ERIC Number: EJ1364390
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Oct
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: EISSN-1558-9102
Available Date: N/A
Social-Pragmatic Skills and Length of Bilingualism Predict Inhibitory Control in Children
Slawny, Caitlyn; Crespo, Kimberly; Weismer, Susan Ellis; Kaushanskaya, Margarita
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v65 n10 p3873-3880 Oct 2022
Purpose: There is conflicting evidence regarding effects of bilingualism on inhibition, and the mechanisms that might underlie the effects remain unclear. A prominent account views additional demands on structural language use in bilinguals as being at the root of bilingual effects on inhibition. In this study, we tested the novel hypothesis that social-pragmatic skills (alone or together with structural language skills) are associated with inhibition in bilingual children. Method: Parents of 114 typically developing 8- to 11-year-old Spanish--English bilingual children completed the Children's Communication Checklist--Second Edition to index social pragmatics and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function to index executive functioning skills. The Inhibit clinical scale score reflected children's inhibition. Children's language ability was indexed by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals--Fourth Edition in English and Spanish. Length of bilingualism was operationalized continuously as the length of time children had been exposed to both languages in their lifetime. Moderation analyses tested the effects of structural language, social-pragmatic skills, and length of bilingual experience, and their interactions on inhibition. Results: While structural language skills were not associated with inhibition, they moderated the relation between social-pragmatic skills and inhibition, such that children with better social-pragmatic skills demonstrated better inhibition, and this effect was stronger for children with better structural language skills. Furthermore, longer length of bilingual experience was associated with better inhibition, and this effect was not moderated by any other predictor. Conclusion: These results confirm a graded relationship between bilingualism and inhibition, and indicate that this association is not qualified by structural language or social-pragmatic skills.
Descriptors: Interpersonal Competence, Pragmatics, Bilingualism, Native Language, Second Language Learning, Language Usage, Inhibition, Spanish, English (Second Language), Parent Attitudes, Language Tests, Check Lists, Executive Function, Rating Scales, Scores, Elementary School Students, Language Acquisition, Time Factors (Learning), Language Skills, Predictor Variables, Task Analysis, Social Cognition
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health (NIH) (DHHS)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Clinical Evaluation of Language Functions
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01DC011750; R01DC016015
Author Affiliations: N/A