Articulation and executive function: Exploring the bilingual advantage

In a pilot study, we investigated the relationship between articulatory skills and higher-level executive function in monolinguals and bilinguals. Participants completed a tongue-twister task to assess articulatory skills and a Simon Task to measure conflict resolution. While monolinguals exhibited slightly higher articulatory accuracy, bilinguals demonstrated a small advantage in reaction times for the Simon Task, particularly in inhibiting responses, but performance was close to 100% across the board. Contrary to expectations, we found no significant correlation was found between articulatory skill and executive function. Our findings partially replicate previous research on bilingual advantages in executive function while suggesting that the relationship between articulation and executive function may be more complex than initially hypothesized. Limitations, such as small sample size and potential methodological factors, are discussed. To further explore this and the potential effects of task complexity, we are currently replicating this study with higher numbers of participants and with a more difficult auditory switch task in which participants switch from making decisions regarding auditory stimuli [whether (a) they are presented in English or a different language and (b) they start with a nasal sound or not]. Our findings help us gain more insight into the mechanism underlying the bilingual advantage.