University of Maryland College Park Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia Paper

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there has to be an introduction to bilingualism, then talk about bilingualism in Saudi (how it is perceived), and the differences between monolingualism and bilinguaslim in saudi schools. Talk about the importance of bilignualism and why some saudi aschools might disagree with bilingualism.

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J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 DOI 10.1007/s10936-014-9309-3 Executive Function Differences Between Bilingual Arabic–English and Monolingual Arabic Children Ghada Mohammed Abdelgafar · Ruba AbdelMatloub Moawad Published online: 24 July 2014 © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014 Abstract This study aimed to explore the differences between Arabic–English bilingual and monolingual Arabic children on a battery of executive functions. Prior research on the influence of bilingualism on cognitive abilities and executive functions has shown mixed results. Some results suggested that bilinguals perform significantly better than monolinguals, while others showed that monolinguals perform significantly better. Other studies showed no significant differences between both groups, findings which were argued to be due to methodological issues. A total of 50 Arabic monolingual and Arabic–English bilingual children ranging 7–10 years of age participated in the current study. Six executive function tasks, divided into two categories (inhibition of improper response tasks, and behavioral operational control tasks), were administered. Results did not show significant differences for most executive functions. Keywords Bilingualism · Arabic–English bilinguals · Executive functions · Bilinguals · Monolinguals Introduction Over the past few decades, researchers have been interested how learning more than one language affects children’s cognitive development (e.g., Bloomfield 1933; Hakuta and Diaz This research project was supported by a Grant from the Research Center of University for Girls at Olaisha, Deanship of scientific Research, King Saud University. G. M. Abdelgafar · R. A. Moawad Department of Psychology, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia G. M. Abdelgafar Beni-Suef University, Beni Suef, Egypt e-mail: ghadapsychology@hotmail.com R. A. Moawad (B) University Centre for Women Student, P.O. Box 7695, Riyadh 11472, Saudi Arabia e-mail: ramoawad@ksu.edu.sa 123 652 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 1985; Bialystok 2001). On the one hand, the results of these studies have shown some differences between monolinguals and bilinguals, such as those between highly proficient and less proficient bilinguals (Millett 2010), where highly proficient bilinguals score higher than less proficient bilinguals and monolinguals (Luo et al. 2010). On the other hand, other studies have found no differences between bilinguals and monolinguals, especially when certain factors were controlled for between groups, such as in a Pintner and Arsenian 1937 study that reported no significant differences between bilinguals and monolinguals on IQ tests (in Baker 2011). In the early years of studying bilingualism, research findings showed that monolinguals outperformed bilinguals in concept formation, mental reorganization, abstract and divergent thinking, mental flexibility (Lemmon and Goggin 1989), and also in vocabulary, where bilinguals usually have a smaller vocabulary than monolinguals in one language. However, when bilinguals were tested on both languages, their vocabulary size was shown to be larger (Allman 2005). Moreover, later studies showed that bilinguals demonstrated superior cognitive ability in thinking, problem solving, communicative sensitivity, classification, visual-spatial skills, metalinguistic awareness, selective attention, and cognitive flexibility (Diaz and Klingler 2000; Bialystok 2001; Baker 2011). Investigators trying to answer the question of how language is represented in the mind and brain (e.g., Deuchar and Quay 1998; Green 1998; Kuhl 2007) through examining specific areas of cognitive functioning suggest that bilingual children might be at an advantage. Some such advantages may be in terms of flexibility in performing symbol reorganization tasks (Peal and Lambert 1962), understanding object constancy (Feldman and Shen 1971), understanding the arbitrary nature of numeric symbols (Saxe 1988), the ability to ignore the misleading features of a number concept task (Bialystok and Codd 1997), and performance on spatial problems (Bialystok and Majumder 1998). The control of such cognitive abilities demonstrated by bilinguals is related to the focus of attention necessary when concentrating on the target language, because both languages are active even when just one of them is being used. Therefore, bilinguals must reduce activation of the non-target language (Poulin-Dubois et al. 2011) or use a domain-general suppression mechanism to inhibit the activation of the non-target language (Green 1998). Most of these abilities are considered executive functions (EFs), an overall term that refers to the cognitive processes involved in the conscious control of thoughts and actions (Anderson 2002), and some of whose components include inhibitory control. Inhibitory control means that one must inhibit or suppress attention to irrelevant or misleading aspects of a stimulus while focusing on the appropriate aspects of the stimulus and generating a successful response; thus, EF can be said to refer to the conscious control of thought and action (Posner and Rothbart 2000). Additional components of EF traditionally include planning abilities, all of which also may implicate inhibitory processes, and set-shifting, information processing skills, and working memory (e.g., Diamond 2011; Engle 2002; Wilbourn et al. 2011). Based on these previous findings, the current study will investigate inhibitory control using the Stroop task, and operational control through verbal fluency, visual attention, task switching, and memory tasks. The overall mixed results of early studies concerning bilingualism show that there are both negative and positive effects of bilingualism on cognition, some of which are argued to be due to methodological issues such as the lack of controlling for socio-economic level, parent education level, and degree of exposure to the second language (Hakuta 1986; Oller and Pearson 2002). More recent studies have shown significant correlations between socioeconomic and parent education levels through the Stroop effect (Gathercole et al. 2010) while the socio-educational status of parents has also been shown to affect their children’s language abilities and executive functions (Catale et al. 2012). 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 653 Bilinguals have been reported to show an advantage over their monolingual peers in certain cognitive abilities, particularly those related to EF (Blair et al. 2005), including selective attention, the inhibition of attention to misleading information, and the switching of attention in tasks with competing and misleading cues (Bialystok et al. 2004; Hernandez et al. 2010). Bialystok (1999, 2001) argues that bilinguals have an advantage because from the beginning of their dual language use they must constantly control which language is being used at the moment, while at the same time suppressing the use of the other language, leading to more fully developed neurological mechanisms for controlling such attention; this is referred to as EF. Such ability can be detected at ages as young as 24 months; 2-year-old bilinguals have been found to demonstrate some advantages in executive control over monolinguals while performing the Stroop task, yet no significant differences have been found between both language groups on vocabulary or delay tasks (Poulin-Dubois et al. 2011). Research over the past three decades reveals a number of differences that emerge from growing up knowing at least two languages (Grosjean 1989; Bialystok and Viswanathan 2009). In the most general terms, bilingualism leads to the development of strategies that are adaptive to the unique problem space with which bilingual infants are faced. Rosselli et al. (2002) compared the performance on the Stroop task between Spanish and English monolinguals and Spanish–English bilinguals, taking into account their age of acquisition and proficiency. Results showed that the bilinguals were slower in acquisition and lower in proficiency than monolinguals; however, no significant differences were detected between highly proficient and less proficient bilinguals on most of the Stroop tasks. Festman et al. (2010) found a significant difference between proficient and non-proficient bilinguals, in which Russian and German bilinguals were tested on a battery of executive function tasks (including the Tower of Hanoi, Ruff Figural Fluency Task, Divided Attention, and Go/No Go). These results showed that the proficient bilingual group had cognitive advantages over the bilingual group with less proficiency of the second language; their performance was faster and they made fewer errors. Carlson and Meltzoff (2008) compared English–Spanish bilinguals and an immersion language group (in which half of the participants were given instructions in English while the other half were given instructions in their first language, Spanish or Japanese) with 6year-old English monolinguals, testing the generality of a bilingual advantage on a wide range of nine EF measures by administering a battery of tasks that included the Dimensional Change Card Sort, Simon Says, Visually Cued Recall, Kansas Reflection/Impulsivity Scale, Comprehensive Test of Nonverbal Intelligence, Attention Network Task, Delay of Gratification, Statue (a task that measures the ability to suppress motor action during a delay), and the Gift Delay with Cover task. The main findings revealed a significant bilingual advantage on tasks that call for managing conflicting attentional demands (conflict tasks), and on tasks that require memory, but no such advantage was found on tasks that require impulse control (delay tasks); the results also showed that the immersion group generally performed similarly to monolinguals. It is remarkable that the observed effect was robust even after controlling for socioeconomic factors such as parent education level. This pattern of findings suggests that conflict inhibition plays a role in the link between bilingualism and EF, and that the effects of bilingualism in executive functioning might be found in conflict tasks but not necessarily in delay tasks. This result further suggests that bilinguals have extensive practice in exercising selective attention and cognitive flexibility, because the two languages are used simultaneously (Green 1998; Costa 2005; Rodriguez-Fornells et al. 2006). Therefore, in the current study we focus on examining these same abilities that have been studied previously. In another study conducted by Bialystok and Viswanathan (2009), three groups of 8year-olds, monolinguals and bilinguals in Canada and bilinguals in India, were tested. The 123 654 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 results indicated that both bilingual groups performed differently from the monolingual group but equivalently to each other; they showed higher ability in executive control, where they demonstrated higher skills in conditions requiring inhibitory control and