Bilingual vocabulary development and memory as a function of age

Abstract

Working memory like in first language acquisition plays a crucial role in learning the second language also. However the role of different memory measures in vocabulary development for bilinguals as a function of age is not known. In this context present study aimed at investigating and comparing the relation of different memory measures (phonological, verbal working and semantic) with vocabulary in younger and older Hindi-English sequential bilingual children. Sixty children in the younger bilingual group (5 to 7.11 yrs) and forty in the older bilingual group (8 to 10.11 yrs) participated in the study. Nonword repetition, digit span and word span tasks as memory measures and category generation as vocabulary measure were administered separately in the two languages (L1-Hindi, L2-English) of the participants. The results showed a similar pattern of performance on memory in relation to vocabulary development in the two languages across age. These findings thus maintain the view of interdependent development of the two languages in bilinguals. The association between the memory performance and vocabulary was found to be significant for the younger but not older bilingual group. Thus, the findings support the literature on memory role in early vocabulary development in bilingual children. Future research is needed to examine these memory aspects at different stages of bilingual development in typical as well as clinical population to better understand the interaction between the two.