How does linguistic competence enhance cognitive functions in children? A study in multilingual children with different linguistic competences

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the attentional mechanisms of multilingual children with differential degrees of language competence. For this purpose, 118 children (61 female/57 male; mean age 10.9 years (SD = 0.29); early acquisition multilinguals) from the Ladin valleys in South Tyrol, Italy, performed the Attentional Network Test (ANT). Our results proved that proficiency levels in early multilingual children may play a crucial role in the development and enhancement of the alerting component of the attentional system. Interestingly enough, we were able to deduce that linguistic competence rather than competence in other skill domains may have a decisive role in the alerting component. We suggest that the peculiarity of highly competent multilinguals relies on their ability to better detect, and consequently react faster to, the target stimulus than their less competent multilingual peers. © Cambridge University Press 2012.