The cognitive effects of bilingualism

The past few years has seen a substantial growth in research interest in the cognitive effects of bilingualism. This body of research has focused on establishing whether using two (or more) languages regularly has systematic effects on the cognitive system. In particular, bilinguals across the lifespan have been compared to monolinguals to assess whether cognitive control components of the executive function network such as attention, inhibition, and working memory differ between groups. In this chapter, pertinent recent literature that has identified attenuating, modulating, and confounding factors in research comparing bilingual and monolingual populations is reviewed