Chapter 5 - Associations between Language Ability, Language Proficiency, and Cognitive Control

Summary

The complex interactions between cognitive control and language ability and those between cognitive control and language proficiency are reviewed first separately and then in relationship to each other, and in association with the development of academic skills and social interactions. Both behavioral and neurophysiological studies suggest that language ability and proficiency modulate the engagement of cognitive control processes, particularly working memory, attention, and interference control. Thus, better language abilities and higher bilingual language proficiencies are associated with superior cognitive control performance, whereas language disorder and low bilingual language proficiency are linked to weaker cognitive control performance. Response inhibition, however, does not show a close link with language skills; children with different language abilities and proficiencies may perform similarly on tasks of response inhibition. Age, prior experience, and variation in task types may all influence these relationships.