The influence of bilingualism on the phonological short-term memory: The advantage of bilingual children in repetition tasks

Introduction International studies on the phonological short-term memory (PSTM) demonstrated inconclusive results on the associations between bilingualism and performance in repetition tests. In the most studies, monolingual children (MC) yielded significantly better results in the repetition of non-words than bilingual ones (BC). However, exceptions do exist. The present study aimed to verify the assumption that, owing to a better developed PSTM, BC can demonstrate results comparable to those by MC in repetition tasks under condition of comparable German language skills.

Materials and Methods Both German MC (n = 512) and BC (n = 703), aged 4 years (median 54 months), were examined with the language test “Kindersprachscreening” (KiSS.2) and a list of “quasi-universal” non-words (QUNW) that account for the phonotactics of many languages including German. Total scores of repetition tasks in both tests were compared by Mann-Whitney U-tests first for all MC and BC and then for MC and BC with age-appropriate German language competence only.

Results MC yielded significantly better results in KiSS non-words (Z = -2.77**), BC in QUNW (Z = -2.11*). After the exclusion of children with a limited German language competence, BC scored higher than MC in both repetition tasks (Z = -2.07*, Z = -4.86***).

Discussion MC scored higher than BC in repetition tasks only under the condition of better German language skills. Both in more “culture-fair” non-words and after the exclusion of children with limited German language skills, BC demonstrated a better performance in repetition tasks, probably due to a better developed PSTM as a result of bilingualism.

Poster-PDF A-1934.PDF

Supported by Hessisches Ministerium für Soziales und Integration

Publication History

Article published online:
10 June 2020