Bilingualism, intelligence, transfer, and

learning strategies
Group 9
Varieties of Bilingualism
What are the varieties?
• 2 language in the same modality
• 2 sign-based languages
• 2 languages based on different modalities
Language can be acquired through :

• Sound (speaking)
• Sight (writing)
• Visual motion (signs)
 Concern about Bilingualisms

#1 Negatively influence the learning of the native language

#2 Affecting the development of cognitive capacities
 Negative Reports
• Smith (1939) bilingualism caused retardation in language
development
• Bereiter & Engelman (1966) non-standard < standard
• Goddard (1917) 25 out of 30 immigrants are feeble-minded
 Positive Reports
• Bruck et al. (1976) French-immersion > English controlled
group
• Bostwick (1999) Japanese–English immersion students
equaled their Japanese monolingual peers in first-language
learning and academic achievement, while at the same time
they learned a foreign language.
Effects on Intelligence
Negative Report
• Weisberg (1933) postulated that bilingualism causes
ethnic group impair on intelligence.
• McLaughlin (1978) put forward that bilingualism is
considered as mental burden for children.
Positive Report
• Peal & Lambert (1962) Bilingualism = greater mental
flexibility & abstract thought
• Bain & Yu (1980) Bilingual cognitive performance >
monolingual
Transfer
The term transfer‟ means that an influence of an existing
experience is exerted directly and clearly on acquiring a
new knowledge. When people experience or try to
acquire new things, they usually resort to existing mental
sets which are largely determined by culture-specific
knowledge. People with various cultural backgrounds
may be influenced by such mental sets (Helen Spencer-
Oatey, 2000)
Types of Language Transfer
• Positive
(Richards & Schmidt 2013, p, 607) stated that “Positive
transfer is learning in one situation which helps or
facilitates learning in another later situation.
Types of Language Transfer
• Negative
Negative transfer is learning in one situation which
interferes with learning in another later situation.
Learning Strategies
Learning Language strategies Provide Implications For
teaching and Future Research.

O'Malley et al. (1985: 23) claim that learning strategies

are "operations or steps used by a learner that will
facilitate the acquisition, storage, retrieval or use of
information".
Language Learning Strategies

Cognitive Mnemonic MetaCognitive

Affective Compensantory
and Social