Influence of the study abroad bilingual experience on cognitive control among young adults

Abstract

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions:

This study investigated whether the studying abroad bilingual experience among unevenly balanced Chinese–English bilinguals exerted influence on cognitive control.

Design/methodology/approach:

We compared cognitive control differences between a group of Chinese–English bilinguals (n = 30) studying abroad in the USA and a control bilingual group (n = 30) studying at home in mainland China by administering the Flanker task and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The two groups were matched on demographic variables including age, socioeconomic status (SES), intelligence, etc.

Data and analysis:

A mixed ANOVA was applied to the Flanker task data, with the task condition as the within-subject variable and the participant group as the between-subject variable. Independent t-test analyses were used to compare performance differences between groups on the WCST.

Findings/conclusions:

The two groups performed similarly on the Flanker task, whereas the group studying abroad fared better on the WCST, indicating better mental set shifting.

Originality:

This is the first study to show that the experience of studying abroad brings about cognitive control advantage in mental set shifting.

Significance/implications:

The current research provides the first evidence that the experience of studying abroad is related to the enhancement of cognitive control, which has implications for both cognitive development and international education.