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Bilingualism, Working Memory, Math Anxiety, and Math Performance
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Abstract:
As mathematics becomes increasingly important with the rapid development of science and technology (Roman, 2004), the need to identify possible advantages or disadvantages in math learning of the fast-growing bilingual population in the United States (Lucas, et al., 2008) becomes unignorable. Previous studies show a bilingual advantage in working memory capacity (Monnier, et al., 2021) and a positive correlation between working memory capacity and math performance in the general population (Ashcraft & Krause, 2007), but whether such a correlation remains the same in the bilingual young adult population and how the language of the math task influences it is unknown. Therefore, the current study tests the following two hypotheses. First, we hypothesize that there is a positive correlation between working memory capacity and math performance in the bilingual young adult population. Second, the language of the math task moderates this correlation, with the correlation being stronger in math tasks in subjects' second language than in their first language. To test the two hypotheses, 44 participants bilingual in English and Chinese were recruited from the Research Experience Program at the Ohio State University. We examined their math performance through a math task in both English and Chinese and assessed their working memory capacity through standardized digit spans. We also measured potential covariates, including non-verbal cognitive skills, age, English proficiency, and gender. Analysis strategies include linear regression. ; Academic Major: Psychology
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Keyword:
Bilingualism; Language; Math Anxiety; Math Performance; Working Memory
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URL: http://hdl.handle.net/1811/93121
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