Bilingualism and executive functions in preschoolers: A review of the research progress

Abstract

Cognitive development and bilingualism in preschool childhood have recently become the pivotal research issues. This article is a brief review of the major studies covering the problem of how bilingualism influences both cognitive development and academic success in preschool children, as well as whether bilingual education determines the development of executive functions. We paid special attention to the data obtained on the development of executive functions in bilingual and monolingual children that help to understand whether there are any differences between the two groups. Using the international citation databases, we identified the publications of the studies of cognitive development in children under the conditions of bilingualism. The results of the analysis were exported in the VOSviewer environment and visualized as key clusters. The findings of the Russian and foreign studies showing the ambiguity of the connection between mono- and bilingualism in children and their cognitive development were described and compared. Interestingly, the studies in preschool institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia) established that bilingualism has a positive effect on the cognitive abilities of children, if the anthropology of the linguistic personality (types of bilingualism) and the multicultural conditions of language interference and transposition are taken into account.

Keywords

• preschool age
• monolinguals
• bilinguals
• cognitive development
• executive functions
• working memory
• cognitive flexibility
• inhibition