Attentional Abilities of Children Enrolled in Immersion Education in French-Speaking Belgium

Autor/inn/en	Simonis, Morgane; Galand, Benoit; Hiligsmann, Philippe; Szmalec, Arnaud
Titel	Attentional Abilities of Children Enrolled in Immersion Education in French-Speaking Belgium
Quelle	In: International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 26 (2023) 5, S.554-571 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Simonis, Morgane) ORCID (Galand, Benoit) ORCID (Szmalec, Arnaud)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1367-0050
DOI	10.1080/13670050.2020.1856033
Schlagwörter	Student Attitudes; Immersion Programs; French; Bilingualism; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Foreign Countries; Comparative Analysis; Executive Function; Attention Control; Secondary School Students; Socioeconomic Status; Nonverbal Ability; Correlation; Elementary School Students; English (Second Language); Indo European Languages; Tests; Listening Skills; Belgium + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schülerverhalten; Immersionsprogramm; Französisch; Bilingualismus; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Ausland; Aufmerksamkeitstest; Sekundarschüler; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Korrelation; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Indoeuropäisch; Examination; Prüfung; Examen; Belgien
Abstract	There is currently much controversy surrounding the cognitive advantages that are often associated with bilingualism, especially regarding the so-called executive control advantage. Recently, it has been suggested that bilingualism emerging from immersion education may not lead to an advantage in executive control, but rather to an improvement specifically at the level of attentional abilities. In order to test this hypothesis, the current large sample study involving over 500 participants investigated whether foreign-language immersion education can be associated with an advantage in attentional functions. We recruited 12-year-old children and 18-year-old adolescents enrolled in immersion education in French-speaking Belgium for at least 6 years. They were compared to non-immersed children and adolescents on tasks assessing auditory sustained attention, auditory and visual selective attention and divided attention. Several control variables such as nonverbal intelligence, socioeconomic status and other potentially relevant background variables were also considered. The results indicate no measurable difference between the immersed and the non-immersed participants, for none of the examined attentional abilities. These findings are discussed in the light of the cognitive implications of becoming bilingual through a formal education experience. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01