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Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning

Executive functions (EFs) serve as an umbrella term to describe a set of higher-order cognitive abilities that include working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Various studies suggest that foreign language learning likely promotes executive...

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Autores principales: Frolli, Alessandro, Cerciello, Francesco, Esposito, Clara, Ciotola, Sonia, De Candia, Gaia, Ricci, Maria Carla, Russo, Maria Grazia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9680333/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36412660
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pediatric14040053
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author Frolli, Alessandro
Cerciello, Francesco
Esposito, Clara
Ciotola, Sonia
De Candia, Gaia
Ricci, Maria Carla
Russo, Maria Grazia
author_facet Frolli, Alessandro
Cerciello, Francesco
Esposito, Clara
Ciotola, Sonia
De Candia, Gaia
Ricci, Maria Carla
Russo, Maria Grazia
author_sort Frolli, Alessandro
collection PubMed
description Executive functions (EFs) serve as an umbrella term to describe a set of higher-order cognitive abilities that include working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Various studies suggest that foreign language learning likely promotes executive functions, but others suggest that executive functions could improve foreign language learning. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between executive functions and foreign language learning and how these processes could interact. The sample included 64 children from kindergarten, aged 4–5 years, with no documented neuropsychiatric disorders, and from the middle–high literacy group. They were divided into three groups based on the level of their knowledge of the foreign language. A significant effect of the group on the executive tasks is shown in the comparison of the groups. Children who belonged to a group that had advanced foreign language proficiency had better results in executive tasks. Our results suggest that the higher the level of foreign language proficiency, the higher the performance of the executive tasks. However, we do not know if there is a causal effect between these variables.
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spelling pubmed-96803332022-11-23 Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning Frolli, Alessandro Cerciello, Francesco Esposito, Clara Ciotola, Sonia De Candia, Gaia Ricci, Maria Carla Russo, Maria Grazia Pediatr Rep Article Executive functions (EFs) serve as an umbrella term to describe a set of higher-order cognitive abilities that include working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, and problem-solving. Various studies suggest that foreign language learning likely promotes executive functions, but others suggest that executive functions could improve foreign language learning. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between executive functions and foreign language learning and how these processes could interact. The sample included 64 children from kindergarten, aged 4–5 years, with no documented neuropsychiatric disorders, and from the middle–high literacy group. They were divided into three groups based on the level of their knowledge of the foreign language. A significant effect of the group on the executive tasks is shown in the comparison of the groups. Children who belonged to a group that had advanced foreign language proficiency had better results in executive tasks. Our results suggest that the higher the level of foreign language proficiency, the higher the performance of the executive tasks. However, we do not know if there is a causal effect between these variables. MDPI 2022-10-24 /pmc/articles/PMC9680333/ /pubmed/36412660 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pediatric14040053 Text en © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Frolli, Alessandro
Cerciello, Francesco
Esposito, Clara
Ciotola, Sonia
De Candia, Gaia
Ricci, Maria Carla
Russo, Maria Grazia
Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title_full Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title_fullStr Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title_full_unstemmed Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title_short Executive Functions and Foreign Language Learning
title_sort executive functions and foreign language learning
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9680333/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36412660
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pediatric14040053
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