Differences between Monolinguals and Bilinguals in Phonetic and Phonological Learning and the Connection with Auditory Sensory Memory

Authors

Laura Spinu, CUNY Kingsborough Community CollegeFollow
Jiwon Hwang, Stony Brook University
Mariana Vasilita, CUNY Graduate CenterFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Bilingualism has been linked with improved function regarding certain aspects of linguistic processing, e.g., novel word acquisition and learning unfamiliar sound patterns. Two non mutually-exclusive approaches might explain these results. One is related to executive function, speculating that more effective learning is achieved through actively choosing relevant information while inhibiting potentially interfering information. While still controversial, executive function enhancements attributed to bilingual experience have been reported for decades. The other approach, understudied to date, emphasizes the role of sensory mechanisms, specifically auditory sensory memory. Bilinguals outperformed monolinguals in tasks involving auditory processing and episodic memory recall, but the questions whether (1) bilinguals’ auditory sensory memory skills are also enhanced, and (2) phonetic skill and auditory sensory memory are correlated, remain open, however. Our study is innovative in investigating phonetic learning skills and auditory sensory memory in the same speakers from two groups: monolinguals and early bilinguals. The participants were trained and tested on an artificial accent of English and their auditory sensory memory was assessed based on a digit span task. The results demonstrated that, compared to monolinguals, bilinguals exhibit enhanced auditory sensory memory and phonetic and phonological learning skill, and a correlation exists between them.

Comments

This article was originally published in Brain Sciences, available at https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13030488

This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.