted with the many recent meta-analyses for bilingual advantages in EF.
Data and Analysis
The Gobet and Sala secondary meta-analysis is based on ten independent meta-analyses with a median of 24 samples per analysis. The meta-analyses of the bilingual advantage in EF are partitioned into nine analyses that focus on inhibition, switching, working memory capacity, and general EF.
Findings and Conclusions
Both cognitive training and bilingualism yield overall effects that are not distinguishable from zero when corrected for publication bias. Furthermore, both clusters of meta-analyses show that study quality moderates performance, but that type of experience/training does not. In the absence of a compelling reason for considering bilingual language-language to have a special status in cognitive training, these two conclusions mesh.
Originality
Although brain training and the bilingual advantage in EF are both instances of the general hypothesis that practicing cognitive tasks can produce far transfer, they have not been considered as two tests of the same general hypothesis. However, the twin null results resonate and strengthen each other.
Significance
If bilingualism does not enhance EF in children and young adults (or maintain it in older adults), the argument that bilingualism enhances EF and/or delays the onset of dementia is substantially weakened. However, it is clear and indisputable that, more broadly, there are important advantages to being able to communicate and connect with more people.
While the literature is well-represented in accounting for how aging influences segmental properties of speech, less is known is about its influences on suprasegmental properties such as lexical tones. Additionally, foreign language learning is increasingly endorsed as being a potential intervention to boost cognitive reserve and overall wellbeing in older adults. Empirical studies on young learners learning lexical tones are aplenty in comparison to older learners. Challenges in this domain for older learners might be different due to aging and other learner-internal factors. This review consolidates behavioral and neuroscientific research related to lexical tone, speech perception, factors characterizing learner groups, and other variables that would influence lexical tone perception and learning in older adults. Factors commonly identified to influence tone learning in younger adult populations, such as musical experience, language background and motivation in learning a new language are discussed in relation to older learner groups and recommendations to boost lexical tone learning in older age are provided based on existing studies.
This paper presents the results of a retrospective study that investigates the cognitive effects of learning a foreign language in late adulthood. The learner group, consisting of 21 L1 Chinese speakers who have been learning to read Arabic for 2 years and 4 months, were compared to the matched group on their performance on a series of cognitive tasks that tap into working memory, processing speed, reasoning, conflict monitoring, and attention. The results showed that the learning group’s performance was significantly better in attention (measured by the Posner cueing attention task). Their working memory capacities (measured by the digit span tests) were also better, but the difference only reached marginal significance. The findings suggest that language learning may lead to improvement in attention abilities, which is in line with the converging evidence in the field of bilingualism showing that executive attention may underlie the mechanism of how bilingual experience can alter brain and the cognitive system.
Late-life language learning has gained considerable attention in recent years. Strikingly, additional language (AL) proficiency development is underinvestigated, despite it potentially being one of the main drivers for older adults to learn an AL. Our study investigates whether Dutch older adults learning English for three months significantly improve their AL skills, and if explicit or implicit language instruction is more beneficial. Sixteen learners participated in online weekly group lessons, five days of 60-min homework, and pre-post-retention tests. Half were randomly assigned to the mostly explicit condition and half to the mostly implicit condition. Data includes language proficiency measures and 201 dense-data spoken homework samples. Results show improvements in several areas for both conditions. For structural errors in homework, we found implicitly taught participants to make significantly more mistakes. Our exploratory data show that older adults significantly develop AL proficiency after a short language training, and, as we only found differences between conditions on one construct, that teaching pedagogies do not play a substantial role.
Acquiring a second alphabetic language also entails learning a new set of orthographic rules and specific patterns of grapheme combinations (namely, the orthotactics). The present longitudinal study aims to investigate whether orthotactic sensitivity changes over the course of a second language learning programme. To this end, a group of Spanish monolingual old adults completed a Basque language learning course. They were tested in different moments with a language decision task that included pseudowords that could be Basque-marked, Spanish-marked or neutral. Results showed that the markedness effect varied as a function of second language acquisition, showing that learning a second language changes the sensitivity not only to the orthographic patterns of the newly acquired language, but to those of the native language too. These results demonstrate that the orthographic representations of the native language are not static and that experience with a second language boosts markedness perception in the first language.
