INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FIRST AND SECOND LANGUAGES: EXPLORING
THE RELATIONSHIP IN PEDAGOGY-RELATED CONTEXTS
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
27-28 MARCH, 2009
From Hearing to Thinking to Remembering to Speaking; Understanding the Ecology of
Bilingual Memory.
Calliope Haritos, Hunter College School of Education, NY
Abstract
The present research examines bilingual memory via an ecological framework that incorporates
the dynamic interface between individual and social contextual variables. Compound GreekEnglish bilingual children engaged in a three-day, auditory, story recall task. Findings revealed
what and how bilinguals remembered externally was not always congruent with what and how
they remembered internally but rather was more a function of task expectations, namely, what
participants “thought they were supposed to do”, suggesting the need to consider the person and
context specific nature of bilingual memory as well as the importance of characterizing bilingual
memory as a developing cognitive and social system as opposed to a linear, static, uniform
cognitive end state.
Introduction
The “bi” in bilingual memory suggests a mutual duality that has yet to be fully appreciated in the
bilingual memory literature. This lack of appreciation stems, in part, from quantitative, unilinear
characterizations of bilinguals, often depicted as two monolinguals, and bilingual memory
models that dichotomize memory in all or nothing terminology, i.e., language specific or
language neutral. Given that the prototype/foundation of the latter are coordinate bilingual adults
that have learned their second, presumably weaker, language (L2) subsequent to their first (L1),
dominant language, engaged in short-term memory lexical tasks, it is unclear to what degree
such representation is applicable to compound/simultaneous bilingual children, participants of
the present study, who are learning, developing, and using both their languages simultaneously
both at home and in school and are engaged in a long-term story recall task.
The present research examines bilingual mind-memory relations utilizing an ecological,
developmental framework (Bronfenbrenner, 2000), something that appears to be missing from
bilingual memory studies, that allows memory to be examined as a developing cognitive and
social system in its entirety and acknowledges the interdynamics between the developing
bilingual individual as well as the environment in which said development takes place.
Consistent with such a perspective, bilingual memory must be considered at both the individual
level and the social/contextual level. The former includes how bilinguals use their languages to
cognitively process, organize, store, and retrieve knowledge from memory. The latter entails
social interactions, where bilinguals negotiate meaning with respect to the social and cognitive
demands of a given recall task.
In the present study the emphasis was on both internal language behavior and external language
behavior. Internal language behavior embraced several factors. First, it included what children
remembered in each of their languages and the impact of encoding/presentation language (LP)
in this regard. Second, it incorporated the role of language(s) with respect to both memory
organization and retrieval. Third, it consisted of metalinguistic ability, namely bilingual
participants’ cognitive awareness of their use of language(s). Fourth, it integrated metamemory,
that is, participant awareness/reflections of how they remembered. Lastly, it entailed task
expectations, which denoted what bilingual participants thought they were supposed to
remember. External Language Behavior included both the language(s) in which remembered
information was stated at recall as well as narrative discourse with respect to retrieval of
information at recall.
Method/Participants
Participants were comprised of one cohort of sixteen bilingual second graders with a mean age of
6.8 years and one cohort of sixteen bilingual fourth graders with a mean age of 8.4 years.
These two cohorts of bilingual participants were selected from the same Greek-English Parochial
School, located in an additive bilingual community. They received three hours of daily academic
instruction in Greek that consisted of reading and listening comprehension, writing, history, and
religion. The remainder of the academic day consisted of instruction in English.
Procedure
Bilingual participants were presented with a long term memory (3-day) story recall task.
Bilinguals were instructed, in English, that they would hear two audio-taped stories over the
course of two days and to try to remember them because they would be asked to recall the stories
on the third day. Each story consisted of two events ( a Breakfast (B) and a Party (P) ) each
presented in a different language (English (E) and Greek (G)). Recall was initiated in both E &
G and participants were also subsequently asked about their memory strategies (metamemory)
and their task expectations (i.e., what they believed they were supposed to remember).
Design:
Bilingual participants were randomly assigned to one of eight possible experimental orders. The
design of the present study was a 2(story order) X 2(language of event) X 2(language at recall)
between subjects design.
DAY ONE
STORY 1
B1
E (G)
P1
G (E)
DAY TWO
STORY 2
B2
G (E)
P2
E (G)
OR
Language orders:
DAY ONE
STORY 2
B2
E (G)
P2
G (E)
DAY TWO
STORY 1
B1
G (E)
P1
E (G)
EGGE (GEEG)
Results
Individual recall protocols were analyzed quantitatively, via mean number of phrases recalled
from each story, from each event and from each language, and qualitatively to examine to what
degree memory was assembled by story (1 or 2), by specific event (B1, B2, P1, P2), by general
event (breakfasts and parties) and by language of presentation (LP)(English and Greek).
Internal Language Behavior
Encoding
The role of encoding language (LP) on memory was initially examined via statistical mean
comparisons of recall for events heard in English(E) versus events heard in Greek(G). Such
comparisons revealed that memory for events (B & P) heard in English was comparable to
events heard in Greek. That is, there were no significant differences with respect to memory for
BE versus BG events and PE versus PG events among bilingual second graders and bilingual
fourth graders.