switching. However, differences were not detected between the language groups in response to suppression conditions. Across a range of studies investigating a variety of abilities, it is clear that bilingualism is an ability that has significant consequences for cognitive performance. However, until recently, research on the cognitive performance of bilingual children had been tested mainly only in English, Spanish, and Chinese speaking countries, with no research conducted on EF among Arabic monolingual and English–Arabic bilingual children. Defining bilingualism is difficult because there are many different aspects involved, some involving language behavior and others involving social and cultural aspects. Several definitions provide a strict description of bilingualism, whereby a bilingual person is considered someone with a native-like control of two languages; this definition thus limits the number of individuals who can be considered bilinguals. In contrast, other definitions consider individuals as bilinguals if they are fluent in one language and can produce complete and meaningful utterances in another. This type of definition is more inclusive, and allows early-stage second language learners to be included (Hakuta 1986). Hence, we will use this more inclusive classification as our definition of bilingualism. Our study therefore aims to answer the following questions. (1) Is there a difference between Arabic–English bilingual and Arabic monolingual primary school students on a battery of EFs? (2) Are there differences between age groups with regard to EFs? While previous studies have indicated that EFs continue to develop throughout childhood, children do not usually reach an adult level of performance until around age 15 (Huizinga et al. 2006). The relationships between age and performance on most cognitive tests such as memory, executive, and attentional abilities have been shown to be significant (Catale et al. 2012). Overall, EFs improve consecutively through childhood through three growth periods: birth until the age of two, age seven to nine, and during adolescence between the ages of 16 and 19 (Jurado and Rosselli 2007). One of the major flaws of previous research is that most studies did not control for socioeconomic differences between the groups studied, because bilinguals were typically at a lower socio-economic level than monolinguals (Millett 2010). In most Arab countries, however, the case is reversed: Arabic–English bilinguals are usually at a higher socio-economic level than monolinguals because English as a second language is mainly taught at private schools,which typically have high tuition fees. Therefore, in this study we follow Peal and Lambert’s 1962 model to control for socioeconomic levels between groups. Furthermore, Arabic has a unique feature known as “diglossia,” in which two levels of a language exist: the vernacular language, which is used in everyday life, and the standard language, which is used in education, writing, and religious ceremonies (Ferguson 1959). Children acquiring Arabic as a first language are exposed to both levels at a very early age; thus we assume that such exposure may have an effect on cognitive abilities similar to the effect of being exposed to two languages, or bilingualism. In Saudi Arabia, where the current study was conducted, many children are exposed to different languages and multiple Arabic dialects both in school and outside of school in their daily lives, and they study classical (standard) Arabic grammar between the ages of eight and nine (starting in the fourth grade). Two other key issues that could also have an effect on a person’s EFs are religion and culture, because they have significant effects on self-control ability, which influences EFs. For example, Sabbagh et al. (2006) argued that the advanced performance of Chinese preschoolers over their American counterparts on different EF tasks may stem from sociocultural factors, 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 655 such as the tendency of Chinese parents to expect their 2-year-old children to master impulse control. Moreover, giving children opportunities to exercise and practice EF skills is more encouraged in Chinese preschool children than in their American counterparts. Therefore, we hypothesize that Arabic–English bilingual EFs will differ from those of monolinguals. Furthermore, we hypothesize that older age groups will perform better than younger age groups in both language groups; to examine this hypothesis, we examine the correlation between language proficiency and EF test results among the bilingual children. Methods Participants Fifty Saudi normally developing children ranging from 7–10 years of age participated in this study: 25 Arabic speaking monolinguals (12 males and 13 females), divided into two age groups (Group 1: mean age 7.9; Group 2: mean age 9.3), and 25 Arabic–English bilinguals (11 males and 14 females), also divided into two age groups similar to the monolinguals. We administered a background language questionnaire in Arabic to the parents or the caregivers to examine the children’s exposure to their native and second languages, and also to obtain information regarding the parents’ education and family income, which helped us to match children between the groups. Both groups were equivalent with regard to native language level, parents’ education (all were university graduates or above), and family income (all above 15,000 Saudi Riyals per month, which is equivalent to approximately 4,500 USD. Exposure to a second language among the monolingual participants was minimal and was usually the result of watching cartoons or hearing it outside of the home on the streets or while shopping with their families, but was never used as a means of communication at school, at home, or anywhere else. The bilingual participants, on the other hand, were exposed to English (their second language) either at home while communicating with their immediate family members or siblings at least 50 % of the time (but not with other family members), and when studying at international schools where English was the primary language of teaching except for Arabic language and religious studies classes taught in Arabic. Table 1 summarizes the demographic characteristics and language backgrounds of the participants. An Arabic reading test was used to ensure that both groups could adequately read Arabic; the test comprised a paragraph from the third-grade reader used by both public and international schools in Saudi Arabia, and the ability to read was assessed by measuring the time needed to finish reading the paragraph along with the number of mistakes made by the participant. Results showed that both groups were similar in their Arabic reading performance. An English reading test was also used to ensure that the participants had sufficient English reading ability; the test included a paragraph appearing in a storybook also used in third-grade classrooms. Similar to the method used with the Arabic text, the participants’ ability to read English was also scored by measuring the time needed to finish reading the paragraph while also noting the number of mistakes made (see Table 1). Apparatus • Arabic reading test A paragraph was chosen by the researchers as the text to be used to determine the reading ability of all the children participating in the study. It consisted of a 10-line paragraph 123 656 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 Table 1 Demographic characteristics and parental language and socio-economic background questionnaire Variable Language group Bilingual Monolingual Age Mean (SD) 8.6 (0.7) 8.9 (0.9) 7–10 7–10 Sex 1.52 1.53 Mother education (median) High education High education Father education (median) High education High education Income (average) More than 15,000 SR More than 15,000 SR More than 4,000 $ More than 4,000 $ Percentage of English use at home (average) (%) 50 0 English Proficiency (average) (%) 70 0 Arabic test time (SD) 64.7 (52.7) 63.9 (81.3) Arabic error rate (SD) 2.6 (2.6) 3.5 (5.3) English test time (SD) 23.16 (13.5) 0 (0) English error rate (SD) 0.12 (0.1) 0 (0) Percentage of English use at school (%) 100 0 Range from the third-grade reading book used by both international and Arabic schools in Riyadh. The total number of errors and the time needed to complete the paragraph were calculated. • English reading test The researchers chose another paragraph to be used as the text to determine the English reading ability for all the children participating in the study, and also to confirm that the bilingual children were competent in English and that the monolinguals did not know English as a second language. The text consisted of a 10-line paragraph from the third grade reading book used by international schools in Riyadh. The total number of errors and the time needed to complete the paragraph were calculated. In addition, the following battery of EF tasks was used, including both an inhibition of improper response task and a number of behavioral operational control tasks, described below. Inhibition of Improper Response Task • Stroop Task (Color Naming) While the Stroop test is used in many different forms, all forms rely on color naming and/or reading words written in incongruent colors (Bondi et al. 2002). This test aims to examine the participant’s ability to change perception modes to match the different instructions provided, which may be different from what is typically expected. This test was developed by J. Ridley Stroop in 1935 in an original experiment in which 70 participants were presented with a list of color words printed in incongruent colors (i.e., the word red printed in yellow), and were then instructed to read the words. Afterwards the participants were given another list 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 657 of words written in all black, and were asked to read the words again. Stroop found small differences in the time needed to read both lists (Hoover-Dempsey et al. 2002). This test is considered by cognitive psychologists to be an independent language task that helps researchers to learn about executive attention systems through the naming of a set of colored dots, as well as to learn about the ability to correctly name the color of ink used to write the name of a color that is different than the color itself. Most participants find it difficult to correctly read or say the actual color of ink when the two variables do not match. This difficulty is called the Interference Effect, or the Stroop Effect (Anderson 1995). Task description: In our version of this task, three white cards were used, each with six rows of colored dots, and each dot being red, yellow, green, or blue. The test was divided into parts. (1) The training part included a set of color words (all in Arabic), i.e., blue, green, red, and yellow, printed in black and randomly distributed on the cards. The participants were instructed to read the words. (2) In the second part, participants were presented with a card on which the words were printed in incongruent colors (i.e., the color word and the actual color used were different), and were instructed to read the name of the color while ignoring the color of the ink in which it was written. (3) In the third part, the cards with printed colored dots (blue, green, red, and yellow) were presented for color naming. (4) In the fourth part participants were presented with the same cards used in part two, and were instructed to name the color of the ink