Based on relevant theories in the past, this article explores the best time for English majors to learn a second language from the perspective of research methods and data analysis, with a view to providing strategies and references for relevant language learners.
While there is a growing body of research on second language acquisition (SLA) in children, adolescents, young and more mature adults, much remains to be explored about how adults in later life learn a new language and how good additional language learning is for them . Our goal in this article is to survey and evaluate what is known about the linguistic, socio-affective, neurobiological and cognitive underpinnings of the second language (L2) learning process in older individuals, the extent to which L2 acquisition may be seen as contributing to healthy and active ageing, and how these phenomena are to be approached scientifically, methodologically and pedagogically. Our view is that a developmental enterprise as complex as L2 learning in senior adulthood and its effects in later life cannot be explained by a single theory or set of principles. Furthermore, we take it that L2 acquisition in the third age needs to be regarded not just as a goal in itself but as a means of promoting social interaction and integration, and that it is partly through the stimulation of social well-being that its cognitive effects may potentially be observed.
Objetivo.
Revisar la literatura para identificar si existen diferencias en el desempeño ejecutivo de la atención, inhibición y tareas de cambio entre personas bilingües y monolingües.
Método.
Se realizó una búsqueda bibliográfica utilizando las palabras clave: bilingüismo, funciones ejecutivas y atención; 36 artículos cumplieron los criterios de inclusión. Estos se dividieron en tres grupos, según la edad de las muestras estudiadas: en niños, adultos jóvenes y adultos mayores.
Resultados.
Los factores principales que modelaron los resultados comportamentales fueron la edad de adquisición y el contexto de uso del segundo idioma. Además, se encontraron diferentes perfiles de desempeño en las tareas de funciones ejecutivas, según el grupo etario.
Conclusión.
Los mejores desempeños ejecutivos se observaron en aquellas personas bilingües que adquirieron su segundo idioma en contextos naturales, de uso frecuente para el hablante y a edades tempranas. Estos aportes son importantes para el ámbito escolar y de salud.
Much of the world’s population speaks more than one language, and there has been a great deal of media attention given to the potential benefits of bilingualism. In this paper we provide a critical overview of the literature on bilingualism as it relates to older adults. We address whether there is indeed a cognitive advantage from speaking more than one language, and whether it can help preserve cognitive and linguistic function as we age, and potentially reduce the impact of dementia. We also focus on the patterns of language impairment after stroke (aphasia) in bilingual speakers and the issues relating to clinical management of bilingual aphasia.
This paper compiles several studies that show the relationship between bilingualism and Alzheimer's disease. Studies here compiled were independently carried out between 1991 and 2012 in the United States, in Canada, in the United Kingdom, in India and in Sweden. The paper reviews the results of studies that show that the time elapsed between early Alzheimer's diagnosis and the actual appearance of telltale symptom is up to five years longer in elderly bilinguals than in elderly monolinguals. Cradle bilinguals benefit most from bilingualism but language learning in adulthood can also benefits speakers. These and related scientific facts are compiled. Reports of scientific research are presented, and its conclusions are summarized.
RESUMEN Este paper recompila estudios que muestran la relación existente entre el bilingüismo y el mal de Alzheimer. Los estudios se realizaron independientemente entre 1991 y 2012 en Estados Unidos, en el Canadá, en el Reino Unido, en la India y en Suecia. El paper revisa los resultados de estos estudios que muestran que el tiempo que transcurre entre el diagnóstico precoz de Alzheimer's y la presentación de los primeros síntomas es hasta cinco años más demorado en ancianos bilingües que en ancianos monolingües. Quienes más se benefician del bilingüismo son los que han sido bilingües desde la cuna pero también se ha demostrado que se benefician los hablantes que aprenden idiomas en la adultez. Tanto estos como otros hechos científicos relacionados se presentan y se resumen sus conclusiones.
Objective:
To review the current literature on the effects of bilingualism on vocabulary, executive functions, age of dementia onset, and regional brain structure.
Method:
PubMed and PsycINFO databases were searched (from January 1999 to present) for relevant original research and review articles on bilingualism (but not multilingualism) paired with each target neuropsychological variable published in English. A qualitative review of these articles was conducted.
