Tags:
Psycholinguistics,
Language impairment,
Minority Languages,
Aphasia,
Bilingualism,
Grammar,
Reading
Publications
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Rummelhoff, Cecilie & Garraffa, Maria
(2024).
Learning and using multiple languages: Experiences of adults with ADHD.
Ampersand.
13.
doi:
10.1016/j.amper.2024.100191.
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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts many areas of a person's life. So far little is known on how ADHD affects the learning and usage of additional languages. The present study investigates what potential challenges and benefits adults with ADHD experience in second language (L2) learning, and what strategies they have developed to offset ADHD-related differences in cognition and behaviour. As part of a larger questionnaire, 59 participants with ADHD provided written responses, answering questions on how ADHD has influenced their learning and use of multiple languages. After a multiple-step classification process, three overarching topics were identified: (1) the effects of cognition on language learning and use; (2) how different language components and language modalities are affected by ADHD; and (3) what language learning strategies adults with ADHD apply. In our analysis, we present authentic quotes from individuals with ADHD and place them into the larger context of research on neurodivergence and L2 acquisition. Our results highlight the great heterogeneity in learning experiences and pathways in adults with ADHD. Interestingly, many respondents embrace their neurodiversity and develop individual strategies to enhance L2 proficiency. Our research aims to contribute to a better understanding of multilingualism within neurodiverse populations.
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Rummelhoff, Cecilie & Garraffa, Maria
(2024).
Comparing pragmatic abilities across multiple
languages in adults with ADHD: Insights from a
self-report questionnaire.
Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics.
ISSN 0269-9206.
doi:
10.1080/02699206.2024.2374909.
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Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is associated with pragmatic language impairments in children, but less is known about the communicative abilities of adults with ADHD, especially when using a second or third language. In this study, we developed a questionnaire to collect self-report measures of a set of pragmatic skills in a person’s first, second and third language, comparing adults with and without an ADHD diagnosis. One hundred seventy-nine multilingual adults with (N = 91) and without ADHD (N = 88) completed the survey. As predicted, adults with ADHD reported more pragmatic difficulties than the control group. More specifically, people with ADHD showed pronounced impairments in regulating their behaviour in spoken interactions in the form of excessive talking, frequently interrupting others, and speaking without thinking first. Notably, these types of hyperactive and impulsive behaviours were significantly reduced when people with ADHD communicated in a second or third language. For pragmatic difficulties related to inattention such as concentrating on a conversation, both groups tended to be more inattentive in their third language compared to their first and second language. The understanding of non-literal language was only affected by ADHD in the first language and was generally more taxing in a language with lower proficiency levels. Our study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how ADHD affects different kinds of communicative abilities in multilingual adults. It also has implications for clinical practice, highlighting the importance of assessing symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity in a person’s dominant language.
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Sarin, Megha & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
Can readability formulae adapt to the changing demographics of the UK school-aged population? A study on reading materials for school-age bilingual readers.
Ampersand.
11.
doi:
10.1016/j.amper.2023.100141.
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Background Due to the increase bilingual population in the UK, it is imperative that reading materials are made accessible for them in and out of school. This study begins by reviewing literature on bilinguals reading comprehension competence, discussing findings and impact on limiting academic achievement. Much literature criticises readability formulae as a tool for grading reading materials. Readability formulae, for example, do not account for differences in reader's dialects and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, this study looks to identify those discrepancies and assess the effectiveness of two well-known readability formulae. It then compares these to a readability formula for bilinguals to identify any consistencies between outcomes, enabling identification of any categories or factors crucial in identifying the reading difficulty of texts for bilinguals not included in well-known readability formulae, specifically for school-aged children. Method 20 randomly selected eBooks available for children aged 7-9 y were quantitatively evaluated using three readability formulae: Spache, Flesch-Kincaid and McAlpine EFLAW. Findings Based on these results, it is inconclusive if the readability formulae are consistent with each other, as they did not appear to follow the same trend and assessed different criteria. Therefore, the findings suggest no readability formula used in this study can be confidently used on its own to successfully assess the readability of books to deem suitability for bilingual readers as it is paramount that non-text factors need to be incorporated when matching books for students. Conclusions This study concludes that a formula or a new set of criteria needs to be created which incorporates the salient factors affecting reading comprehension of bilinguals to best allow educators and authors to select and modify reading materials for this growing population, to increase accessibility academically, enabling best outcomes to be achieved.
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Sharma, Curtis; Cameron, Sarah & Garraffa, Maria
(2022).
The effects of bilingualism on cognition and behaviour in individuals with attention deficits: A scoping review.
Frontiers in Psychology.
13.
doi:
10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1057501.
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Background: Weaknesses in executive function have persistently been found to be associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), while bilinguals have been argued to show advantages in executive functions. While there has been some research into how bilingualism affects cognitive skills and behaviour in individuals with attention deficits, the question is still very much open. The aim of this systematic review is to gather, synthesise and evaluate existing evidence on how bilingual language experience and attention deficits affect executive function performance and ADHD-related symptoms in children and adults. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search in relevant databases (PsycInfo, PubMed, Scopus, ERIC, Web of Science, EMBASE, MEDLINE, LLBA) was performed using search strings related to attention difficulties/ADHD and bilingualism. All quantitative studies were included that presented original empirical data on the combined effects of bilingualism and attention levels, regardless of age group and methodology. The screening procedure revealed nine relevant studies. Results: Across the nine identified studies, a total of 2071 participants were tested. Of these, seven studies involved children and two adults. The studies varied considerably with respect to their design and methodology, the targeted executive function skills or behavioural symptoms, as well as their measure of bilingualism and attention levels. Most studies assessed aspects of executive function performance such as interference control, response inhibition, working memory or cognitive flexibility. Three studies looked at the effects of bilingualism on ADHD-related symptoms or ADHD diagnosis. Across the studies, no systematic advantage or disadvantage of bilingualism on cognitive performance or behaviour in people with attention deficits was observed. Conclusion: The limited number of identified studies provide no consistent evidence that bilingualism alleviates or intensifies attention difficulties in adults or children with ADHD. Based on the current state of research, individuals with ADHD and their families should not be concerned that learning additional languages has a negative impact on functioning or cognitive performance.
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Rummelhoff, Cecilie; Garraffa, Maria & Köder, Franziska Maria
(2024).
Comparing pragmatic abilities across multiple languages in adults with ADHD: insights from a self-report questionnaire.
Full text in Research Archive
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Rummelhoff, Cecilie & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
Communication abilities in multilingual speakers with ADHD: Are all languages affected equally?
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Rummelhoff, Cecilie & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
Pragmatic skills in adults with ADHD: Are all
languages affected equally?
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Rummelhoff, Cecilie; Köder, Franziska Maria & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
ADHD in Norway and the clinicians' questionnaire.
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Rummelhoff, Cecilie; Köder, Franziska Maria & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
Cultural and linguistic diversity in mental health services: a survey of clinician's experiences with multilingual and multicultural families in Norway.
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Rummelhoff, Cecilie & Garraffa, Maria
(2023).
ADHD and pragmatic abilities across languages.
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Köder, Franziska Maria; Sharma, Curtis; Garraffa, Maria & Øie, Merete Glenne
(2023).
Does multilingualism affect attention levels and probability of ADHD diagnosis? Evidence from a Norwegian cohort study.
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Garraffa, Maria
(2022).
Cumulative learning of grammar in typical and atypical language development: language specific vulnerabilities and clinical perspectives.
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Published
Sep. 2, 2021 12:30 AM
- Last modified
Sep. 4, 2021 7:02 PM