I will be the first to say that when it comes to staying on top things in my personal life, I am not the greatest (just ask my friends; I’m always late and I’m bound to misplace my phone, purse, or keys). Oddly enough, in the professional realm, I am somehow able to more effectively apply my executive functioning (EF) skills while also helping my students support their own development of EF. Although EF has become a trending topic in language intervention and education, there are aspects of it that remain unknown especially when it comes to how it is linked to language. Kaushanskaya et al. have revealed some interesting findings about EF in their latest research. Specifically, they investigated the association between EF and both standardized language test performance and semantic/syntactic abilities (vocabulary and word order). They based their work on three EF components: inhibition (ignoring certain stimuli, while utilizing other), updating (incorporating new information in working memory), and task-shifting (switching mental processes). 71 typically developing children (8 – 11 years) were assessed via six non-verbal EF tasks and standardized language tests (Perceptual Reasoning Index of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, CELF-4, PPVT-4, TOLD-I:4). (Please note: Kaushanskaya et al. also delved into a statistical method by which EF skills can be measured and compared. For further information, please refer to the full article below)
And so…. Results indicated that standardized test performance was only “weakly associated” with performance on EF tasks. The “reliable link” that was noted was between EF tasks related to updating (manipulating information in working memory) and the Receptive Language Score on the CELF-4 which includes the following subtests: Concepts and Following Directions, Word Classes – Receptive (9-12yrs), and Sentence Structure (8 yrs). Thus, the act of applying auditory information to specific tasks seems to draw from working memory abilities as well as language capacities. Results from the study also indicated that the EF component of inhibition (ignoring certain stimuli, while utilizing others) was a “reliable predictor of syntactic performance.” In the respective study, syntactic tasks consisted of detecting errors of syntax (TOLD-I:4 Morphological Comprehension) and following syntactically complex directives (CELF-4; Concepts and Following Directions). Thus, syntactic performance (as measure by these tests) was determined to be associated with the ability to ignore the non-linguistic information on the given tasks.
Why the heck is this important? The respective links between EF and language are significant especially when interpreting diagnostic information. A low Receptive Language Score on the CELF-4 may indicate a weakness in working memory as well as language comprehension. Likewise, a child’s ability to ignore competing information (“inhibitory control skills”) may affect performance on word-order tasks. Kaushanskaya et. al. did note that further research with a larger sample size and greater number of tasks is needed to further establish and generalize their findings. Nevertheless, knowing that specific EF skills could be related to language performance is valuable and helps us build our awareness of the interplay of skill sets. Okay, gotta run. I’m pretty sure that I’m late to something… I just don’t know what yet. My planner is around here…. somewhere.
Resources:
The Brains: Margarita Kaushanskaya, Ji Sook Park, Ishanti Gangopadhyay, Meghan M. Davidson, Susan Ellis Weismer
The full article: Kaushanskaya,M., Park,J.S., Gangopadhyay, I., Davidson, M. M., & Weismer, S.E., (2017). The relationship between executive functions and language abilities in children: a latent variables approach. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 912-923.
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