Results:
It has long been known that mean scores of bilinguals fall below those of monolinguals on vocabulary and other language, but not visual-perceptual, format cognitive tests. Contemporary studies that have reported higher mean scores for bilinguals than monolinguals on executive function task-switching or inhibition tasks have not always been replicated, leading to concerns of publication bias, statistical flaws, and failures to match groups on potentially confounding variables. Studies suggesting the onset of Alzheimer's disease occurred about 4 years later for bilinguals versus monolinguals have not been confirmed in longitudinal, cohort, community-based, incidence studies that have used neuropsychological testing and diagnostic criteria to establish an age of dementia diagnosis. Neuroimaging studies of regional gray and white matter volume in bilinguals versus monolinguals show inconsistencies in terms of both the regions of difference and the nature of the difference.
Conclusions:
Resolving inconsistencies in the behavioral data is necessary before searching in the brain for neuroanatomical correlation. Comparisons of balanced versus language-dominant groups within the same ethnoculture combined with objective measurement of bilingualism could better match groups on potentially confounding variables. (PsycINFO Database Record
Six commentaries [Bialystok, E. (2015). How hazy views become full pictures. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ; de Bruin, A., & Della Sala, S. (2015) The importance of language use when studying the neuroanatomical basis of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ; Green, D. W., & Abutalebi, J. (2015). Language control and the neuroanatomy of bilingualism: In praise of variety. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ; Kroll, J. and Chiarello, C. (2015). Language experience and the brain: Variability, neuroplasticity, and bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ; Luk, G., & Pliatsikas, C. (2015). Converging diversity to unity: Commentary on the neuroanatomy of bilingualism. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience; Paap, K. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: Will winds of change lift the fog? Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ] were produced in relation to the review "The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture" (Garcia-Penton, L., Fernandez, Y., Costello, B., Dunabeitia, J. A., & Carreiras, M. (2015). The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience. doi: [GRAPHICS] ). In the review, we argued that the available evidence for structural changes in bilingualism offers ambiguous support for current neural models of bilingualism and that this shortcoming in the field is exacerbated by critical methodological differences between studies. Thus, best practices need to be established for studying and modelling bilingualism. The commentaries bring to the discussion new perspectives and highlight additional challenges. Our response addresses the issues raised under two broad topics: the need to connect structural findings with behavioural and functional data, and a series of methodological concerns that are critical if the field is to advance.
This commentary on Garcia-Pentón, Fernández García, Costello, Duñabetia, and Carreiras [2015. The neuroanatomy of bilingualism: How to turn a hazy view into the full picture. Language, Cognition and Neuroscience] suggests that their review may have understated the inconsistencies among studies comparing the neuroanatomy of bilinguals to monolinguals. If their recommendations for better and more consistent methods, larger sample sizes, systematic investigation of various types of bilingualism, and more longitudinal studies were followed the structural picture should become clearer. The main thrust of the commentary is that this clearer picture of the structural changes caused by bilingualism is unlikely to inform the debate over bilingual advantages in executive functioning because: (1) there is no direct mapping between brain function and cognitive function, (2) interpretation of structural differences must rely upon unambiguous alignment with behavioural performance advantages, and (3) the current body of evidence supports the conclusion that either bilingual advantages do not exist or that they are restricted to very specific and undetermined circumstances.
The neuroanatomical bases of bilingualism have recently received intensive attention. However, it is still a matter of debate how the brain structure changes due to bilingual experience since current findings are highly variable. The aim of this review is to examine these structural studies from a methodological perspective and to discuss two major methodological problems that could give rise to this variability. The first problem is sample selection, an issue directly related to the heterogeneous nature of bilingualism. The second problem is the inconsistency in the methods used for the analysis of brain imaging data. This review reveals that although structural changes related to bilingualism have been reported in regions comprising language/cognitive control and language processing, these results are not yet sufficiently numerous or consistent to allow important generalizations to be reached. Consequently, current evidence offers ambiguous support for neural models of bilingualism. This shortcoming in the field is exacerbated by critical methodological differences between studies that only further complicate the matter. We conclude by identifying issues that should be taken into consideration so that studies are more comparable and results are easier to aggregate and interpret. We also point out future directions that would allow for progress in the field.