Organization
The consideration of the impact of language(s) on bilingual memory assembly was facilitated by
the nature of the present study task, which provided participants the opportunity to organize their
memory by story (1 or 2), event (B’s & P’s), specific event (B1, B2, P1, P2), and LP (E and/or
G). Schema research (Nelson, 1996; 2007) maintains that children’s construction of knowledge
occurs via daily activities (event representations-ER’s) and that subsequent development allows
language to evolve from a context specific communicative tool to a decontextualized knowledge
organizer. Since compound bilinguals are constructing ER’s in L1 & L2, of interest was how
subsequent ER’s impact previously constructed ER’s in this regard.
Analyses of individual story recall protocols revealed that, overall, the majority of bilingual
participants organized their memory by specific event, both across and within stories, in a variety
of event and story orders (e.g., P2-B1, B2-P1, B1-P2-B2-P1) & language orders (e.g., E-G, G-E,
E-G-E-G), exemplifying strong L1-L2 relations and strong L1-L2 mobility (Refer to Design
Schematic). More specifically, for second graders, recall was mainly (75%) organized through
memory for a breakfast and party event that was either in same story and therefore heard in a
different language (P2-B2/B2-P2/B1-P1) or across stories via events heard in English (B2-P1) or
events heard in Greek (B2-P1). The remaining 25% of bilingual second grade participants
organized recall via the last Party (P) event heard, where the language of encoding LP was either
English (E) or Greek (G). Analyses of 2nd grade recall protocols also revealed a preference (i.e.,
more phrases recalled) for Party (P) versus Breakfast (B) events heard (p <.01) as well as a
recency effect, whereby more phrases were recalled from the 2nd story versus 1st story heard
(p =.01) and from the 2nd Party (P) event heard versus 1st Party (P) event heard (p<.01). Fourth
grader recall protocols illustrated stronger L1-L2 mobility/relations, relative to second graders,
as evidenced by the fact that recall was organized through multiple breakfast and/or party events,
across and within stories in a variety of event and story orders, often crossing languages more
than once (i.e., P1(E)-P2 (G)- B2 (E)- B1 (G) ). In fact 75% of fourth grade bilinguals
remembered all four events heard and 25% of fourth grade bilinguals remembered 3 events.
Retrieval
All remembered information was stated in English, at recall, by all bilingual participants.
Metalinguistic Ability
Metalinguistic ability revealed itself through participant use of LP as a cognitive memory
organizer as well as bilinguals’ heightened awareness of LP, as evidenced by analyses of recall
protocols, by story order, event order, and language order, as well as narrative discourse stated at
recall. For instance, the majority (75%) of fourth grader protocols revealed memory for a B
event and then a P event (or vice versa) successively, across stories, heard in same language (B1P2 (P2,B1) or B2, P1 (P1,B2)), sometimes twice within a protocol ( i.e., B1(E), P2(E), B2(G), P1
(G)), overriding the initial story and event order remembered events were initially presented.
Furthermore, for 75% of fourth grade participants and 43.75% of second grade participants, the
presentation language (LP) of the initial event remembered mirrored the language used by the
experimenter to initiate recall. That is, if recall was initiated in English (Greek), the first event
remembered by the participant was initially heard in English (Greek). In addition, heightened
cognitive awareness of LP of remembered events was exposed through narrative discourse,
stated by participants at recall, as illustrated by the following verbal excerpts:
“ In the Greek part from the day before yesterday…then in the Greek part from yesterday”
“ In the English party… and in the Greek breakfast…”
“ The first part, which was in English……the second, Greek part…”
“ Yesterday the party was in English and… but the day before the party was in Greek”
Metamemory Strategy Reflections
Metamemory strategy reflections of fourth grade bilingual participants were found to be more
elaborate than that of second graders, with the former denoting types of story events, LP of
remembered events, and some form of practice and the latter simply noting self praise, as
evidenced by the following narrative excerpts:
Second grade metamemory reflection:
“I am just really good at remembering”
Fourth grade metamemory reflections:
“It was easy- each story had a breakfast & party- one in English and the other in
Greek, so I said them over and over in my head”
“ I remembered the English & Greek Parts”
“ I remembered there were two parties and two breakfastsone in English & the other in Greek -I practiced”
Task Expectations
Participant task expectations indicated they were supposed to remember each part of the story,
including the type of story event as well as the language(s) in which it was initially heard (LP),
as evidenced by the following verbal commentary:
“I knew I had to remember each part of the story- and which was in English and Greek”
“ I knew I had to remember the English & Greek part-you know the breakfast and
the birthday-, for each story”
External Language Behavior
Retrieval
Although recall for events encoded in English was analogous to recall for events encoded in
Greek, among all bilingual participants, all information remembered from events heard in
English & Greek was stated in English, again, by all bilingual participants.
