It takes two to make a thing go write: self-reported Spanish reading and writing skill and relationships with digit span and stroop task performance among Spanish-English bilinguals

ABSTRACT

The current study examined self-reported first language (Spanish) language reading and writing ability and behavior and relationships with digit span and stroop task performance. A battery of assessments and questionnaires was administered to 81 sequential Spanish-English bilingual university students in the U.S., for whom the sole language of education is English. Hierarchical regression models revealed self-reported amount of Spanish used for academic writing uniquely accounted for 17% of variance in digit span forward scores, controlling for non-verbal IQ. Self-reported Spanish reading and writing ability also significantly predicted higher digit span forward scores and stroop task performance. Findings indicate that vectors of within-population difference related to L1 academic reading and writing are associated with differences in verbal short term memory and inhibition. Findings underscore the importance of considering diversity within bilingual samples and further support theories of a continuum of bilingual experience intensity, which is related to outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Advantages of Bilingualism
• biliteracy
• bilingual students
• ethnic minorities

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the study participants, Jorge Garcia, and Holly Pothier for their contributions to the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sara A. Smith

Sara A. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of South Florida. She received her Doctorate from the Department of Education at the University of Oxford. Her research interests include within-population variation among bilinguals, typical and atypical language development, and cognitive and educational implications of bilingualism.

Jessica Briggs Baffoe-Djan

Jessica Briggs Baffoe-Djan is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Her research focuses on non-instructed second language (L2) acquisition among adults, particularly L2 vocabulary learning and language learner strategies in study abroad and English Medium Instruction contexts.