Interactions between bilingual language proficiency and exposure: comparing subjective and objective measures across modalities in bilingual young adults

ABSTRACT

Due to the varying aspects of the bilingual experience and the use of numerous subjective and objective measures across studies, bilingual individuals are often described and grouped differently. We examined the relationship among two subjective and one objective English proficiency measures in spoken and written modalities in 64 bilingual young adults with different levels of English exposure. Participants with high and medium English exposure performed similarly and better than participants with low English exposure across proficiency measures. Participants with high English exposure showed the most consistency in their performance across measures and modalities. Their performance on subjective and objective measures in both spoken and written modalities were strongly correlated. In the medium-exposure group, subjective and objective measures in both modalities were moderately correlated, but only as measured by a self-rated questionnaire. In the low-exposure group, subjective and objective measures in both modalities were moderately correlated, but only as measured by subjective ‘Can-Do’ statements in the spoken modality. Based on our findings, most proficiency measures provide accurate outcomes for Englishspeakers with high exposure and for balanced bilingual individuals. In contrast, more research is needed with English language learners or individuals with low language exposure to determine the most efficient proficiency measure.

KEYWORDS:

• Bilingualism
• language proficiency
• language exposure
• spoken modality
• written modality

Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Jungna Kim for her assistance with data collection.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the City University of New York: [the Professional Staff Congress PSC-CUNY 60586-00 48; P.I., Klara Marton].

Notes on contributors

Thorfun Gehebe

Thorfun Gehebe is a speech-language pathologist and a Ph.D. candidate of the Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Department at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research interests include the relationship between language and cognitive processes in monolingual and bilingual populations, including children with and without language impairment.

Deepti Wadhera

Deepti Wadhera is a Ph.D. graduate of the Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences Department at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research has been focused on cognitive implications in bilingual adults and English language learners. She is currently working as a behavioral consultant in healthcare marketing and sales.

Klara Marton

Klara Marton is a neuropsychologist, who has a doctorate in Developmental Psychology and a Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Sciences. She is interested in the development and changes of language and cognition that occur across lifetime in different clinical populations and in individuals who speak different languages. Her research focuses on the interactions among various cognitive functions, such as working memory, inhibition and attention control and on additional processes that underlie language comprehension and production in monolingual and bilingual speakers.