The linguistic, cognitive, and emotional consequences of minority language bilingualism

Nia Young, Mirain Rhys, Ivan Kennedy, Enlli Thomas

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter explores the possible linguistic, cognitive, and emotional advantages of speaking a minority language (in this case Welsh or Irish) alongside a more dominant community language - English. Various groups of Welsh-English and Irish-English bilingual children (compared to control groups of English monolinguals) were given a series of tasks, comprising (i) receptive vocabulary and reading tests in English, as measures of linguistic abilities; (ii) a cognitive test battery (including measures of Executive Functioning) as a measure of non-linguistic cognitive abilities; and (iii) standardised measures of self-esteem and coping strategies, as extra-linguistic measures of the emotional evaluation of one’s worth.

Results revealed the following patterns of differential performance in favour of bilingualism: First, no child from an English-speaking home attending minority language education was at a disadvantage in their English vocabulary or reading, regardless of the language of instruction at school; second, the additional knowledge of a second language led to some advanced performance on certain types of cognitive tasks, but not exclusively so; and third, secondary school-aged children attending Welsh medium schools in Wales seemed to have higher self-esteem than age matched children attending English-medium schools. These findings are discussed within the context of bilingual education and bilingualism in minority language situations.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationBilingualism and Minority Languages in Europe
Subtitle of host publication: Current Trends and Developments
EditorsFraser Lauchlan, Maria del Carmen Parafita Couto
PublisherCambridge Scholars Press
ISBN (Print)978-1-4438-1943-5
Publication statusPublished - 16 Mar 2016

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