The hypothesis that managing two languages enhances general executive functioning is examined. More than 80% of the tests for bilingual advantages conducted after 2011 yield null results and those resulting in significant bilingual advantages tend to have small sample sizes. Some published studies reporting significant bilingual advantages arguably produce no group differences if more appropriate tests of the critical interaction or more appropriate baselines are used. Some positive findings are likely to have been caused by failures to match on demographic factors and others have yielded significant differences only with a questionable use of the analysis-of-covariance to "control" for these factors. Although direct replications are under-utilized, when they are, the results of seminal studies cannot be reproduced. Furthermore, most studies testing for bilingual advantages use measures and tasks that do not have demonstrated convergent validity and any significant differences in performance may reflect task-specific mechanism and not domain-free executive functions (EF) abilities. Brain imaging studies have made only a modest contribution to evaluating the bilingual-advantage hypothesis, principally because the neural differences do not align with the behavioral differences and also because the neural measures are often ambiguous with respect to whether greater magnitudes should cause increases or decreases in performance. The cumulative effect of confirmation biases and common research practices has either created a belief in a phenomenon that does not exist or has inflated the frequency and effect size of a genuine phenomenon that is likely to emerge only infrequently and in restricted and undetermined circumstances.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
In this paper we report a longitudinal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study that tested contrasting predictions about the time course of cognitive control in second language (L2) acquisition. We examined the neural correlates of lexical processing in L2 learners twice over the course of one academic year. Specifically, while in the scanner, participants were asked to judge the language member- ship of unambiguous first and second language words, as well as interlingual homographs. Our ROI and connectivity analyses reveal that with increased exposure to the L2, overall activation in control areas such as the anterior cingulate cortex decrease while connectivity with semantic processing regions such as the middle temporal gyrus increase. These results suggest that cognitive control is more important initially in L2 acquisition, and have significant implications for understanding developmental and neu- rocognitive models of second language lexical processing.
It is a widely held belief that bilinguals have an advantage over monolinguals in executive-control tasks, but is this what all studies actually demonstrate? The idea of a bilingual advantage may result from a publication bias favoring studies with positive results over studies with null or negative effects. To test this hypothesis, we looked at conference abstracts from 1999 to 2012 on the topic of bilingualism and executive control. We then determined which of the studies they reported were subsequently published. Studies with results fully supporting the bilingual-advantage theory were most likely to be published, followed by studies with mixed results. Studies challenging the bilingual advantage were published the least. This discrepancy was not due to differences in sample size, tests used, or statistical power. A test for funnel-plot asymmetry provided further evidence for the existence of a publication bias.
© The Author(s) 2014.
A great deal of research has examined behavioral performance changes associated with second language learning. But what changes are taking place in the brain as learning progresses? How can we identify differences in brain changes that reflect successes of learning? To answer these questions, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study to examine the neural activities associated with second language word learning. Participants were 39 native English speakers who had no prior knowledge of Chinese or other tonal language, and were trained to learn a novel tonal vocabulary in a six-week training session. Functional MRI scans as well as behavioral performances were obtained from these learners at two different times (pre- and post-training). We performed region of interest (ROI) and connectivity analyses to identify effective connectivity changes associated with success in second language word learning. We compared a learner group with a control group, and also examined the differences between successful learners and less successful learners within the learner group across the two time points. Our results indicated that (1) after training, learners and non-learners rely on different patterns of brain networks to process tonal and lexical information of target L2 words; (2) within the learner group, successful learners compared to less successful learners showed significant differences in language-related regions; and (3) successful learners compared to less successful learners showed a more coherent and integrated multi-path brain network. These results suggest that second language experience shapes neural changes in short-term training, and that analyses of these neural changes also reflect individual differences in learning success.
A sample of 58 bilingual and 62 monolingual university students completed four tasks commonly used to test for bilingual advantages in executive functioning (EF): antisaccade, attentional network test, Simon, and color-shape switching. Across the four tasks, 13 different indices were derived that are assumed to reflect individual differences in inhibitory control, monitoring, or switching. The effects of bilingualism on the 13 measures were explored by directly comparing the means of the two language groups and through regression analyses using a continuous measure of bilingualism and multiple demographic characteristics as predictors. Across the 13 different measures and two types of data analysis there were very few significant results and those that did occur supported a monolingual advantage. An equally important goal was to assess the convergent validity through cross-task correlations of indices assume to measure the same component of executive functioning. Most of the correlations using difference-score measures were non-significant and many near zero. Although modestly higher levels of convergent validity are sometimes reported, a review of the existing literature suggests that bilingual advantages (or disadvantages) may reflect task-specific differences that are unlikely to generalize to important general differences in EF. Finally, as cautioned by Salthouse, assumed measures of executive functioning may also be threatened by a lack of discriminant validity that separates individual or group differences in EF from those in general fluid intelligence or simple processing speed.
