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SAGE Journal User Guide

Article 1: Kroll, J. F., Bobb, S. C., Hoshino, N. (2014). Two languages in mind: bilingualism as a tool to investigate language, cognition, and the brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 159-163. doi:10.1177/0963721414528511

• A review article describing three recent major discoveries about how bilinguals represent and process information in their languages, and how that interacts with more general cognitive abilities and brain networks.  

Discussion Questions

1. Identify the three major discoveries about bilingualism discussed in the article. Which one interests you the most, and why? 
2. Evaluate whether each of these discoveries apply to relatively balanced, proficient bilinguals or also unbalanced bilinguals. Identify specific evidence from the article for your conclusions.
3. How do you think adding a third or fourth language to the mix may affect these discoveries? Which ones would still be evident?

Article 2: Engel de Abreu, P. M. J., Cruz-Santos, A., Tourinho, C. J., Martin, R., & Bialystok, E. (2012). Bilingualism enriches the poor: enhanced cognitive control in low-income minority children. Psychological Science, 23, 1364-1371. doi: 10.1177/0956797612443836

• An empirical study indicating that bilingualism is related to only some cognitive benefits, and this benefit is resilient in a low-income, minority group.  

Discussion Questions

1. What is the main research question presented in the introduction? For the secondary question, what are the two hypotheses about executive functioning?
2. Describe the two groups of bilinguals compared. What language(s) did they speak, and what language were they tested in for the experiment?
3. Based on Table 3 and the text, which cognitive measures indicated representation ability, and which indicated control ability? Which group was better for which ability?
4. Why do you think the low-income bilingual children showed a cognitive control benefit? What do you think would happen if this experiment were done again with similar children who had not immigrated to the new country?

Article 3: Montrul, S., & Foote, R. (2014). Age of acquisition interactions in bilingual lexical access: A study of the weaker language of L2 learners and heritage speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 18(3), 274-303. doi: 10.1177/1367006912443431

• An empirical study investigating lexical access of bilinguals’ weaker language. The age of acquisition for particular words was a stronger factor than overall global age of acquisition for the weaker language.

Discussion Questions

1. Describe the two groups of bilinguals investigated. Which was their weaker language and why? What was each group’s global age of acquisition for the weaker language?
2. Explain why the authors’ propose that age of acquisition for words should matter. Relate this idea to the Revised Hierarchical Model in the textbook.
3. Describe the main results for the lexical decision task and the translation decision task. Did the results support the original hypotheses? How so, or how not?
4. Given that an earlier age of acquisition for particular words facilitated lexical access, how might you go about learning L2 vocabulary later in life most effectively?