AUTHOR=Blumenfeld Henrike K. , Quinzon Sim J. R. , Alsol Cindy , Riera Stephanie A. TITLE=Predictors of Successful Learning in Multilingual Older Adults Acquiring a Majority Language JOURNAL=Frontiers in Communication VOLUME=Volume 2 - 2017 YEAR=2017 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/communication/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2017.00023 DOI=10.3389/fcomm.2017.00023 ISSN=2297-900X ABSTRACT=
Understanding language learning in later life can elucidate how linguistic experiences and age-specific cognitive skills can be leveraged for language acquisition, providing insight into how lifelong experiences configure our learning capacity. In this study, we examined to what extent acquisition and maintenance of a non-native language (English) is scaffolded by cognitive skills and previous linguistic experiences in older adults; and to what extent these cognitive/linguistic factors predict older learners’ success in acquiring novel functional language. We recruited 53 participants who were native speakers of Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog, and Somali, had continued to learn English as adults, and were currently exposed to majority-English contexts. To identify contributors to participants’ English skills, we administered a language history and self-reported proficiency interview, brief cognitive testing, and verbal fluency tasks in L1 and English. We found that digit span and orientation measures were cognitive predictors of English proficiency, while similarity of known languages to English, L1 skills, and English language exposure were linguistic predictors of English skills. To examine participants’ ability to maintain language knowledge and to learn new functional English, we also conducted a preliminary longitudinal service-based study in a subset of 19 participants using our