Cognitive Abilities in Monolingual and Bilingual Children: A Comparative Study in Azerbaijan, Iran

Objective: Recent research has revealed that bilingual and monolingual people are different from each other in various areas, one of which is cognitive ability. This study compared executive functions, selective attention, visual short-term memory, and auditory short-term memory in monolingual (Persian) and bilingual (Azeri Turkish-Persian) children. Methods: The statistical population of current case-control research included all monolingual and bilingual students (۸-۱۱ years old) in Tehran, Iran, from ۲۰۲۱ to ۲۰۲۲. Using the convenience sampling method, ۵۶ monolingual primary school students (۲۸ boys and ۲۸ girls) and ۵۶ bilingual primary school students (۲۸ boys and ۲۸ girls) were selected and matched regarding intelligence and socio-economic status. All members of the bilingual group learned their second language before entering elementary school. We used the computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (۱۹۴۸), the computerized version of the Stroop Color and Word Test (۱۹۳۵), the Kim Karad Visual Memory Test (۱۹۴۵), Wechsler’s Digit Span (۲۰۰۳) test, and Raven’s Colored Progressive Matrices (۱۹۴۷) test. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results: The results indicated that bilingual children’s performance in executive functions, short-term auditory memory, and short-term visual memory was significantly higher than that of monolingual children (P < ۰.۰۵). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups regarding selective attention (P > ۰.۰۵).  Conclusion: According to our results, bilingualism positively affected cognitive abilities. Moreover, bilingual children performed better in executive functions, visual short-term memory, and auditory short-term memory than monolingual children. However, no bilingualism effect emerged for selective attention.

کلیدواژه ها:

Bilingualism ، Executive functions ، Selective attention ، Short-term visual memory ، Short-term auditory memory