that the words were printed in (Hinkin et al. 1999; Perlstein et al. 1998). The time required to finish the task and the number of errors were measured for each participant. The test took approximately 5 min to complete. Behavioral Operational Control Tasks • Verbal Fluency Task This test was chosen to examine participants’ ability to control behaviors under strict conditions to illustrate inhibition ability. The test consisted of two parts. In the first part participants were instructed to produce or write as many words as possible beginning with the letter S in the Arabic language ( ) within 5 min. In the second part they were instructed to produce or write as many four-letter words beginning with a letter different from the letter S; for example, participants could choose to write words that started with the letter F ( another Arabic letter). After the instructions were given to the participants at the beginning of the session, the researcher recorded all of the words produced. Two types of measurements were considered: the degree of fluency, derived from the number of words produced, and the degree of efficiency, derived from the number of different word categories used (Abdeltawab 2007; Fama et al. 2000). • Trail Making Test (TMT) Parts A and B The Trail Making Test is a neuropsychological test of visual attention and task switching that assess visual screening, visuospatial scanning, motor sequencing skills, and shifts in organization. It is divided into two parts (Part A and Part B); both parts consist of 25 circles distributed over a sheet of paper. Part A: the circles are numbered 1–25, and participants were instructed to connect the numbers by drawing lines between them in ascending order. Part B: the circles consist of both numbers (1–13) and letters (A–L); as in Part A, the participants were again told to connect the circles in an ascending pattern, yet with the added task of alternating between the numbers and letters (i.e., 1–A–2–B–3–C, etc.). Participants were told to connect the circles as quickly as possible, without lifting their pencil from the paper, and when an error was detected it was pointed out immediately; the participant was then 123 658 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 allowed to correct the error, but it was still recorded, thereby affecting the participant’s score. The test was scored by assessing the number of seconds required to complete the task and the accuracy of performance. The test took about 5 min to complete (Abdelkawi 2011). • The Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) This test is a neuropsychological test to evaluate verbal and nonverbal memory abilities. In addition, it evaluates attention functions using both auditory and visual stimuli. The test is divided into several sections, each testing a different aspect of memory. (1) Visual Memory: In this section, three geometric forms were presented to participants for 10 s each, and then participants were instructed to draw the form before the next one is presented. For this section, drawing times and error rates were recorded. (2) Immediate Memory: In this section, two small stories were recited to the participants, who were then instructed to recall them. Errors were measured by noting the number of sentences that could be correctly recalled. (3) Mental Control: This section was divided into two parts. In the first part, participants were instructed to count down from 20 to 1 in descending order. All errors were recorded. In the second part, participants were instructed to count by adding four numbers at a time in an ascending manner (i.e., 1–5–9–13, etc.). Scores were calculated according to the highest number the participants reached after 2 min, along with the errors made along the way (Abdelkawi 2011). • Matrices from Wechsler for Children This test is based on a subscale of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), designed by Wechsler in 1974 and translated by Melika into Arabic in 1976; this task consists of nine matrices, which measure planning ability and perceptual organization. Each participant was asked to find his/her way out of each matrix using a pencil and paper. The time required to complete each matrix and the error rates were calculated for all matrices (Mileka 1998). • Comparing Names Test The Comparing Names Test comprises one of the tasks of the general aptitude battery that was translated into Arabic by Zaki Saleh in 1971. It consists of two lists of 30 names, many of which are the same in both lists while some are slightly different. For example, one of the names on one of the lists is Hasan Mustafa, while on the other list the corresponding name is Husin Mustafa. Participants were asked to find all such differences and circle them. Completion times and error rates were calculated for each participant (Saleh 1971). Procedures Participants were tested individually either at King Saud University’s psychology lab or at their school. The Arabic and English reading tests were administered first to ensure that all bilingual children knew how to read both English and Arabic, and that the monolingual group did not know how to read English. Then the six other main tests were conducted. The test order was random; for example, one group of children started with the Stroop Test, while another group started with the Verbal Fluency Task. All tasks were conducted in Arabic. Results A two-way analysis of variance was carried out to compare the two language groups (monolinguals and bilinguals) and the age groups on all EF tasks. Because gender had no significant influence on performance, this variable was not included in the following analyses. 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 659 Table 2 Results of two-way ANOVA Effect Value F Hypothesis df Error df Sig. Intercept .995 157.515a 26.000 21.000 .000 Language group .504 .822a 26.000 21.000 .685 Age group .551 .992a 26.000 21.000 .513 Language group * age group .608 1.255a 26.000 21.000 .300 The results overall did not reveal significant differences between the groups on the majority of tasks administered. Pearson Correlation was used to test language proficiency with the variables of completion time and error rate for the bilingual participants. The results revealed no significant differences between the language groups for the EFs tested in this study ( f = 0.822). Results also showed no significant differences between the two age groups ( f = 0.992). Finally, no significant differences were detected with respect to the interaction between the language and age groups ( f = 1.25). (See Table 2). Further testing also showed no significant differences between the groups on the Stroop Task, Verbal Fluency Task, or various memory tasks. However, significant differences between the monolingual and bilingual students were found for four of the EF tasks. The first significant difference was detected in the time needed to complete the trail-making task (Part A) ( f = 8.17, p = 0.006), which shows that the monolingual children took more time to complete the task than the bilingual children did, yet both groups performed similarly on Part B of the task. However, on the Comparing Names Test the results showed significant differences between both language groups; specifically, the bilingual children took more time to complete the task ( f = 6.06, p = 0.02), and they also made more errors ( f = 5.63, p = 0.02) compared with the monolingual children. This may have been because the bilinguals read and write in English more than they do in Arabic because of their bilingual education situation at school, in which Arabic is not used in reading and writing as frequently as it is used as a means of verbal communication. As for the Mental Control task, results showed that the number of errors produced by the monolinguals while counting in ascending order was significantly higher than that of the bilinguals ( f = 5.13, p = 0.03). (See Table 3). Regarding age group differences, the results showed no significant differences in the Trail Making, Memory, Comparing Names, and Mental Control tasks. However, the results of the Stroop Task indicate that the younger age group took more time to complete Part 1 compared with the older age group ( f = 6.71, p = 0.01). The results also indicated that the verbal fluency of the older age group was significantly higher than that of the younger age group, especially with regard to recalling words beginning with the letter S ( f = 4.58, p = 0.04). (See Table 4). Language proficiency was measured by assessing the time required to complete each task and the errors produced by the bilingual participants. We conducted a statistical analysis to find any correlation between error rates and completion times when performing the EF tasks. Results showed no significant correlation between both types of measurements, with the exception of the Fluency Test 1 (r = 0.48, p = 0.05), Fluency Test 2 (r = 0.46, p = 0.05), and the Counting Test (r = 0.43, p = 0.05), for which significant differences were detected in the error rates. (See Table 5). These results show that children with greater error rates performed better on the fluency task, indicating that their command of Arabic was higher than that of English. 123 660 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 Table 3 Language group results Source Dependent variable Language group Stroop1_time Stroop1_errors Stroop2_time Type III sum of squares 1.041 Df 1 Mean square 1.041 F .004 Sig. .951 .038 1 .038 .039 .844 14.213 1 14.213 .049 .827 Stroop2_errors .049 1 .049 .025 .876 Stroop3_time 8.620 1 8.620 .106 .746 Stroop3_errors Stroop4_time Stroop4_errrors Trail making1_time Trail making1_errors Trail making2_time Trail making2_errors .483 1 .483 .803 .375 379.432 1 379.432 2.025 .162 .102 9.078 1 9.078 2.790 23,119.941 1 23,119.941 8.176 .006 3.977 1 3.977 1.493 .228 27,098.625 1 27,098.625 .869 .356 24.120 1 24.120 1.093 .301 Verbal fluency1 2.610 1 2.610 .058 .811 Verbal fluency2 3.152 1 3.152 .267 .608 203,828.754 1 203,828.754 6.067 .018 72.530 1 72.530 5.636 .022 Comparing name time Comparing name errors 29,132.874 1 29,132.874 .696 .408 Matrices errors 1.336 1 1.336 .073 .789 Memory, story1 764.455 1 764.455 1.123 .295 Memory story2 .000 1 .000 .000 1.000 Count forward time 4.577 1 4.577 .040 .842 Count forward errors 23.296 1 23.296 5.137 .028 Count time 64.951 1 64.951 .184 .670 Count errors 16.412 1 16.412 2.552 .117 1,175.145 1 1,175.145 .311 .580 11.296 1 11.296 3.756 .059 Matrices time Visual memory time Visual memory errors On the other hand, the task completion time results also showed a correlation in the Stroop Task 1 and Stroop Task 2 (r = 0.56, r = 0.45; p = 0.05), and this result generally indicates that proficient bilinguals take less time to complete the Stroop tasks. Discussion In this research we aimed to investigate the effect of bilingualism on some aspects of EFs, and we hypothesized that the EFs of bilinguals would be different from that of monolinguals, and that older age groups would perform better than younger age groups. Therefore, participants were divided into two age groups and were matched according to their parents’ education and family income levels; we did this because previous research had found that parent educational status influenced their children’s EFs (Catale et al. 2012). Overall, our results did not show any significant differences between monolinguals and bilinguals or between the younger and older age groups on most EF tasks. 