Cognitive processing in Japanese-English bilinguals- Studies from children to adults-

• Project/Area Number: 16K04328
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Educational psychology
• Research Institution: Otemon Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: ISHIO Atsuko 追手門学院大学, 心理学部, 教授 (80242999)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,550,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,050,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
• Keywords: バイリンガル / 自伝的記憶 / 言語発達 / ストループ課題

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The language development of bilingual children was examined, focusing on their language backgrounds (Study 1). Japanese-English bilinguals living in Japan were asked to recall the life event in response to word prompts in both English and Japanese. Also, they were asked about their language backgrounds and those of their children. These results suggested the possibility that English word prompts occurred the memory in English than in Japanese, which means some bilinguals have two language memory systems independently concerning the long-term memory like autobiographical memories. However, further discussions will be needed (Study 2).

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

成人のバイリンガル研究は、北米や欧州などのバイリンガル国家が中心となって行われてきており、実験参加者の第二言語熟達度が非常に高く、日本では、そのまま結果を適用することが難しい。日本語を使用しているバイリンガルの認知モデルの構築が必要であるが、本研究は、そのモデルを構築するための基礎的資料となるだろう。