multilingualism; language proficiency; early adulthood; auditory-verbal working memory; auditory-verbal attention; visuo-spatial attention
Abstract :
[en] Numerous studies have shown a consistent relationship between verbal working memory (WM) and native-language as well as non-native language learning abilities. However, the role of attentional abilities has been rarely explored, although these abilities have been shown to be associated both with verbal working memory and oral language proficiency. This study investigated the association between WM, attention and language proficiency in young adults raised with three different languages (Luxembourgish, German and French). Auditory-verbal WM abilities were assessed via an immediate serial recall task. Attentional abilities were assessed via auditory-verbal and visuo-spatial attentional tasks. Using a Bayesian correlational approach, we observed robust evidence for an association between auditory-verbal WM abilities and non-native language proficiency. At the same time, we observed no reliable evidence in favor of an association between language proficiency and auditory-verbal/visuo-spatial attentional measures. These results suggest that auditory-verbal WM and non-native language proficiency are strongly linked in young multilingual adults, irrespective of auditory-verbal or visuo-spatial attentional abilities.
Research center :
PsyNCog - Psychologie et Neuroscience Cognitives - ULiège
Disciplines :
Theoretical & cognitive psychology
Author, co-author :
Bouffier, Marion ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Département de Psychologie
Barbu, Cristina ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Logopédie > Neuropsychologie du langage et des apprentissages
Majerus, Steve ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Psychologie > Département de Psychologie
Language :
English
Title :
Verbal Working Memory but Not Attention Is Related to Language Proficiency: Evidence from Multilingual Speakers
Alternative titles :
[fr] La mémoire de travail verbale, mais pas l'attention, est associée à la maîtrise langagière chez des personnes multilingues
Publication date :
04 September 2020
Journal title :
Psychologica Belgica
ISSN :
0033-2879
eISSN :
2054-670X
Publisher :
Société Blege de Psychologie, Gand, Belgium
Volume :
60
Issue :
1
Pages :
270-293
Peer reviewed :
Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi
Name of the research project :
Precision as a novel index of verbal working memory performance
Funders :
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
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