Objective: To test the hypothesis that foreign language and music instruction in early life are associated with lower incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and slower rate of cognitive decline in old age. Method: At enrollment in a longitudinal cohort study, 964 older persons without cognitive impairment estimated years of foreign language and music instruction by age 18. Annually thereafter they completed clinical evaluations that included cognitive testing and clinical classification of MCI. Results: There were 264 persons with no foreign language instruction, 576 with 1–4 years, and 124 with > 4 years; 346 persons with no music instruction, 360 with 1–4 years, and 258 with > 4 years. During a mean of 5.8 years of observation, 396 participants (41.1%) developed MCI. In a proportional hazards model adjusted for age, sex, and education, higher levels (> 4 years) of foreign language (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.687, 95% confidence interval [CI] [0.482, 0.961]) and music (HR = 0.708, 95% CI [0.539, 0.930]) instruction by the age of 18 were each associated with reduced risk of MCI. The association persisted after adjustment for other early life indicators of an enriched cognitive environment, and it was stronger for nonamnestic than amnestic MCI. Both foreign language and music instruction were associated with higher initial level of cognitive function, but neither instruction measure was associated with cognitive decline. Conclusions: Higher levels of foreign language and music instruction during childhood and adolescence are associated in old age with lower risk of developing MCI but not with rate of cognitive decline.
Recent evidence suggests a positive impact of bilingualism on cognition, including later onset of dementia. However, monolinguals and bilinguals might have different baseline cognitive ability. We present the first study examining the effect of bilingualism on later-life cognition controlling for childhood intelligence. We studied 853 participants, first tested in 1947 (age = 11 years), and retested in 2008–2010. Bilinguals performed significantly better than predicted from their baseline cognitive abilities, with strongest effects on general intelligence and reading. Our results suggest a positive effect of bilingualism on later-life cognition, including in those who acquired their second language in adulthood. Ann Neurol 2014
Bilinguals have been shown to outperform monolinguals in a variety of tasks that do not tap into linguistic processes. The origin of this bilingual advantage has been questioned in recent years. While some authors argue that the reason behind this apparent advantage is bilinguals' enhanced executive functioning, inhibitory skills and/or monitoring abilities, other authors suggest that the locus of these differences between bilinguals and monolinguals may lie in uncontrolled factors or incorrectly matched samples. In the current study we tested a group of 180 bilingual children and a group of 180 carefully matched monolinguals in a child-friendly version of the ANT task. Following recent evidence from similar studies with children, our results showed no bilingual advantage at all, given that the performance of the two groups in the task and the indices associated with the individual attention networks were highly similar and statistically indistinguishable.
Objective:
The current study investigated the combined effect of ADHD, previously associated with executive function (EF) deficits, and of bilingualism, previously associated with EF enhancement, on EF.
Method:
Eighty University students, Hebrew monolinguals and Russian Hebrew bilinguals, with and without ADHD participated. Inhibition tasks were a Numeric Stroop task and a Simon arrows task. Shifting tasks were the Trail Making Test (TMT) and a task-switching paradigm.
Results:
Participants with ADHD performed worse than controls, but we did not find a bilingual advantage in EF. The negative impact of ADHD was more pronounced for bilinguals than for monolinguals, but only in interference suppression tasks. Bilingual participants with ADHD had the lowest performance.
Conclusion:
Bilingualism might prove to be an added burden for adults with ADHD, leading to reduced EF abilities. Alternatively, the current findings might be ascribed to over- or under-diagnosis of ADHD due to cultural differences between groups. These issues should be pursued in future research.