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 661 Table 4 Age group results Source Dependent variable Age-group Stroop1_time Stroop1_errors Stroop2_time Stroop2_errore Stroop3_time Stroop3_errore Stroop4_time Stroop4_errrors Trail making 1 time Trail making 1 errors Trail making 2 time Trail making 2 errors Type III sum of squares 1,804.538 Df Mean square 1 1,804.538 F Sig. 6.711 .013 .170 1 .170 .177 .676 121.910 1 121.910 .417 .522 .867 1 .867 .434 .513 202.855 1 202.855 2.493 .121 .410 1 .410 .682 .413 80.824 1 80.824 .431 .515 1.725 1 1.725 .530 .470 3,641.370 1 3,641.370 1.288 .262 .464 1.452 1 1.452 .545 951.336 1 951.336 .030 .862 3.795 1 3.795 .172 .680 Verbal fluency1 206.296 1 206.296 4.588 .038 Verbal fluency2 28.048 1 28.048 2.372 .130 100,308.776 1 100,308.776 2.986 .091 2.827 1 2.827 .220 .641 Comparing names time Comparing names score 30,992.229 1 30,992.229 .741 .394 Matrices errors 16.520 1 16.520 .898 .348 Memory, story1 774.558 1 774.558 1.138 .292 Memory, story2 20.169 1 20.169 1.573 .216 145.558 1 145.558 1.285 .263 5.458 1 5.458 1.204 .278 Matrices time Count forward time Count forward errors Count time 257.264 1 257.264 .729 .398 Count errors 12.713 1 12.713 1.977 .166 Visual memory time 59.181 1 59.181 .016 .901 Visual memory errors 4.609 1 4.609 1.533 .222 The results generally showed no differences in performance of the Verbal Fluency Task between both language groups, which might be one of the reasons why we found so few statistically significant results between the language groups on the EF tasks. Previous research has found a relationship between vocabulary size, fluency, and EFs (Bialystok and Feng (2009), and vocabulary size has also been found to play an important role in recall; when vocabulary level is controlled for, the differences between monolinguals and bilinguals usually disappear (Bialystok and Feng 2009). This effect was evident in our results as well, because no significant differences were detected for either the visual or immediate memory tasks. Thus, we are in agreement with Xue et al. (2004), who found that Chinese monolinguals and Chinese–English non-proficient bilinguals showed similar performance on memory tasks when they were presented in their native language. Similarly, in our current study the children were tested in their native language, and therefore no differences were detected in their task completion times. Our findings may also have been influenced by language frequency and language input. This is because Arabic was the main language used for communication by the majority of the people around the bilingual participants in their daily lives, except in school where English 123 662 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 Table 5 Language proficiency through error results Test English errors Stroop1_time Pearson correlation .008 Sig. (2-tailed) .969 Stroop1_errors Pearson correlation .142 Sig. (2-tailed) .498 Stroop2_time Pearson correlation −.241 Sig. (2-tailed) .246 Stroop2_errore Pearson correlation .301 Sig. (2-tailed) .144 Stroop3_time Pearson correlation −.072 Sig. (2-tailed) .733 Stroop3_errore Pearson correlation .033 Sig. (2-tailed) .876 Stroop4_time Pearson correlation .133 Sig. (2-tailed) .527 Stroop4_errrors Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) .297 Pearson correlation −.303 Trail1_errors Pearson correlation −.109 Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) .498 Trail2_errors Pearson correlation .007 Sig. (2-tailed) .974 Pearson correlation 0.4889∗− Sig. (2-tailed) Pearson correlation 0.4613− Sig. (2-tailed) Stroop1_errors Stroop2_time Sig. (2-tailed) .003 Pearson correlation .207 Sig. (2-tailed) .321 Pearson correlation 0.4519∗ Sig. (2-tailed) .023 Stroop2_errore Pearson correlation .071 Sig. (2-tailed) .734 Stroop3_time Pearson correlation .022 Sig. (2-tailed) .916 Stroop3_errore Pearson correlation .225 Sig. (2-tailed) .281 Stroop4_time Pearson correlation .108 Sig. (2-tailed) .607 123 .789 Matrices_time Pearson correlation −.073 Matrices_errors Pearson correlation −.012 Story1 Pearson correlation −.085 Story2 Pearson correlation −.284 Count forward_time Pearson correlation −.124 Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) .730 .956 .688 .169 .553 Count forward_errors Pearson correlation −.103 Sig. (2-tailed) .625 Count_time Pearson correlation −.039 Count_errors Pearson correlation 0.4317∗ Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Visual_time Visual_errors .013 Pearson correlation 0.5697∗∗ .299 Pearson correlation −.056 .854 .031 Pearson correlation .111 Sig. (2-tailed) .598 Pearson correlation −.005 Sig. (2-tailed) English _time Stroop1_time .020 Pearson correlation −.216 Sig. (2-tailed) Name_score .604 Pearson correlation −.142 English errors Sig. (2-tailed) Name_time .141 Trail2_time Fluency1 Fluency2 .150 Trail1_time Sig. (2-tailed) Test .982 English _time Fluency2 Pearson correlation −.026 Sig. (2-tailed) Name_time Name_score .902 Pearson correlation .260 Sig. (2-tailed) .209 Pearson correlation −.227 Sig. (2-tailed) .275 Matrices_time Pearson correlation −.072 Matrices_errors Pearson correlation −.272 Story1 Pearson correlation −.036 Story2 Pearson correlation −.282 Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) .733 .189 .865 .172 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 663 Table 5 continued English _time Stroop4_errrors Pearson correlation .252 Sig. (2-tailed) .224 Trail1_time Pearson correlation .047 Sig. (2-tailed) .825 Trail1_errors Pearson correlation −.093 Trail2_time Pearson correlation −.211 Trail2_errors Pearson correlation −.274 Fluency1 Pearson correlation −.081 Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) Sig. (2-tailed) English _time Count forward_time Sig. (2-tailed) .132 Count forward_errors Pearson correlation −.102 Sig. (2-tailed) .629 Count_time Pearson correlation .032 Sig. (2-tailed) .881 Count_errors Pearson correlation .117 Sig. (2-tailed) .577 Visual_time Pearson correlation .027 Sig. (2-tailed) .899 .659 .311 .184 .700 Pearson correlation −.309 Visual errors Pearson correlation −.195 Sig. (2-tailed) .349 was the main language of education, or when one of the parents communicated with them in English to practice it at home. In addition, their second language fluency could also be a major factor. In previous studies, highly proficient bilinguals usually performed better than less proficient bilinguals on cognitive functions (Millett 2010), and less proficient bilinguals performed similarly to monolinguals on some EF aspects, such as when generating words starting with specific letters within a time period of 60 s (Luo et al. 2010; Mishra et al. 2012). In our current study, the results showed that the less proficient bilinguals performed better on the fluency task than the highly proficient bilinguals; these results agree with these previous studies (i.e., Millett 2010; Luo et al. 2010; Mishra et al. 2012). When comparing monolinguals and bilinguals, we detected an advantage to bilinguals with respect to completion time in the Trail Making Task, indicating a greater ability of selective attention in bilinguals. This effect has been mentioned by other researchers who have suggested that bilinguals have extensive practice in exercising selective attention, which gives them cognitive flexibility because they are used to using two languages simultaneously (Green 1998; Costa 2005; Rodriguez-Fornells et al. 2006). While in our current study such a difference was only detected in Part A of the task and not in Part B, where performance was not significantly different, this discrepancy could have been related to the difficulty of the Part B task, which is typically usually used with older age groups. Yet, to a certain degree, our results still show that bilinguals have greater selective attention, which is in agreement with the results of Carlson and Meltzoff (2008), who found that English–Spanish bilinguals showed better attention performance than English monolinguals and an immersion language group, and that both of these groups did not differ significantly. We can look at our bilingual group as being similar to the immersion group described in the Carlson and Meltzoff study because the Arabic–English group in our study had more similarities to their immersion group than to the bilingual group in their study. Some subjects in school are taught in English while others are taught in Arabic, and the children’s first language is the main language of communication. These aspects might therefore be part of the reason that we found no significant differences between the error rates produced by both language groups. Our findings also indicate that monolinguals produced more errors than bilinguals when counting in ascending order; this result agrees with Bialystok (2005), who found that bilinguals produced fewer errors than monolinguals when counting, and particularly when count- 123 664 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 ing down in descending order. This finding was because bilinguals usually focus and control their thoughts more while counting; it is thought therefore that these counting abilities demonstrated by bilinguals are related to their attention abilities, which are usually higher than those of monolinguals (Bialystok 2005). A contrary, but not surprising, finding was observed in the Comparing Names Task, whereby the monolinguals required less time to complete the task and recognize the differences between the names compared with the bilingual children. These results, however, are in agreement with Ivanova and Costa (2008), who found that Spanish monolinguals named pictures faster and more accurately than Spanish–Catalan bilinguals. Despite the fact that the tasks used in each study were different, they still fall under the same category of ‘lexicon access’; specifically, in our task, participants were instructed to access the words and find the differences between them, while in Ivanova and Costa (2008) participants were required to access the lexicon to name pictures. Ivanova and Costa (2008) argue that their finding is related to the frequency effect. We agree with this argument because our results are also associated with reading and writing skills that are affected by frequency. As mentioned earlier, bilinguals do not read and write Arabic as frequently as monolinguals, and thus their performance might not be as high as it would usually be if the task were conducted in English, despite their reading skills being tested and not found to be significantly different. Within the Comparing Names Task, reading skills are not the only skills required; lexicon access is actually a skill that is more important to successfully completing the task. In addition, reading skills in this case may fall within the domain of language impairment, whereby children with impaired reading skills usually have problems with their EFs (Reiter et al. 2004; Abdelgafar 2004, 2008). Another aspect that should be taken into consideration with respect to this specific task is the fact that the two writing systems are different: the alphabets are entirely different, and words in Arabic are written from right to left, while words in English are written from left to right. Therefore, bilinguals require more time to complete such tasks because these differences make the transfer of literacy skills more difficult. Moreover, because reading skills for bilinguals depend on the writing systems of the two languages, our bilingual participants will take more time to complete such tasks (Bialystok et al. 2005). The Vocabulary Fluency Task did not show a significant