Discussion
It is of notable interest that while bilingual participants’ memory for story events heard in
English versus Greek was comparable, all remembered information from such said events was
stated in English, at recall, even when recall was initiated by the experimenter in Greek,
suggesting that bilinguals engaged in two possible memory strategies. The first strategy contends
that bilinguals translated all events heard in Greek into English, during encoding, internally,
exhibiting language neutral memory. By contrast, a second memory strategy maintains that
bilinguals encoded, organized, and stored all information from story events in the language in
which such events were initially presented(LP) internally, indicating language specific memory,
and then translated remembered information heard in Greek into English at recall, externally.
However, due consideration of both the internal and external language behavior exhibited by
bilingual participants lends more support to the second of the aforementioned memory strategies,
thereby, refuting the first. For example, even though the nature of the present study memory task
afforded participants the opportunity to assemble their memory by story (1 or 2) and/or event
(Breakfasts or Parties, in general), recall analyses indicated that memory was more differentiated
among bilinguals, that is, organized by specific event (e.g., B1, P1, B2, P2). In addition, for 75%
of fourth graders and 43.75% of second graders, the encoding language (LP) of the initial event
remembered mirrored the first language used by the experimenter to initiate recall, illustrating
the ability of bilinguals to use LP as a cognitive memory organizer. This ability was further
evidenced by narrative discourse, revealed by participants at recall, as well as metamemory and
task expectation reflections, earlier noted, and is also illustrated in the following verbal exchange
between experimenter (E) and Participant (P) at recall:
E : (elicits recall in Greek) P: “ Do you want the Greek parts and the English parts?”
E: (elicits recall in English) P: “ Just the English parts?”
E: “ Why did you say it all in English if you remembered the Greek parts in Greek?”
P: “ Isn’t that what you wanted?- I can do it again and say the Greek parts in Greek if you want
Understanding Bilingual Memory via an Ecological Framework
The fact that internal language behavior did not mirror external language behavior is congruent
with an ecological developmental perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 2000) that acknowledges the
person specific and context specific nature of bilingual memory as well as the interdynamics
between individual and social/contextual variables in this regard. In order to comprehend the
nature of such interdynamics, one must consider its developmental underpinnings, namely prior
socialization experience. Such experience incorporates the way bilinguals cognitively and
socially acquire, develop, think about, and use each of their languages (L1 & L2) on a daily
basis.
Language Socialization Experience
In the present study, the impact of language experience with respect to bilingual memory, which,
of course is more advanced for fourth graders as opposed to second graders, on both the
individual and social contextual level was evidenced by several key findings. First,
developmentally speaking, increases in language experiences (i.e., fourth versus second graders)
were associated with significant gains in the amount of information remembered, as indicated by
a main effect of grade, p < .01. Second, fourth graders exhibited more heightened cognitive
awareness of the language in which remembered events were initially heard (LP), as revealed
through participants’ narrative discourse at recall, which included recall protocols, verbally
stated metamemory strategies, and task expectation reflections. Lastly, fourth graders exhibited
more complex memory strategies, relative to second graders, as earlier discussed. Such
strategies included significant gains in the ability to use language as both a communicative tool,
by remembering comparable amounts of information heard in L1 & L2, as well as a cognitive
organizing tool, using presentation language (LP) to keep remembered events separate in
memory, and the increased ability to use language as an internal retrieval cue, whereby the
encoding language (LP) of the initial event recalled, by 75 % of fourth grade participants, was
consistent with the first language used by the experimenter to initiate recall. Notably, the
evolvement of language from a communicative tool to that of a cognitive organizer is said to be
enhanced among compound bilingual children who valorize both their languages and use them
(equally) for the same cognitive and social functions (Hamers, 2004).
Characterizing Bilingual Memory
The impact of individual participant task expectations on exhibited language behavior is further
evidence of the dynamic interplay of individual and contextual variables with respect to bilingual
memory and the role of cognitive and social factors in this regard. That is, what bilingual
participants perceived or thought they were supposed to do, revealed through narrative discourse
at recall, may have led them to state all remembered information in English, thereby influencing
their individual memory strategies, i.e., translating Greek story events into English, internally,
during encoding and/or translating language specific (Greek) memories into English, externally,
at recall.
The fact that some bilingual participants may have been more verbally adept at stating their
memory strategies than others, due to language socialization, makes it unlikely to specifically
identify what and how each bilingual was remembering internally and/or externally, illustrating
the heterogeneity of the bilingual experience and the dynamic cognitive and social interface
between one’s language(s) and the cognitive processes of long term memory. Furthermore, such
findings suggest the need to consider bilingual memory as a dynamic, person specific and
context specific moment in time and not a linear, static, uniform, cognitive-end state.
References
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2000). Ecological systems theory. In A Kazdin (ed.) Encyclopedia of
psychology. Washington, DC, and New York: American Psychological Association and Oxford
University Press.
Hamers, J. F. (2004). A Sociological Model of Bilingual Development. Journal of Language and
Social Psychology, 23(1), 70-98.
Nelson, K. (1996). Language in cognitive development: the emergence of the mediated mind.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nelson, K. (2007). Young Minds in Social Worlds. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London,
England: Harvard University Press.