This study explores the extent to which a bilingual advantage can be observed for three tasks in an established population of fully fluent bilinguals from childhood through adulthood. Welsh-English simultaneous and early sequential bilinguals, as well as English monolinguals, aged 3 years through older adults, were tested on three sets of cognitive and executive function tasks. Bilinguals were Welsh-dominant, balanced, or English-dominant, with only Welsh, Welsh and English, or only English at home. Card sorting, Simon, and a metalinguistic judgment task (650, 557, and 354 participants, respectively) reveal little support for a bilingual advantage, either in relation to control or globally. Primarily there is no difference in performance across groups, but there is occasionally better performance by monolinguals or persons dominant in the language being tested, and in one case-in one condition and in one age group-lower performance by the monolinguals. The lack of evidence for a bilingual advantage in these simultaneous and early sequential bilinguals suggests the need for much closer scrutiny of what type of bilingual might demonstrate the reported effects, under what conditions, and why.
Previous articles have reported that bilingualism is associated with a substantial delay in the onset of both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). The present study reports results from 74 MCI patients and 75 AD patients; approximately half of the patients in each group were bilingual. All patients were interviewed to obtain details of their language use, onset of their condition, and lifestyle habits. Patients performed three executive function (EF) tests from the D-KEFS battery (Trails, Color-Word Interference, Verbal Fluency) on 3 occasions over a period of approximately 1 year. Results replicated the finding that bilingual patients are several years older than comparable monolinguals at both age of symptom onset and date of first clinic visit. This result could not be attributed to language group differences in such lifestyle variables as diet, smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, or social activity. On the first testing occasion, performance on the EF tasks was generally comparable between the language groups, contesting arguments that bilinguals wait longer before attending the clinic. Finally, EF performance tended to decline over the 3 sessions, but no differences were found between monolinguals and bilinguals in the rate of decline. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
In recent decades several authors have suggested that bilinguals exhibit enhanced cognitive control as compared to monolinguals and some proposals suggest that this main difference between monolinguals and bilinguals is related to bilinguals' enhanced capacity of inhibiting irrelevant information. This has led to the proposal of the so-called bilingual advantage in inhibitory skills. However, recent studies have cast some doubt on the locus and generality of the alleged bilingual advantage in inhibitory skills. In the current study we investigated inhibitory skills in a large sample of 252 monolingual and 252 bilingual children who were carefully matched on a large number of indices. We tested their performance in a verbal Stroop task and in a nonverbal version of the same task (the number size-congruency task). Results were unequivocal and showed that bilingual and monolingual participants performed equally in these two tasks across all the indices or markers of inhibitory skills explored. Furthermore, the lack of differences between monolingual and bilingual children extended to all the age ranges tested and was not modulated by any of the independent factors investigated. In light of these results, we conclude that bilingual children do not exhibit any specific advantage in simple inhibitory tasks as compared to monolinguals.
Objective:
Clinic-based studies suggest that dementia is diagnosed at older ages in bilinguals compared with monolinguals. The current study sought to test this hypothesis in a large, prospective, community-based study of initially nondemented Hispanic immigrants living in a Spanish-speaking enclave of northern Manhattan.
Method:
Participants included 1,067 participants in the Washington/Hamilton Heights Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP) who were tested in Spanish and followed at 18-24 month intervals for up to 23 years. Spanish-English bilingualism was estimated via both self-report and an objective measure of English reading level. Multilevel models for change estimated the independent effects of bilingualism on cognitive decline in 4 domains: episodic memory, language, executive function, and speed. Over the course of the study, 282 participants developed dementia. Cox regression was used to estimate the independent effect of bilingualism on dementia conversion. Covariates included country of origin, gender, education, time spent in the United States, recruitment cohort, and age at enrollment.
Results:
Independent of the covariates, bilingualism was associated with better memory and executive function at baseline. However, bilingualism was not independently associated with rates of cognitive decline or dementia conversion. Results were similar whether bilingualism was measured via self-report or an objective test of reading level.
Conclusions:
This study does not support a protective effect of bilingualism on age-related cognitive decline or the development of dementia. In this sample of Hispanic immigrants, bilingualism is related to higher initial scores on cognitive tests and higher educational attainment and may not represent a unique source of cognitive reserve.
