Relationship between Learning English as a Foreign Language and the Executive Attention Profile in Spanish Schoolchildren

Executive functions are established as vital in learning, as well as in the development of psycholinguistic skills crucial to learning a second language. The present study analyzes relationships between variables linked to executive functioning and to academic achievement in English as a foreign lan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psicología educativa (Madrid) 2023-06, Vol.29 (2), p.159-166
Main Authors: Martínez-Vicente, Marta, Martínez-Valderrey, Vanesa, Suárez-Riveiro, José M., Valiente-Barroso, Carlos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic achievement
academic perfomance
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Attention deficits
Bilingualism
Cognitive ability
Cognitive development
Core curriculum
Curricula
Curriculum development
Discriminant analysis
Education
Elementary school students
Elementary schools
English as a second language
English as a second language instruction
English language
Executive function
executive functions
Flexibility
Foreign language learning
Foreign languages
Inhibition
Language
Language acquisition
Learning
Membership
Memory
Metacognition
Planning
Primary Education
Psycholinguistics
Second language learning
Selective attention
Skills
Spanish as a second language learning
Spanish language
Students
Variables
Vocabulary Development
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Summary:Executive functions are established as vital in learning, as well as in the development of psycholinguistic skills crucial to learning a second language. The present study analyzes relationships between variables linked to executive functioning and to academic achievement in English as a foreign language (EFL). The participants were 519 primary school students between the ages of 10 and 12. The results show a tendency to greater sustained and selective attention and consequently better attention control and concentration on task when academic achievement in English was higher. Our discriminant analysis verifies that sustained and selective attention, attention deficit, and concentration on task explain and predict group membership in EFL achievement groups (low, medium, and high achievement). It is important to plan activities to develop executive functioning, alongside the regular curriculum content, in order to improve learning and acquisition of psycholinguistic skills, the foundation for bilingualism or second-language learning.
ISSN:1135-755X
2174-0526
DOI:10.5093/psed2023a10