Anderson, J. A., Chung, A. F. - Y., Bellana, B., Luk, G., & Bialystok, E. (In Press).
Language and cognitive control networks in bilinguals and monolinguals.
Neuropsychologia.
AbstractNeuroimaging studies have reported overlapping neural circuits for cognitive control when engaging in tasks that involve verbal and nonverbal stimuli in young adult bilinguals. However, no study to date has examined the neural basis of verbal and nonverbal task switching in both monolinguals and bilinguals due to the inherent challenge of testing verbal task switching with monolinguals. Therefore, it is not clear whether the finding for overlapping networks is unique to bilingualism or indicative of general cognitive control. To address this question, the current study compared functional neural activation for young adults who were bilingual speakers of English and French or monolingual English speakers who had limited French learning experience (“functional monolinguals”) on verbal and nonverbal task switching. Analyses showed common variance explaining general cognitive control in task switching across verbal and nonverbal domains for both groups, in line with the explanation that task switching involves general cognitive control, as well as unique brain regions recruited by monolinguals and bilinguals. Specifically, beyond the processing common to the tasks, monolinguals also recruited distinct networks for each of verbal and nonverbal switching but bilinguals used a common shared network. Thus, the domain-general aspect of switching is different for monolinguals and bilinguals.
Yamasaki, B., & Luk, G. (In Press).
Eligibility for special education in elementary school: The role of diverse language experiences. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.
AbstractPurpose: We examined the association between language experience and elementary students' eligibility for special education in Massachusetts.
Method: A secondary descriptive data analysis was conducted on the anonymized demographic data obtained from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Third, fourth, and fifth grade students were categorized into native English speakers, English-proficient bilingual students, and emerging bilinguals. Free-/reduced lunch status was also considered. Proportions of students eligible for Autism, Communication Disorders, and Specific Learning Disabilities (including those with dyslexia) were calculated.
Results: A strong association was observed between students' language backgrounds and whether they were eligible for free-/reduced lunch. Children eligible for free-/reduced lunch were more likely to be eligible for special education. Relative to native English speakers, English proficient bilingual students were less likely to be considered eligible for special education. However, for emerging bilinguals, eligibility was lower in third graders but increased in fourth and fifth graders. This observation was most apparent in the category of Specific Learning Disabilities.
Conclusions: Students from diverse language backgrounds and low-income backgrounds were disproportionately represented in special education. More substantial research-practice partnerships are warranted to understand how bilingual experience and socioeconomic status interacts with eligibility for special education conditions in public school settings.