difference between the two groups. This result is not in agreement with those of Carlson and Meltzoff (2008), who found that Spanish–English bilingual children showed fewer verbal abilities compared with English monolingual children. In addition, Poulin-Dubois et al. (2011) showed similar results in which English–French bilingual infants were found to have a smaller number of words compared with English and French monolinguals. The differences detected between the results of our study and these previous studies may be related to the fact that our participants were exposed to Arabic more frequently than the other bilinguals were exposed to the language they were being tested on, or their dominant language. Additionally, the bilinguals in our study are considered bilinguals because of their education rather than their need to communicate with others in their community, in which Arabic is their first and dominant language, and also the language in which all tests were conducted. The general findings of our study reveal some significant bilingual advantages with regard to a few EF tasks. First, this study is one of the first to examine the role of Arabic–English bilingualism on certain aspects of EFs, and the findings suggests that there are a number of significant differences between Arabic monolinguals and Arabic–English bilinguals, despite the overall results not being as expected because most differences were not found to be statistically significant. As explained earlier, our findings could be partly because language proficiency was not controlled for. Another possible reason for the similarities found between both groups is the frequency of exposure to both languages, whereby bilinguals were exposed 123 J Psycholinguist Res (2015) 44:651–667 665 to Arabic more than they were to English because they live in an Arab community. As mentioned above, they are considered bilinguals because of their education, and at least 50 % of their time at home is spent communicating in English as the chief means of communication with their families; however, when communicating with others outside of the immediate family, Arabic is usually the main language used. An additional reason for our lack of significant findings could be the Arabic diglossia situation, in which children learn classical Arabic grammar in school that is to some extent different from their vernacular grammar (Moawad 2006); thus, their minds might be dealing with these differences just as bilinguals deal with another language. To avoid this possible factor, other groups should be added to the groups to be compared. For example, monolinguals that have a strong command of classical Arabic (which would usually be through receiving specific education in some schools) could be compared with a group that has not yet studied the classical form but that still uses the vernacular in their everyday lives as their first language. In other words, adding two such groups would allow for the control of language input because of its role in some aspects of EFs (Carlson and Meltzoff 2008). More studies are needed in this area to better measure the differences between Arab monolinguals and bilinguals, while keeping in mind the unique Arabic situation known as diglossia. Our findings have both theoretical and practical implications. 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Mapping of verbal working memory in nonfluent Chinese– English bilinguals with functional MRI. NeuroImage, 22, 1–10. 123 English Language Teaching; Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 ISSN 1916-4742 E-ISSN 1916-4750 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education Contribution of Bilingualism in Language Teaching Muhammad Aslam Sipra1 1 JCC, King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia Correspondence: Dr. Muhammad Aslam Sipra, JCC, Department of GRC, King Abdulaziz University, PO Box 80283, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia. Tel: 966-2-2870026 Ext: 580. E-mail: Aslamsipra@yahoo.com Received: September 26, 2012 doi:10.5539/elt.v6n1p56 Accepted: October 28, 2012 Online Published: December 12, 2012 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n1p56 Abstract This study is an investigation into the contribution of the use of bilingualism as an aid in learning/teaching English as a foreign language and bilingualism in EFL classroom does not reduce students’ communicative abilities but in effect can assist in teaching and learning process. The study employed a qualitative, interpretive research design involving questionnaires, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews. The data part analyzed the students and the teachers’ expressed responses and beliefs about the role of bilingualism in EFL classes. The findings of the study in general are that bilingualism as a resource in teaching facilitates in learning L2 and helps make more people acknowledge the contribution of bilingualism in EFL classes. Keywords: bilingualism, second language learning, mother tongue, L1, L2, language teaching 1. Introduction In the fall of 2004, almost seven years hence, as I started teaching English language at intermediate level in Saudi Arabia, I was confronted by a problem of not being able to make my students understand quite a number of expressions in the target language sometimes; thus, finding the class difficult to manage. This problem owed to my almost zero ability in Arabic that is/was the L1 of my students. However, as the time went by I picked up a bit of Arabic vocabulary and quite a few of expressions and this newly acquired ability in Arabic enabled me to use bilingualism effectively in classes. I started using students’ L1, as and when required, and I felt a tremendous change in students’ results and their linguistic behaviour. This inspired me to conduct a research on the use of bilingualism in EFL classes. In the light of my experience in the classroom I wanted to fathom the usefulness of bilingualism as a teaching aid at intermediate level. And whether it really helps the students learning the target language with an ease? There has been much debate and controversy over the use of bilingualism as a teaching aid and a resource in teaching EFL. In this study the researcher has attempted to investigate into the scope of the contribution of use of bilingualism in foreign language learning/teaching class. The study of bilingualism covers a field which is both wide and interdisciplinary. The article is mainly concerned with 'bilinguality' rather than 'bilingualism' because it is a study of EFL teachers' second language use in the classroom how they may impact on learning a second language. However, in as much as bilinguality develops and is manifested in situated social ways, there will be mention of societal aspects of bilingualism at points when it is necessary in interpreting the findings. Bilingualism in the classroom is not considered as the medium of teaching as happens in grammar-translation method, but as a teaching technique or if I am allowed to say, as a teaching aid. Once let loose the bilingualism pervades the whole of classroom teaching; instead, it is used only of well-defined steps of teaching and in clearly defined manner. In using the mother tongue, the teacher in the grammar translation method has all the freedom of expressing himself in it and bilingualism in EFL classes strikes the middle and permits judicious freedom in the use of the first language. 2. Literature Review This part of study seeks to give an overview of the existing literature available on the various aspects of bilingualism. Although not an extensive research has been conducted on this issue, yet the subject invites many different areas of TEFL, which have been sought by the scholars. Bilingualism can be discussed as an individual phenomenon or a societal phenomenon (Skutnabb-Kangas, 1981). Hamers and Blanc (2000) use the term “bilinguality” to denote an individual’s use of two languages, and reserve “bilingualism” for the study of how two or more languages function in a given society. However, they do not suggest that it is possible to see each in 56 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 isolation from the other, pointing out their interdependency. Bilingualism in education looks at the pedagogical issues when children speaking one language at home enter a school system which operates in another language (Lotherington 2000). There are numerous academic institutions all over the world which attempt to find the best way for children to become proficient in the dominant language (Cummins and Swain 1986). There are other studies available which look at how children growing up in bilingual families acquire both languages, and how parents can help them to retain both (Beligan, Clyne and Lotherington 1999). In another research, conducted by Jinlan Tang (2002) emphasized the idea that L1 in the English class helps the students to improve their L2 linguistic capabilities. He conducted his research on Chinese students and his results proved the idea of Schweer’s study results. Schweers (1999) conducted a study with EFL students and their teachers in a Spanish context to investigate their attitudes toward using L1 in the L2 classroom. His results indicate that Spanish should be used in the EFL classroom. Unfortunately, many people think that there is only room enough in a child’s or adult’s brain for one language. Contrary to the idea that two languages confuse people, there is evidence that well-developed bilingualism actually enhances one’s “cognitive flexibility” -- that is, bilingual people including children are better able to see things from two or more perspectives and to understand how other people think (Hakuta 1986). Bilinguals also have better auditory language skills i.e., they can discriminate sounds of a language more finely than monolinguals, and they mature earlier than mono-linguals in terms of linguistic abstraction i.e., ability to think and talk about language (Albert & Obler 1978). Simply being exposed to a language is no guarantee that we will learn it. If we are exposed to language input that we cannot understand, much of what is said (or written) will be “over our heads.” In order for language learning to take place, we must receive “comprehensible input” -- that is, language input must be modified so that we can understand it (Krashen 1981). Furthermore, studies have shown that when minority students are provided with native language instruction for at least 50% of the day through grades 5 or 6, they do better academically than those in all-English programs. In other words, they suffer no loss as a result of less exposure to English, and in fact by 6th or 7th grade they appear to be gaining on their counterparts in all-English programs (Collier 1995). Children’s mother tongues are fragile and easily lost in the early years of school. Many people marvel at how quickly bilingual children seem to pick up conversational skills in the majority language in the early years at school although it takes much longer for them to catch up to native speakers in academic language skills (Baker 1988). Similarly, we may often see children on the playground who appear to speak English with no problem. Yet when they are in a classroom situation, they just don’t seem to grasp the concepts. Many people fail to realize that there are different levels of language proficiency. Actually, they still needed time and assistance to develop their academic English skills (Cummins 1984). Research has already been