Aims and objectives:

This study examines whether different types of bilingualism modulate memory capacity differently. More specifically, the study assesses the effects of age of acquisition, number of languages acquired and proficiency in the second language (L2) on phonological short-term memory, visuospatial memory and semantic memory.

Design:

Memory capacity was measured by means of three tasks: the digit span task (phonological short-term memory); the Corsi block task (visuospatial memory); and the word span task (semantic memory). Participants were divided into five groups based on the number of languages acquired, age of acquisition and proficiency: monolinguals, intermediate L2 learners, advanced L2 learners, simultaneous bilinguals and multilinguals.

Data and analysis:

Analyses of variance were used to analyze participants’ scores for each of the memory tasks.

Findings and conclusions:

For the word span task, no significant differences were found among the groups, which supports the notion that semantic memory is language independent. Furthermore, intermediate and advanced L2 learners and multilinguals presented significantly higher phonological short-term memory spans compared to simultaneous bilinguals. Finally, intermediate L2 learners and multilinguals significantly outperformed monolinguals on visuospatial memory spans. Results suggest that L2 acquisition might strengthen both visuospatial and phonological short-term memory, which in turn tend to improve as L2 proficiency increases.

Originality:

While previous studies have provided evidence of a bilingual advantage in memory capacity, these studies have generally grouped different types of bilinguals together (e.g., L2 leaners and heritage speakers). This study takes a step forward by examining differences in memory capacity across different types of bilinguals and in comparison to their monolingual peers in order to better understand the cognitive effects of bilingualism.

Significance and implications:

When considering age of acquisition, number of languages acquired and proficiency as grouping factors, different effects of bilingualism on memory capacity can be observed. Future studies on this matter should include bilingual participants that are comparable with regard to the aforementioned variables.

中文翻译：

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记忆能力的双语优势：评估熟练程度，获得的语言数量和获得年龄的作用

目的和目标：

这项研究检查了不同类型的双语制是否会不同地调节记忆能力。更具体地说，该研究评估了获取年龄，所获取语言的数量以及第二语言（L2）的熟练度对语音短期记忆，视觉空间记忆和语义记忆的影响。

设计：

记忆能力是通过三个任务测量的：数字跨度任务（语音短期记忆）；Corsi阻止任务（视觉空间内存）；和单词跨度任务（语义记忆）。根据所获得的语言数量，习得的年龄和熟练程度将参与者分为五类：单语，中二语学习者，高级二语学习者，同时双语和多语种。

数据与分析：

方差分析用于分析每个记忆任务的参与者得分。

结论和结论：

对于单词跨度任务，各组之间没有发现显着差异，这支持了语义记忆与语言无关的概念。此外，与同时使用双语的人相比，中级和高级的L2学习者和多语种的语音短期记忆跨度要高得多。最后，在视觉空间记忆跨度方面，中级L2学习者和多语种的表现明显优于单语种。结果表明，L2习得可能会增强视觉空间和语音短期记忆，而随着L2熟练程度的提高，这往往会改善。

独创性：

尽管先前的研究提供了双语在记忆能力方面的优势的证据，但这些研究通常将不同类型的双语者归为一类（例如，L2学习者和传承语言的人）。这项研究通过检查不同类型的双语者之间的记忆力差异以及与单语种同龄人的记忆能力的差异，向前迈出了一步，以便更好地理解双语者的认知作用。

意义和意义：

当考虑习得年龄，习得语言的数量和熟练程度作为分组因素时，可以观察到双语对记忆能力的不同影响。关于此问题的未来研究应包括在上述变量方面具有可比性的双语参与者。