Typically, studies of cognitive advantages in bilinguals have been conducted previously by using executive and inhibitory tasks (e.g. Simon task) and applying cross-sectional designs. This study longitudinally investigated bilingual advantages on episodic memory recall, verbal letter and categorical fluency during the trajectory of life. Monolingual and bilingual participants (n = 178) between 35-70 years at baseline were drawn from the Betula Prospective Cohort Study of aging, memory, and health. Results showed that bilinguals outperformed monolinguals at the first testing session and across time both in episodic memory recall and in letter fluency. No interaction with age was found indicating that the rate of change across ages was similar for bilinguals and monolinguals. As predicted and in line with studies applying cross-sectional designs, no advantages associated with bilingualism were found in the categorical fluency task. The results are discussed in the light of successful aging.
The article reports research investigating the way bilingualism affects cognitive and linguistic performance across the life span. In general, bilingualism appears to have both benefits and costs. Regarding costs, bilinguals typically have lower formal language proficiency than monolinguals do; for example, they have smaller vocabularies and weaker access to lexical items. The benefits, however, are that bilinguals exhibit enhanced executive control in nonverbal tasks requiring conflict resolution, such as the Stroop and Simon tasks. These patterns and their consequences are illustrated and discussed. We also propose some suggestions regarding underlying mechanisms for these effects.
Three studies compared bilinguals to monolinguals on 15 indicators of executive processing (EP). Most of the indicators compare a neutral or congruent baseline to a condition that should require EP. For each of the measures there was no main effect of group and a highly significant main effect of condition. The critical marker for a bilingual advantage, the Group×Condition interaction, was significant for only one indicator, but in a pattern indicative of a bilingual disadvantage. Tasks include antisaccade (Study 1), Simon (Studies 1-3), flanker (Study 3), and color-shape switching (Studies 1-3). The two groups performed identically on the Raven's Advanced Matrices test (Study 3). Analyses on the combined data selecting subsets that are precisely matched on parent's educational level or that include only highly fluent bilinguals reveal exactly the same pattern of results. A problem reconfirmed by the present study is that effects assumed to be indicators of a specific executive process in one task (e.g., inhibitory control in the flanker task) frequently do not predict individual differences in that same indicator on a related task (e.g., inhibitory control in the Simon task). The absence of consistent cross-task correlations undermines the interpretation that these are valid indicators of domain-general abilities. In a final discussion the underlying rationale for hypothesizing bilingual advantages in executive processing based on the special linguistic demands placed on bilinguals is interrogated.
Recent behavioral data have shown that lifelong bilingualism can maintain youthful cognitive control abilities in aging. Here, we provide the first direct evidence of a neural basis for the bilingual cognitive control boost in aging. Two experiments were conducted, using a perceptual task-switching paradigm, including a total of 110 participants. In Experiment 1, older adult bilinguals showed better perceptual switching performance than their monolingual peers. In Experiment 2, younger and older adult monolinguals and bilinguals completed the same perceptual task-switching experiment while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed. Typical age-related performance reductions and fMRI activation increases were observed. However, like younger adults, bilingual older adults outperformed their monolingual peers while displaying decreased activation in left lateral frontal cortex and cingulate cortex. Critically, this attenuation of age-related over-recruitment associated with bilingualism was directly correlated with better task-switching performance. In addition, the lower blood oxygenation level-dependent response in frontal regions accounted for 82% of the variance in the bilingual task-switching reaction time advantage. These results suggest that lifelong bilingualism offsets age-related declines in the neural efficiency for cognitive control processes.
(
This reprinted article originally appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology,
1935, Vol 18, 643–662. The following abstract of the original article appeared in PA, Vol 10:1863.) In this study pairs of conflicting stimuli, both being inherent aspects of the same symbols, were presented simultaneously (a name of one color printed in the ink of another color—a word stimulus and a color stimulus). The difference in time for reading the words printed in colors and the same words printed in black is the measure of the interference of color stimuli on reading words. The difference in the time for naming the colors in which the words are printed and the same colors printed in squares is the measure of the interference of conflicting word stimuli on naming colors. The interference of conflicting color stimuli on the time for reading 100 words (each word naming a color unlike the ink-color of its print) caused an increase of 2.3 sec or 5.6% over the normal time for reading the same words printed in black. This increase is not reliable, but the interference of conflicting word stimuli on the time for naming 100 colors (each color being the print of a word which names another color) caused an increase of 47.0 sec or 74.3% of the normal time for naming colors printed in squares.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study investigated the possibility that lifelong bilingualism may lead to enhanced efficiency in the ability to shift between mental sets. We compared the performance of monolingual and fluent bilingual college students in a task-switching paradigm. Bilinguals incurred reduced switching costs in the task-switching paradigm when compared with monolinguals, suggesting that lifelong experience in switching between languages may contribute to increased efficiency in the ability to shift flexibly between mental sets. On the other hand, bilinguals did not differ from monolinguals in the differential cost of performing mixed-task as opposed to single-task blocks. Together, these results indicate that bilingual advantages in executive function most likely extend beyond inhibition of competing responses, and encompass flexible mental shifting as well.
