Chapter 9 Flashcards
Adaptive control hypothesis
A proposal suggesting that bilinguals’ constant need to monitor and control their languages leads to benefits in nonverbal cognition
Age of arrival
The time when the learner receives the first intensive exposure to the second language in the country where it is spoken
Balanced bilingual
A person who grows up speaking two languages and can communicate equally well in either language
Bilingual
Someone able to speak two or more languages
Bilingual accommodation
Sensitivity to the identity or ethnic background of the interlocutor in selecting a language to use
Bilingual disadvantage
The observation that bilinguals have smaller vocabularies in each of their languages and more difficulty retrieving words compared with monolinguals
Cerebral plasticity
The brain’s ability to modify its structure in response to new experiences
Codeswitching
A change from one language to another within a single interaction
Cognates
Words in two languages that have similar form and meaning
Cognitive reserve
The notion that engaging in stimulating mental or physical activity on a regular basis helps maintain cognitive functioning as we age and protects against dementia
Critical period hypothesis
The idea that children have a biological predisposition to learn languages that they lose around puberty
Cross-language priming
The situation in which a word in one language aids the retrieval of a word with a related meaning in another language
Dominant language
The language of political and economic power within a bilingual society
Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
An area of the brain involved in executive control
English language learners
Children entering school whose native language is not English
Executive control
The management of cognitive resources to perform tasks efficiently
First language attrition
The situation where a bilingual favors the second language to the extent that first language ability is lost
Flanker task
An experimental procedure in which participants respond to the direction of the central arrow in an array, regardless of direction the other arrows are pointing