done in the area of code switching or native language interference on the target language. There is considerable controversy over the definition of interference. Dulay (1982) defines interference as the automatic transfer, due to habit, of the surface structure of the first language onto the surface of the target language. Lott (1983) defines interference as “errors in the learner’s use of the foreign language that can be traced back to the mother tongue”. For example, interferences may be seen in the usage of the past tense, articles or the repeated pronoun. Ellis (1997) refers to interference as “transfer”, which he says is “the influence that the learner’s L1 exerts over the acquisition of an L2”. In learning a target language, learners construct their own interim rules with the use of their L1 knowledge (Selinker 1972), but only when they believe it will help them in the learning task or when they have become sufficiently proficient in the L2 for transfer to be possible. The reason for the switching behavior presented by Crystal (1987) is the alteration that occurs when the speaker wishes to convey his/her attitude to the listener. Where monolingual speakers can communicate these attitudes by means of variation in the level of formality in their speech, bilingual speakers can convey the same by code switching. Professionals in second language acquisition have become increasingly aware of the role the mother tongue plays in the EFL classroom. Nunan and Lamb (1996), for example, contend that EFL teachers working with monolingual students at lower levels of English proficiency find prohibition of the mother tongue to be practically impossible. Dornnyei and Kormos (1998) find that the L1 is used by L2 learners as a communication strategy to compensate for deficiencies in the target language. Auerbuch (1993) also acknowledges the positive role of the mother tongue in the classroom. 3. Research Methodology Present research study has focused on teaching and learning process with the aid of L1 in communicating effectively L2 in EFL classrooms. However, no broad generalizations have been made rather the researcher has 57 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 focused mainly upon: 1. The spoken aspect of L2 along with L1 in integrated skills classes 2. Proper use of vocabulary while communicating at intermediate level 3. The age group (between 15-26 years) The researcher has selected to analyze the research topic from the aspects of integrated skills as taught at King Abdul Aziz University (KAAU), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia to the learners of English language for the development of the topic. As analysis helps in thoroughly examining the topic from all dimensions, the researcher looks upon all the aspects of the research topic to discover how use of bilingualism expedites teaching and learning process in EFL classes. The population comprises a total number of 150 students from KAAU (King Abdul Aziz University) at Certificate level and 25 teachers who were teaching these students. Although no studies have been located which aim to discover the contribution of the use of bilingualism in foreign language learning, there have been several studies which are pertinent in either content or method, and they will be outlined and commented on here. The most common methods used to investigate the relationship of L1 with L2, are the observation of teachers’ regular lessons combined with semi-structured interviews. All of the studies outlined in the previous paragraphs used a combination of interviews and classroom observation since their primary aim was to discover links between L1 and L2. The intention of this study was to find out whether the use of bilingualism is a teaching aid in teaching and learning L2 and L1 does facilitate the learners. The tools that were used comprised semi-structured interviews, questionnaires and classroom observations. There were some general concerns over the level of comprehension and proficiency among the respondents. So the questionnaire was designed and arranged in such a manner which would require the respondents to do as little reading as possible. The questions were always read out to the respondents by the researcher himself or by the other trained research fellows. They had been briefed to be aware of situations where the respondents needed extra assistance. 3.1 Participants A total of 150 students who were selected randomly participated in this activity and 25 teachers gave their opinions while responding to the questionnaire. The teachers selected for the present study were from the immediate milieu and had been teaching the language skills for 0-30 years. Thus both newly inducted and experienced language teachers were included in this research. 3.2 Classroom Observation Five teachers, who were teaching different language skills i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing, were selected for classroom observation purpose. This proved quite helpful in finding out that teachers using different language skills had to employ L1 while teaching EFL. It was recorded then, how frequently and on what occasions L1 was used by the teachers and when by the students (see table-1). In order to obtain a more authentic and solid classroom data, the teachers and the students both were not made aware of the observation, or else it would have been nearly impossible to record their natural reactions. These classroom observations were about 50 minutes’ duration. 3.3 Semi-structured Interviews Second technique employed was to conduct semi-structured interviews of the five teachers whose classes were observed. The purpose of this was to find the reasons why they had to switch to mother-tongue (L1) and preferred using it over English. These teachers, more or less, came up with almost the same kinds of reasons for justifying their use of L1 in an EFL class. The interviews of these various teachers were recorded and interpreted as well. 3.4 Questionnaires The third method employed to collect the relevant data for the authenticity of the research was to distribute questionnaires. There were two different kinds of questionnaires. One was given to the teachers and the other was given to the students. These questionnaires were designed to check and evaluate the attitudes and responses of both the learners and the teachers. The questionnaire given to teachers was aimed at discovering their practice, of using bilingualism in the classroom, the need which presses them to use mother-tongue (L1) and lastly, their response as to what extent the use of mother-tongue (L1) was helpful in their teaching methods. Its purpose was also to get an idea how far teachers are conscious of or dependent on the use of bilingualism in their teaching learning methods. This technique helped a lot, especially to substantiate data with observation. In addition, it 58 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 helped the researcher to get a firsthand knowledge of teachers’ awareness of this most serious subject. The second questionnaire which was given to the students proved quite helpful and effective in many different ways. Firstly, it helped to know students’ reaction to the use of bilingualism in the class. Then it aimed to testify teachers’ data. And finally its purpose determined the use of bilingualism in the improvement of their language skills in L2 especially those areas in which they felt the use of bilingualism was effective. Thus, questionnaires to students and teachers proved quite effective in gathering the data to analyze and evaluate the results and lastly, to the correctness of the hypothesis. 4. Discussion on Classroom Observation The table shows that the number of occasions on which L1 was used in five 50 minutes classes for different purposes. The table displays clearly that all five teachers used L1 in a variety of situations on different occasions (see table 1). Table 1. (Classroom Observation Result) Sr. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Occasions on which L1 was used T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Total Giving Instructions Defining New Vocabulary Items Explaining Idioms and Proverbs Explaining Colloquial Expressions Explaining Prepositional Phrases Explaining Slang and Taboo Words Explaining Grammatical Rules Explaining Complex Ideas Creating Fun in Language Class Giving Suggestions to Learn Effectively Total 3 2 1 2 1 2 3 1 3 2 20 2 1 1 2 3 3 2 1 3 1 19 2 3 0 1 1 4 3 0 4 1 19 3 2 2 3 2 1 2 1 1 2 19 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 1 12 12 10 5 10 8 11 11 4 11 7 89 All this appeared to be natural as claimed by the advocates of use of bilingualism in EFL context that it aids only when it is used judiciously. Thus the use of L1 by the teachers was according to the claims made by the researcher himself and testified to the propositions. To him, only English may lead to disturbance for the language activity. Same is the case with all of the abovementioned teachers, they first attempted to explain the words, grammatical points and meanings of complex ideas in English but resorted to Arabic when the teachers felt English instructions failed to work. Sometimes, it was the demand of the learners themselves that difficult and complex points be explained in L1 e.g. “tit for tat”, examples for use of conditionals, etc. This situation is unavoidable for the teacher. There is a general trend in Saudi Arabia that most of the local and foreign teachers, who had either Arabic or other language, would extensively use Arabic. Both students and teachers were at ease using students’ L1 and no one wonders or feels disturbed in L1 use. First teacher, for example, used L1 most frequently. He used L1 20 times. He has been teaching English for more than sixteen years. He holds a PhD degree and the vast experience of teaching Saudi students. He had been in Saudi Arabia for more than ten years and was quite proficient in Arabic language. Although he used L1 (Arabic) more frequently than other teachers but he was well aware of the danger of unnecessary and inappropriate use of L1. So the fair and judicious use of L1 is advisable. Likewise, rest of four teachers also used Arabic whenever and wherever they felt its need. Non Arab EFL teachers mostly fall back to the use of bilingual dictionary or the teacher usually depends on that learner who is good at comprehension. This learner facilitates the teacher by explaining new vocabulary items in L1 to the other learners. This technique proved to be fruitful and less time consuming. For example, excited, pollution, passion, monster etc. were explained in Arabic or the learners used bilingual dictionary to find the exact meaning. If proverbs and idioms are not explained in L1, these would create entirely a different idea in the minds of EFL learners. Consequently, the teachers have to resort to the use of L1. For example, during classroom observation, it was raining outside and the teacher used the idiom while teaching present continuous, “it is raining cats and dogs” but the learners failed to understand this idiom. When the teacher explained it using L1, they got it at once. At this occasion, the teacher explained some more proverbs using L1 e.g. “a stitch in time saves nine”, "there are many a slip between a cup and a lip" etc. As far as colloquial expressions are concerned, it is very difficult for the EFL learners at intermediate level here to comprehend these expressions e.g. “shall I 59 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 make