Multilingualism in the context of school learning: Advantage, disadvantage, or both? A differentiating analysis of Turkish - German bilinguals with respect to the interrelation between bilingualism, code switching and executive functions

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Patric Meyer; Professorin Dr. Christiane von Stutterheim
• Subject Area: Applied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics ; Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 457374265

The project addresses the question in how far bilingualism effects cognitive functioning in the monolingual context of the German monolingual education system. Previous research in this field has dminantly advocated the position 'bilingualism is an advantage' (Bilingualism is an advantage, Bialystok et al. 2012). It has been assumed that the ability to switch between languages, and its constant implementation, influences executive functions (EF) in positive terms and leads in turn to an increase in performance in other cognitive functions. However, recent studies in this field now indicate that the link between bilingualism and cognitive function is not direct given the differences reported for the levels of achievement by multilingual speakers who often do not do well in the German school system. One factor underlying these diverse findings may lie in thehigh degree of variability across the different conditions to which bilingual speakers are exposed. One can thus ask if the contexts in which the languages are activated and language switching takes place would necessarily entail a cognitive advantage for the bilingual speaker. For the planned study this means that the role of bilingualism, executive function, as well as cognitive performance based on language, will be investigated at different levels on a more fine-grained basis compared to previous studies. In the first stage focus will be placed on the strategies underlying the decision to switch from one language to another (code switching). This involves complexcognitive and neuronal processes which, given the different strategies, will have specific implications for cognitive factors as well as executive function. Research into the effects of code switching strategies on executive function, as well as overall performance andlanguage comprehension, has relevant implications for both parents and teachers. In the second stage focus will be placed on the level of activation for both languages depending on relevant differences in the contexts in which code switching takes place. In contrast to previous studies this will be carried out by inducing different levels of activationfor the languages involved. A further factor concerns language structure. While previous studies mainly investigated effects observed in lexical access, the present study will investigate effects based on structural differences between the two languages. Given the fact that grammatical knowledge is highly abstract and access proceedswithout conscious effort, structural contrasts between languages could lead to conflicts in the activation process. This means that speakers may also have to contend with increased demands on relevant cognitive resources.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants