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The Impact of Spanish Knowledge on Processing English in Dual-Language Learners
What is it about?
Dual-language learners, when matching labels to pictures in English, were affected by their knowledge of Spanish. Specifically, words that shared form and meaning in both languages (cognates like train/tren) were processed more quickly and accurately, and those that shared form but not meaning (like "pan," which means bread in Spanish) were processed more slowly and less accurately.
Why is it important?
There's a lot of research showing similar effects in bilingual adults and bilingually-educated children. This appears to be the first study to show this kind of cross-linguistic influence in children receiving formal education in only one language (English).