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- Jalali-Moghadam, Niloufar, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Bilingualism and reading difficulties : An exploration in episodic and semantic memory
- 2017
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Ingår i: Journal of Cognitive Psychology. - : Routledge. - 2044-5911 .- 2044-592X. ; 29:5, s. 570-582
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study was designed to investigate the effect of bilingualism and reading difficulties (RD) on episodic and semantic memory. The subjects included 190 children (aged 9–12 years): 45 Iranian-Swedish bilinguals and 59 Swedish monolinguals with typically developed reading, along with 41 bilinguals and 45 monolinguals with RD. To measure episodic memory, subject-performed and verbal tasks were used for encoding, and both free and cued recall were used for retrieval. Letter and category fluency tasks were used to test semantic memory. In action memory, bilingual children with RD benefited less from enactment encoding form compared to children with typically developed reading. Additionally, bilingual with RD had lower rates of recollection in category fluency compared to their monolingual counterparts. However, in letter fluency, there was not found a difference between performances of bilinguals and monolinguals with RD. We discuss the involvement of long-term memory in both bilingualism and reading.
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| 3. |
- Jalali-Moghadam, Niloufar, 1981-
(författare)
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Childhood Bilingualism and Reading Difficulties : Insights from Cognition and Pedagogy
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- We are living in a world in which bi/multilingualism has become commonplace within everyday life for a great number of people. Research has shown that bilingualism produces various cognitive consequences. These effects are generally seen as positive and contributing to an enhanced level of cognitive processing. Bilingualism functions selectively to produce outcome performances depending on the areas that are the subject of investigation. Furthermore, the patterns of results may vary if second-language reading occurs in a dyslexic context. Thus, many children may struggle with this situation, suggesting the need for the provision of a special education agenda in schools. The intention of this dissertation is to address the abovementioned topics. In study I, the effect of bilingualism on lexical vs. non-lexical reading tasks is examined. This study finds that the pattern of the effect might vary based on the type of reading task (e.g., semantic or phonological origins for information processing). In studies II and III, the combined effect of bilingualism and reading difficulties on executive functions (working memory, inhibitory control and flexibility) and on longterm memory (episodic and semantic) is examined. These studies find that, in line with primary expectations, bilingualism in typically developed reading is associated with enhanced overall cognitive performance in either executive functioning or episodic and semantic memory. Interestingly, the combination of second-language reading and reading difficulties is associated with lower performance (longer processing time) for executive functioning and long-term memory (specifically episodic memory). It is suggested that this pattern of performance is produced by a general delayed processing profile in the context of bilingualism and reading difficulties. The findings are discussed in light of the notion of inefficient and difficult learning of new input in terms of dyslexic problems. Study IV explores special education teachers’ assumptions with respect to the type of special education services in Swedish schools with a high proportion of (bilingual) pupils with reading difficulties. The findings of this study underscore the importance of the provision of special bi-literacy education for bilingual dyslexic children in schools and the current shortcomings regarding time and knowledge resources in this regard.
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| 5. |
- Jalali-Moghadam, Niloufar, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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Special Education Teachers’ Narratives on Literacy Support for Bilingual Students with Dyslexia in Swedish Compulsory Schools
- 2016
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Literacy Research. - : Cappelen Damm AS - Cappelen Damm Akademisk. - 2464-1596. ; 2, s. 1-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of the study is to investigate how special education teachers talk about their teaching in relation to bilingual students with dyslexia within Swedish compulsory schools. Data consist of transcripts from in-depth interviews with 15 special education teachers. According to the teacher narratives, the special education services appeared to be biased against bilingual students, as the support provided to bilingual students with dyslexia was revealed to be more or less the same as that provided to monolingual Swedish-speaking students with dyslexia. This bias is discussed in relation to the notion of difference blindness as well as in relation to practical constraints. Nevertheless, the teachers strongly advocated collaborative work with mother tongue teachers in order to facilitate dyslexia identification in bilingual students and to gain a more comprehensive picture of their language and literacy competencies, which is a desire that contrasts and contests a pedagogical monolingual master model within special education services.
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| 6. |
- Jalali-Moghadam, Niloufar, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
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The role of executive functions in bilingual children with reading difficulties
- 2015
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. - : Wiley. - 0036-5564 .- 1467-9450. ; 56:3, s. 297-305
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- To explore the joint effect of reading difficulties (RD) and bilingualism on executive functions, 190 children of four groups of 9-12year-olds (41 bilinguals with RD, 45 monolinguals with RD, 45 bilinguals without RD, and 59 monolinguals without RD) were examined on the Concentration game, Tower of Hanoi, and Stroop as measures of executive functioning tapping into inhibitory/attentional control, working memory and planning ability. The most prominent finding was that in terms of RD, the speed of performances decreased dramatically. This general decrease was more pronounced for bilingual children with RD than for their monolingual counterparts. In conclusion, the findings suggest that while bilinguals gain more from executive functions in normal reading, they lose in terms of RD. Such an outcome confirms that executive functions are essential components of both reading and bilingualism, which depending on whether reading conditions are normal or difficult will produce cognitive advantages or disadvantages. Further, it is argued that dissimilarity between the Farsi and Swedish languages may complicate handling of such a situation.
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