Abstract of my thesis’s literature review
Our work focuses on the role of language representations and family language practices on the link between bilingualism and executive functions in 8-years old children. This study is part of a thesis conducted by Anne-Pascale Crèvecoeur and co-directed by I. Nocus and J.H. Guignard, both researchers at the “Centre de Recherche en Education” (CREN EA 2661) of the University of Nantes. This doctoral work aims to highlight the links between bilingualism and creativity through the mediating effect of executive functions.
As a consequence of globalization and ever increasing cultural exchanges, bilingualism is still a difficult concept to define since it can take different forms. Indeed, this term can be used in a huge variety of complex contexts which makes the definition plural. In fact, nowadays, half of the population is bilingual (Grosjean, 2018). Thus, a definition that takes into account the obvious diversity among bilingual individuals is notably proposed by Grosjean (2018) who considers bilingualism as the use of two or more languages on a daily basis.
For a long time, bilingualism has been regarded as a handicap and a source of academic difficulties. It was not until 1962, with the study of Peal and Lambert that bilingualism was first seen as an asset. Since then, the idea of a cognitive advantage for people who speak more than one language led to many studies. However, this bilingual advantage is not found in all areas of cognitive functioning. Indeed, the question of a bilingual advantage in executive function still is very controversial (Bruin & al. 2014).
Executive functions are a central component of cognitive functioning. They are involved in many tasks of our everyday life such as planning our future, making decisions or maintaining our attention on a task. According to Miyake and al.’s model published in 2000, the three main executive functions are inhibition, cognitive flexibility and working memory. The first one allows us to inhibit an automatic response. The second one provides us with the ability to switch from one task to another, or to have new ideas. Thus, this function is widely involved in creativity, defined by Lubart (2003) as the ability to create something new and adapted to the context. Finally, working memory underpins all cognitive activity, since it allows us to retain information and manipulate it mentally. Thus, these three functions have been the focus of studies about the effect of bilingualism on executive functions.
To explain the controversies observed in this field of research, some researchers such as Bialystok, (2009) or Carlson and Meltzoff (2008) tested the impact of methodological differences (i.e. samples sizes, tests used, statistical power…) which were found to have no significant effect. They thus wanted to verify the existence of mediating variables that would explain these results differences and studied the role of social status as well as the immigration context. On the other hand, Bruin and al. (2015) showed the existence of a publication bias in favor of studies claiming a bilingual advantage. However, central variables of the bilingual’s sociolinguistic context still have not been explored in this field of research.
Thus, representations around languages and family language practices are two major elements of the sociolinguistic context. In fact, bilinguals have representations about their languages. In our society, some languages are less valued than others. This valence attributed to languages by society can be integrated by bilingual individuals and impact the representations they have of their languages. Thus, these linguistic representations can be either positive or negative. Moreover, these representations can also impact on family language practices. These practices are the result of the strategies put in place by parents to transmit their langages. They can also depend on the children’s choices regarding their use of these languages. Hence, certain family linguistic practices can promote the development of bilingualism in children.
Thus, in our study, we made two central hypothesis. First, we believe that bilingual children will perform better on tasks assessing executive functions if they have positive representations of their other language of socialization (i.e. other than French). Second, we made the assumption that bilingual children will perform better on tasks assessing executive functions if they have family language practices that promote bilingualism.