you a cup of tea?” or “he is married with three children” (he marries not woman but three children as perceived by the learners) or “the cow is milking” or “the house is building” the teacher used these expressions and asked the learners to tell the meanings. They came up with interesting meanings. They explained the first expression as “shall I cook you and make you a cup of tea” with a funny translation. Later on, the teacher had to explain all these expressions in L1. This way, they found them easy and retained them for a long time. Prepositional phrases are also very confusing for the EFL learners. The teacher used L1 to explain the meanings of “break down”, “bring up”, “put up with” etc. Slangs and taboo words are strange to the learners. The teacher gave the examples of “fat”, “handicapped”, “black” etc. He told the learners in Arabic giving them some equivalents. Then they got the sense and meanings of these words. Certain grammatical structures are also difficult to understand for Arab EFL learners. For example, “I go” and “I am going” are taken as the same by the learners as these structures have no equivalents in Arabic. It is difficult for them to distinguish between present indefinite and continuous. They identify them from the situation or the continuous does exit at the back of the minds of the learners. They use the Arabic terminology “(moustamir ‫ ”)ﻣﺴﺘﻤﺮ‬for the continuous. Similarly, while teaching use of “let” the teacher used the Arabic word “(da’ana ‫”)دﻋﻨﺎ‬, and for teaching conditionals he used “(lao kun to ‫ ”)ﻟﻮآﻨﺖ‬in L1 (Arabic) and for the use of “can” he used Arabic equivalent “(youstateeh ‫”)ﻳﺴﺘﻄﻴﻊ‬. The absence of helping verb in Arabic also poses problem for the learners. For example, "My name is Muhammad" (‫ )اﺳﻤﻰ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ‬is usually produced by the Arab learners of English as "My name Muhammad". Actually, it happens because of interference of L1 and the teachers overcome this problem by using L1 as well. The teacher also resorted to Arabic while explaining some difficult vocabulary e.g. “monster city”, blended family, extended family, nuclear family, single parent, one check family, double check family, stay at home husband etc. There is general trend of using double subject in Arabic which usually lurks into English by Arabs e.g. Ahmad ho wa talib jayyad "‫( "اﺣﻤﺪ هﻮ ﻃﺎﻟﺐ ﺟﻴﺪ‬Ahmad he is a student good). Actually he wanted to say “Ahmad is a good student” but not “Ahmad he is a student good” as “Ahmad” and “he” can’t be used in a sentence together and "adjective" after "noun" but this arrangement is a correct structure in Arabic language. Moreover, another teacher told during an informal discussion that almost every day, he starts his class with little fun in L1. It brings back the learners to the class and removes boredom and motivates them to learn a new language. Before or after the class, he gives suggestions in L1 how to improve L2, he told. One more teacher shared the same kind of experience. He told that he also imparts instructions in L1 about how to attempt question paper and how to behave in the examination room; or sometimes if role play or when speaking activities are introduced in EFL, learners are instructed sometimes in L1 as it is less time consuming and more effective. Classroom Observation Result 4.5 Giving Instructions 4 4 4 Defining New Vocabulary Items Explaining Idioms and Proverbs Explaining Colloquial Expressions Explaining Prepositional Phrases Explaining Slang and Taboo Words Explaining Grammatical Rules 3.5 Frequency 3 3 33 33 3 3 3 3 3 2.5 2 222 2 2 2 2 2 22 2 2 2 22 2 1.5 1 11 1 11 11 11 1 1 11 1 1111 1 0.5 0 0 T1 T2 0 T3 0 T4 Explaining Complex Ideas Creating Fun in Language Class Giving Suggestions to Learn Effectively T5 Teachers Figure 1. (shows frequency of L1 Use) 60 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 5. Discussion on Teachers' Responses An overwhelming majority (86%) of teachers confirmed the proposition that bilingualism is helpful as a teaching aid in the EFL classroom. Only a small number of teachers refuted the proposition who could most probably be the inexperienced or less qualified teachers. Need of bilingualism appears to be more emphatic. That is why percentage of disagreement is so low. The reason is that the foundation of English in KSA in general is very poor. English is taught from 6th grade onwards and not with much sincerity especially at school level as it was revealed by the teachers during informal discussion with them. Therefore, the teachers at the universities have to start from the scratch hence bilingualism becomes indispensable in EFL classes. In response to the statement, “the best way to learn L2 is through communicative approach”, the responses gathered from the respondents were 40% in favour and 60% against this statement. The communicative approach in learning L2 emphasizes on exclusion of L1 completely. This approach is not fully endorsed by EFL teachers and moreover is not accepted by the EFL learners. Thus students as well as teachers find it hard to learn L2 more competently and less painfully considering communicative approach as the best at intermediate level in EFL context. Therefore, the teachers at KAAU (60%) disregarded the statement that the best way to learn L2 is through communicative approach. So it confirms the reliance on the use of bilingualism in class. In response to the statement “students retain L2 vocabulary for a long time with the help of bilingualism”, the data (50% in favour) corresponds again to the basic assumptions of the present study. This means that without the use and assistance of L1, it is difficult to teach L2 more accurately. These results show that the respondents (50%) may have misconceptions about bilingualism when and how it should be used in EFL classrooms; that is why they are unaware of use of bilingualism. In response to the statement “bilingualism as a teaching aid means the fair and judicious use of L1 in teaching and learning a foreign language”, 90% of the teachers strongly agreed to this proposition. This data shows that bilingualism does not mean the exclusive use of L1 in EFL classrooms rather it means the balanced, fair and judicious use of L1 in EFL classroom. This would make it more facilitating and helpful to learn L2 in a friendly environment. The proposition presented is that “bilingualism makes instruction easier”. 80% of the teachers agreed to this proposition. This overwhelming majority of teachers endorsed that only through bilingualism or use of L1, L2 can be taught effectively and efficiently. The data appeared in this table is quite natural. In response to the statement “cultural associations favour bilingualism”, 84% of the teachers gave positive response i.e. in its support as it is very important for the learners simultaneously to learn L2 and maintain L1. The data findings strongly support bilingualism without which it will not be very easy for the learners to learn L2 and to maintain L1. Language is a product of particular culture. Without having assimilated cultural associations that are attached with the linguistic competence and fluency is far more difficult to be achieved. Language is culture and vice-versa. It does not exist in a vacuum. It is the vehicle of culture. At times, languages fail to communicate because of cultural gap. These are the moments when parallels of cultural associations are drawn to establish a rapport. These cultural associations help a great deal to bilingualism in learning L2. The results of the question are quite in agreement with this view. The next question asked from the teachers was “Do you think a learner will grasp L2 better if the teacher uses only the target language?” 85% of the teachers disagreed to the monolingual approach responding to this question and opted “No” which means that they denied the viability of this question. Results show that the students’ learning capabilities and performance shall comparatively be less and it would increase and accelerate the process of learning L2 if L1 is used in EFL classes. Thus the communicative approach in spite of its advantages is faulty and less productive than the use of bilingualism. 90% of the teachers hold this opinion that use of bilingualism brings practical advantages for the learners. This refers to famous thesis in ELT that language is a living phenomenon. Therefore, the true expertise uses the practical vocabulary in a living language, not the use of archaic or obsolete words which the literature of the language carries. Thus the learners with the help of L1 are able to comprehend and use the language which is needed most in practical life. Therefore, the result tallies with major theories in English language teaching. The respondents seem to have at the back of their mind the modern trend that bilinguals have an edge over the monolinguals even if they are the native English teachers. This is true of every country, be it Arabia, England, Russia, china or late Chinese and Japanese have also realized the importance of bi/multilingualism and they have started intensive teaching programmes of other languages. 61 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 6. Discussion on Students' Responses The question about the usefulness of bilingualism asked from the teachers was also asked from the students. 97.9% of the students responded to “yes” option whereas 2.1% of the students selected “no” option. Overwhelming majority confirmed that bilingualism is helpful as a teaching aid in EFL classroom. The data shows that bilingualism is not only liked but is needed most in EFL classrooms even for those students who had already studied the target language for some years. At times it is argued by the linguists that the use of L1 may be advisable at elementary level but not at advanced or intermediate level. The argument appears to be logical but the reality is that the students who are the major stake holders are indeed more interested in the use of L1 by their teachers. Therefore the teachers have to cater for their needs. A cursory glance at the data shows that a vast majority (97.9%) desired use of bilingualism in EFL classroom. 79% of the respondents agreed and responded in a positive manner towards the question “Is bilingualism less time consuming in EFL classroom?” It seems quite logical because it is a proven fact when the teacher used L1 during class to explain idioms and phrases, difficult words to explain according to the situation. So the use of bilingualism while explaining idioms and phrases proved to be economical in terms of time for the learners and the teachers. On the contrary, the teacher might not succeed using only English approach. The data again refers to the established opinion of most of the language teachers that bilingualism is unavoidable in a language classroom. Without use of bilingualism, it will not only be more time consuming for both the teachers and the students to teach and learn but also leads to communication gap which may rather lead to wrong , misappropriate and incorrect language learning. However, it takes a long time to slough off wrong learning and sometimes students carry it with them throughout their lives. Thus the whole process and exercise of learning a language becomes futile. 