Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 1, 2026

The Spatial Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
The relationship between second language acquisition and nonverbal cognitive abilities
Evy Woumans1, Sofie Ameloot1, Emmanuel Keuleers2
1Department of Experimental Psychology.
Abstract:
We monitored the progress of 40 children when they first started to acquire a second language (L2) implicitly through immersion. Employing a longitudinal design, we tested them before they had any notions of an L2 (Time 0) and after 1 school year of L2 exposure (Time 1) to determine whether cognitive abilities can predict the success of L2 learning. Task administration included measures of intelligence, cognitive control, and language skills. Initial scores on measures of inhibitory control seemed predictive of L2 Dutch vocabulary acquisition. At the same time, progress on IQ, inhibitory control, attentional shifting, and working memory were also identified as contributing factors, suggesting a more intricate relationship between cognitive abilities and L2 learning than previously assumed. Furthermore, L1 development was mainly predicted by performance on inhibitory control and working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Language
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Relationship Formation
Cognitive Dissonance
Components of Language
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...

