The Link Between Executive Functions and Spelling (French vs. Arabic) in Bilingual Children from Grade 2 to Grade 4, for a Better Rehabilitation of Specific Learning Disorders

Authors

Anna Kechichian Khanji*

Speech and Language Therapy Department, Private Care Clinic, Beirut, Lebanon

Abstract

Challenged with the peculiarities of school learning in Lebanon and the orthographic complexities specific to French and Arabic, children face conditions requiring additional cognitive effort. Our objective is to study the link between executive functions (EF) (inhibition, working memory (WM), flexibility and planning) and spelling, in 180 bilingual children with typical development (TD) and with specific learning disorders (SLD), in Grades 2, 3, and 4. EF were assessed through the following tests: Image matching, Corsi, Numbers Backward, Opposite worlds, Categorization (Animal sorting), and LABY 5-12 tests. Spelling was assessed in both languages through sentence dictation. Our results show that all EF are more involved in Arabic than in French, being correlated with accuracy and speed of spelling in the entire population. This study clarifies the cognitive components underlying French and Arabic spelling, which are languages with many unique features, for better management of written language disorders.

Keywords: Executive functions; French and Arabic spelling; Bilingualism; Primary grades; Typical development; Specific learning disorder

PAGES:1-25

doi:10.24193/cbb.2024.28.01

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