[HTML][HTML] No evidence for effects of Turkish immigrant children's bilingualism on executive functions

N Jaekel, J Jaekel, J Willard, B Leyendecker�- PloS one, 2019 - journals.plos.org
PloS one, 2019journals.plos.org
Recent research has increasingly questioned the bilingual advantage for executive
functions (EF). We used structural equation modeling in a large sample of Turkish immigrant
and German monolingual children (N= 337; aged 5–15 years) to test associations between
bilingualism and EF. Our data showed no significant group differences between Turkish
immigrant and German children's EF skills while taking into account maternal education,
child gender, age, and working memory (ie, digit span backwards). Moreover, neither�…
Recent research has increasingly questioned the bilingual advantage for executive functions (EF). We used structural equation modeling in a large sample of Turkish immigrant and German monolingual children (N = 337; aged 5–15 years) to test associations between bilingualism and EF. Our data showed no significant group differences between Turkish immigrant and German children’s EF skills while taking into account maternal education, child gender, age, and working memory (i.e., digit span backwards). Moreover, neither Turkish immigrant children’s proficiency in either language nor their home language environment predicted EF. Our findings offer important new evidence in light of the ongoing debate about the existence of a bilingual advantage for EF.
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