Summary: New research shows that a child’s ability to regulate behavior—an aspect of executive function—is closely tied to how they understand and learn language. Researchers tested over 100 Dutch children aged 4 to 5, using sentence comprehension tasks and eye-tracking.
They found that children with stronger executive function were better at interpreting passive sentences, which are typically more challenging for young learners. These findings suggest a feedback loop in which cognitive control supports language development, which in turn strengthens executive skills.
Key Facts:
- Executive Function Link: Children with better self-regulation more accurately understood passive sentences.
- Language Feedback Loop: Language skills and executive function reinforce each other over time.
- Processing Advantage: High executive function children showed improved long-term syntax comprehension.
Source: George Washington University
A young child’s ability to regulate behavior—a component of executive functioning, the cognitive processes that help with planning, focus and self-control—is related to how they process and acquire language, according to new research spearheaded by faculty from the George Washington University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS).
While executive function and language development have long been considered interconnected, there has been limited evidence demonstrating the connection.
But a new study authored by Associate Professor Malathi Thothathiri from the CCAS Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences and researchers from the Max Planck Institute, reveals how executive function assists with language comprehension.
The team recruited more than 100 Dutch children, ages 4 and 5, and tested their comprehension of active and passive sentences.
Young children often understand active sentences—i.e. “The monkey tickles the horse.” But they may struggle to accurately interpret passive sentences—i.e. “The horse is tickled by the monkey.”
That’s because young children often learn to interpret the first noun in a sentence as the agent that does the acting. With passive sentences, they tend to misinterpret the meaning because they have yet to learn that the first noun in a sentence is something that could be acted upon.
In the study, each child was invited to complete a series of tasks, including ones that measured their executive function. They then completed an online exercise in which they listened to active and passive sentences and selected the picture on the screen that corresponded with each sentence. The researchers recorded their responses and tracked their eye movements.
Among the study’s findings were:
- Children who demonstrated higher levels of executive function were better able to parse passive sentences accurately.
- Children who demonstrated higher levels of executive function also showed better longer-term improvements in comprehending passive sentences, but this relationship was intertwined with children’s overall language ability.
“Our study suggests a virtuous spiral during a child’s development in which executive function can help develop more language skills, which can in turn help develop executive function, and so on,” Thothathiri said.
The study, “The Role of Executive Function in the Processing and Acquisition of Syntax,” was published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.
Funding: The research was supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders and the Max Planck Society.
About this language and neurodevelopment research news
Author: Malathi Thothathiri
Source: George Washington University
Contact: Malathi Thothathiri – George Washington University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“The Role of Executive Function in the Processing and Acquisition of Syntax” by Malathi Thothathiri et al. Royal Society Open Science
Abstract
The Role of Executive Function in the Processing and Acquisition of Syntax
Language acquisition is multifaceted, relying on cognitive and social abilities in addition to language-specific skills.
We hypothesized that executive function (EF) may assist language development by enabling children to revise misinterpretations during online processing, encode language input more accurately and/or learn non-canonical sentence structures like the passive better over time.
One hundred and twenty Dutch preschoolers each completed three sessions of testing (pre-test, exposure and post-test).
During pre-test and post-test, we measured their comprehension of passive sentences and performance in three EF tasks. In the exposure session, we tracked children’s eye movements as they listened to passive (and other) sentences.
Each child was also assessed for short-term memory and receptive language. Multiple regression evaluated the relationship between EF and online processing and longer-term learning.
EF predicted online revision accuracy, while controlling for receptive language, prior passive knowledge and short-term memory, consistent with theories linking EF to the revision of misinterpretations. EF was also associated with longer-term learning, but the results could not disentangle EF from receptive language.
These findings broadly support a role for EF in language acquisition, including a specific role in revision during sentence processing and potentially other roles that depend on reciprocal interaction between EF and receptive language.