Bilingual advantages in executive control tasks are well documented, but it is not yet clear what degree or type of bilingualism leads to these advantages. To investigate this issue, we compared the performance of two bilingual groups and monolingual speakers in task-switching and language-switching paradigms. Spanish-English bilinguals, who reported switching between languages frequently in daily life, exhibited smaller task-switching costs than monolinguals after controlling for between-group differences in speed and parent education level. By contrast, Mandarin-English bilinguals, who reported switching languages less frequently than Spanish-English bilinguals, did not exhibit a task-switching advantage relative to monolinguals. Comparing the two bilingual groups in language-switching, Spanish-English bilinguals exhibited smaller costs than Mandarin-English bilinguals, even after matching for fluency in the non-dominant language. These results demonstrate an explicit link between language-switching and bilingual advantages in task-switching, while also illustrating some limitations on bilingual advantages. (JINS, 2011, 17, 682-691).
Executive functions (EFs)-a set of general-purpose control processes that regulate one's thoughts and behaviors-have become a popular research topic lately and have been studied in many subdisciplines of psychological science. This article summarizes the EF research that our group has conducted to understand the nature of individual differences in EFs and their cognitive and biological underpinnings. In the context of a new theoretical framework that we have been developing (the unity/diversity framework), we describe four general conclusions that have emerged from our research. Specifically, we argue that individual differences in EFs, as measured with simple laboratory tasks, (1) show both unity and diversity (different EFs are correlated yet separable); (2) reflect substantial genetic contributions; (3) are related to various clinically and societally important phenomena; and (4) show some developmental stability.
Bilingualism has been argued to benefit executive functioning. However, recent research suggests that this advantage may stem from uncontrolled factors or incorrectly matched samples. In this study we test the effects of bilingualism on elderly lifelong bilinguals whose cognitive abilities are in decline, thus making any benefits more salient. Firstly we compare 24 bilinguals and 24 carefully matched monolinguals on verbal and the numerical Stroop tasks, obtaining no differences in monitoring or inhibitory measures. Secondly we explore the modulations that the proficiency in the L2 might cause to executive control functions, as measured by the same tasks, by testing 70 elderly bilinguals who vary in their L2 mastery from very low to perfectly fluent. Results show no modulation in any of the indices due to L2 proficiency. These results add to the growing body of evidence showing that the bilingual advantages might indeed be due to other factors rather than bilingualism.
The investigation of bilingualism and cognition has been enriched by recent developments in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Extending how bilingual experience shapes cognition, this review examines recent fMRI studies adopting executive control tasks with minimal or no linguistic demands. Across a range of studies with divergent ages and language pairs spoken by bilinguals, brain regions supporting executive control significantly overlap with brain regions recruited for language control (Abutalebi & Green). Furthermore, limited but emerging studies on resting-state networks are addressed, which suggest more coherent spatially distributed functional connectivity in bilinguals. Given the dynamic nature of bilingual experience, it is essential to consider both task-related functional networks (externally-driven engagement), and resting-state networks, such as default mode network (internal control). Both types of networks are important elements of bilingual language control, which relies on domain-general executive control.
Studies on the neuroanatomical basis of bilingualism have yielded various but inconsistent differences between bilinguals and monolinguals. In this commentary, we will discuss how differences in background variables between language groups could explain part of this variation. We will furthermore argue that besides language proficiency and age of acquisition, more research needs to be done on the effects of language use and language context. Green and Abutalebi's Adaptive Control Hypothesis could guide the investigation of how language use and context could affect the structure of the brain. Lastly, given the inconsistency in (the direction of) neuroanatomical effects of bilingualism, we discuss how structural differences are difficult to interpret in the absence of behavioural data. A more theory-driven approach is needed to interpret the potential effects of bilingualism on a behavioural as well as neural level.