79.7% students marked “yes” option in response to the question “With whom are you comfortable in the classroom? with a monolingual teacher or with a bilingual teacher?” The data shows that almost all the students showed their liking for “bilingual teacher” because bilingual teacher facilitates the learners with the help of L1. The learners feel that they can ask “why” or “how” questions from a bilingual teacher and share a concern whether it be illness or social need or a comment in L1. If the teacher is bilingual, the students will be more prone to learning owing to feeling confident, safe and heard in the English language environment. The relationship between the learner and the teacher is crucial and by validating the student via recognizing his/her language and communicating with the student in L1, a relationship of mutual respect is created and student may feel the power of being able to use both languages as a tool of communication. High percentage of respondents towards bilingual teacher proves that bilingualism is useful for more comfortable learning environment where everyone’s goal will be accomplished; the teacher can teach to a student that is open to learning and English proficiency is attained. The question “How important is for you to know English?” was categorized with four different options i.e. “very important”, “important”, “not important”, “not at all important”. The results display that 24% selected “very important option, 69.1% opted “important”. Only 4.8% selected “not important”. Moreover, 2.1% of the respondents responded to the last option “not at all important”. The data shows the level of interest that the students have about the use of English in their lives. Students in Saudi Arabia wish to learn English even if it is not used in their daily lives. This is also because English has acquired the status of lingua franca of the world. With the advent of globalization, everybody envies the use of English, be it one’s home, or workplace, or entertainment area or conferences etc where English is used extensively. Thus it is true about Saudi students “to know and learn English has become a world craze”. The question “How often L1 should be used in the classroom?” has also been categorized with four different options “a lot”, “sometimes”, “a little”, “never”. The results display that 31.5% selected the option “a lot”, 37% selected “sometimes”, 22.6% opted “a little”. However, a small number of students with 8.9% selected “never”. This data points out to another aspect of the bilingualism problem that the use of L1 is necessary, but it should not be used constantly because this would also hamper the process of language learning to a great extent. The learners may become too relaxed, may not be very actively involved in it or lose interest because of too much reliance on the use of L1. Thus as has previously been pointed out, the fair and judicious use of L1 helps but frequent and persistent use leads to the end of learning a foreign language. 7. Discussion on Teachers’ Interviews After classroom observation, the teachers whose classes had been observed were interviewed about their occasional use of L1 in the classroom and how they viewed the common criticism that using L1 reduces the 62 www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol. 6, No. 1; 2013 students’ exposure to L2. The important point is that the teachers were not informed in advance about the classroom observation. It helped the researcher to collect data for his research in an objective manner. Moreover, the authenticity and validity of research was ensured through this method. Students and teachers were not conscious of their use of L1 in the classroom. Almost all the teachers emphatically say that bilingualism is helpful as a teaching aid in EFL classes. The teachers agreed that overall comprehension of the language at the initial stages is necessary and this is one area which cannot be facilitated without the aid of L1. They would not suggest the constant use of L1 because it would hamper linguistic competence and fluency. This would lead to practical advantages in learning L2 and results in L2 competence. Concepts of learners formed in L1and explained by the teacher are not to be completely washed out or not completely locked. If teachers are teaching in such circumstances, bilingualism facilitates their conceptual learning. They believe that the abstract words compel teacher and learners to employ bilingualism. Majority of teachers who were interviewed assert that bilingualism is a bridge between the teacher and the learners. Moreover, they say that it is, for sure, motivates and facilitates learners. Overall the teachers were in favour of bilingualism but some of them emphasized at different places along with some of the reservations as far as the competence of language learners is concerned. This is exactly what researchers and scholars in the field of bilingualism claim and assert. The general idea drawn from these interviews is that bilingualism is essential and helpful when there is no other option left for the teacher to define or explain the meanings and connotations of a word or a phrase. They are convinced that use of bilingualism in EFL classes proves fruitful for a productive teaching learning process for the language learners. They claim it to be their personal experience. 8. Conclusion and Recommendations Present study shows that the use of bilingualism has an important role in teaching and learning L2 at intermediate level. The use of bilingualism has been employed as a teaching technique in EFL classes. The teachers who participated in the present research study indicated that the translation of abstract words, complex ideas and phrases in L1 is a facility to learn a foreign language. Without the aid of L1, learners would be left unguided at an early stage of their learning experience. This study also reveals that in EFL classes, use of bilingualism has played only a supportive role hence the medium of instruction remains, no doubt, English only. Moreover, the use of bilingualism does not decrease the motivation level of students’ learning English. Use of bilingualism in EFL classes does not reduce students’ exposure and capacity to communicate well in L2 rather it substantiates English language learning and it is an immense source of motivation for the EFL learners. It has no adverse effect on learning as long as it is used with considerable restraint. In order to aid and facilitate the language learning process with the help of first language, there are certain recommendations for the teachers, which have been /can be dra...
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Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia – Outline
I. Introduction
II. Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia
A. Introduction of bilingual learning
B. Systematic reforms in the education system
C. Challenges to bilingual system in Saudi Arabia
III. Differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in Saudi schools
IV. Importance of bilingualism
A. Enhancement of mental capacity
B. Improved creativity
C. Increased ability to understand the arbitrary nature of numeric symbols
V. Recommendations
VI. Conclusion


Running head: BILINGUALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA

Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia
Name
Institution

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BILINGUALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA

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Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia
Introduction
The past few years have seen a growth of interest in bilingualism and its effect on
learners. Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that experience bilingualism. Bilingualism in
the Arab world continues to receive attention than other topics. Bilingualism is common in
Saudi Arabia because of the widespread of private schools in the country that offer programs
in different languages. Bilingualism is using two languages and speaking with both languages
fluently as native speakers of the language. Simultaneously and sequentially are the two ways
people can learn a second language. Simultaneous learning of the second language is
common among children aged three who are exposed to two languages when growing.
Sequential learners, on the other hand, are those who have already become familiar with one
language but are then introduced to a second language. Sequential learning takes place at any
age and the attitude and motivation of an individual influence the ability of the individual to
learn the second language.
Bilingualism in Saudi Arabia
Bilingualism is common in several countries across the globe, regardless of social
class or age. With research confirming the importance of bilingual education in benefiting
students, more institutions are increasing their interests in taking their students through
bilingual programs. It, therefore, increases the importance of Saudi students becoming
bilingual during an early age. More Saudi students are moving abroad, particularly to the
United States for tertiary education. However, English is a problem for such students since
they did not study English in their schools. The arising of such problems among Saudi
students prompted a rethink among policymakers in the country regarding the need to
introduce bilingualism. Even though Saudi Arabia introduced a bilingual system, student's

BILINGUALISM IN SAUDI ARABIA

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efforts are essential in its success, particularly in their attitude and motivation to learn a
foreign language. Increased motivation for students to learn a foreign language increases their
eagerness to learn (Sipra, 2013). Teachers are therefore tasked with improving the motivation
of learners by providing them with benefits of bilingual learning and encouraging them to
embrace it.
Even with the growing importance for students to learn English, the proficiency of
English among Saudi students is not fully developed because English is taught as a single
subject with most requirements focused on the students only passing exams. The materials
used are short lived since it has contents that are very simple and easy to memorize, thus ideal
for students to study and pass exams. However, students struggle to retain the knowledge
they learn because of their memorization (Aldosari & Alsultan, 2017). It, therefore, prompted
the establishment of English as second language classes in Saudi Arabia to allow students to
enroll in schools from English-speaking countries. Such establishment prompts changes in
Saudi's education system as the country seeks to cope with the added demands of improving
student education.
Saudi Arabia is experiencing several systemic reforms in the education system as the
country seeks to maintain the shifts in curricula developments. Reforms are necessary for the
country because Saudi is finding ways of compensating the defects of the past. It, therefore,
formed a way for English language teaching to be essential in the changes to textbooks and
modes of teaching. The transitions place more importance on the need to educate and train
teachers regarding the new changes to ensure that they can cope with the changes. The
preparation of students to become English as foreign language teachers need to go through
eight semesters at the Saudi Colleges of Education (Oudah & Altalhab, 2018). The increased
importance of learning English among Saudi students has seen the country embrace it and
establish bilingual programs in their education system.

BILIN...


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Just the thing I needed, saved me a lot of time.

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