Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Direct and Indirect Relations Between Self-Regulation and Language Development Among Monolinguals and Dual Language Learners

  • Published:
Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this review, we expand the conversation on the relations between self-regulation and language development in early childhood to include the growing population of dual language learners (DLLs). In the first sections, we highlight similarities in the timing and mechanisms of self-regulation and language development, respectively, and then summarize theoretical and empirical literature on the domains’ joint development. We ground this review in a conceptual model of the direct and indirect relations between skills in the two domains. In terms of direct relations, language facilitates mental organization and representation of self-regulation, whereas self-regulation allows children to capitalize on language-learning opportunities. Indirectly, self-regulation and language are related through shared ecological contexts of development. Throughout, we evaluate the applicability of our conceptual model among DLLs in light of evidence that: (1) language background is associated with unique contextual realities with implications for development in both domains, and (2) contemporary methodological approaches often fail to accurately capture DLLs’ skills in either domain. We present recommendations for future research on the relation between self-regulation and language that take into account these distinct considerations for DLLs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adesope, O., Lavin, T., & Ungerleider, C. (2010). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the cognitive correlates of bilingualism. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 207–245. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310368803.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aikens, N., Knas, E., Malone, L., Tarullo, L., & Harding, J. F. (2017). A spotlight on dual language learners in Head Start: FACES 2014 (No. OPRE Report 2017-99) (pp. 1–15). Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo Dawson, B., & Williams, S. A. (2008). The impact of language status as an acculturative stressor on internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Latino/a children: A longitudinal analysis from school entry through third grade. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37(4), 399–411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9233-z.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astington, J. W., & Baird, J. A. (2005). Why language matters for theory of mind. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barac, R., Bialystok, E., Castro, D. C., & Sanchez, M. (2014). The cognitive development of young dual language learners: A critical review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 699–714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.02.003.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Best, J. R., & Miller, P. H. (2010). A developmental perspective on executive function. Child Development, 81(6), 1641–1660.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The good, the bad, and the indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12(1), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728908003477.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E. (2015). Bilingualism and the development of executive function: The role of attention. Child Development Perspectives, 9(2), 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12116.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E. (2017). The bilingual adaptation: How minds accommodate experience. Psychological Bulletin, 143(3), 233–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000099.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E., Barac, R., Blaye, A., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (2010). Word mapping and executive functioning in young monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Cognition and Development, 11(4), 485–508. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2010.516420.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bialystok, E., Luk, G., Peets, K. F., & Yang, S. (2010). Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(4), 525–531. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728909990423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bierman, K. L., Domitrovich, C. E., Nix, R. L., Gest, S. D., Welsh, J. A., Greenberg, M. T., … Gill, S. (2008). Promoting academic and social-emotional school readiness: The head start REDI program. Child Development, 79(6), 1802–1817. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01227.x.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bierman, K. L., Nix, R. L., Greenberg, M. T., Blair, C., & Domitrovich, C. E. (2008). Executive functions and school readiness intervention: Impact, moderation, and mediation in the Head Start REDI program. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000394.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bierman, K. L., Welsh, J., Heinrichs, B. S., & Nix, R. L. (2018). Effect of preschool home visiting on school readiness and need for services in elementary school: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Pediatrics. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2018.1029.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C. (2002). School readiness: Integrating cognition and emotion in a neurobiological conceptualization of children’s functioning at school entry. American Psychologist, 57(2), 111.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C., & Diamond, A. (2008). Biological processes in prevention and intervention: The promotion of self-regulation as a means of preventing school failure. Development and Psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C., & Raver, C. C. (2015). School readiness and self-regulation: A developmental psychobiological approach. Annual Review of Psychology, 66(1), 711–731. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015221.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C., & Razza, R. P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Child Development, 78(2), 647–663.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmann, N. L., & Downer, J. T. (2016). Self-regulation and task engagement as predictors of emergent language and literacy skills. Early Education and Development, 27(1), 18–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2015.1046784.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmann, N. L., Maier, M. F., & Palacios, N. (2015). Bidirectionality in self-regulation and expressive vocabulary: Comparisons between monolingual and dual language learners in preschool. Child Development, 86(4), 1094–1111. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12375.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (1998). The ecology of developmental processes. In R. M. Lerner (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology. Theoretical models of human development (Vol. 1, 5th ed., pp. 993–1028). New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 1, 6th ed., pp. 793–828). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buac, M., Gross, M., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2014). The role of primary caregiver vocabulary knowledge in the development of bilingual children’s vocabulary skills. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(5), 1804–1816. https://doi.org/10.1044/2014_JSLHR-L-13-0055.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Burchinal, M., Field, S., López, M. L., Howes, C., & Pianta, R. (2012). Instruction in Spanish in pre-kindergarten classrooms and child outcomes for English language learners. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(2), 188–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2011.11.003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cadima, J., Barros, S., Ferreira, T., Serra-Lemos, M., Leal, T., & Verschueren, K. (2018). Bidirectional associations between vocabulary and self-regulation in preschool and their interplay with teacher–child closeness and autonomy support. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.04.004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, S. M. (2009). Social origins of executive function development. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 123, 87–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/cd.237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, S. M., Davis, A., & Leach, J. (2005). Less Is more: Executive function and symbolic representation in preschool children. Psychological Science, 16(8), 609–616.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Castro, D. C., Páez, M. M., Dickinson, D. K., & Frede, E. (2011). Promoting language and literacy in young dual language learners: Research, practice, and policy. Child Development Perspectives, 5(1), 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2010.00142.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, F., Crawford, G., Early, D., Bryant, D., Howes, C., Burchinal, M., … Pianta, R. (2007). Spanish-speaking children’s social and language development in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Early Education and Development, 18(2), 243–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280701282959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Child Trends. (2014). Dual Language Learners (pp. 1–22). Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=dual-language-learners.

  • Colé, P., Duncan, L. G., & Blaye, A. (2014). Cognitive flexibility predicts early reading skills. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 565.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, B. A. (2014). Dual language development of Latino children: Effect of instructional program type and the home and school language environment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(3), 389–397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.04.009.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Collins, B. A., Toppelberg, C. O., Suárez-Orozco, C., O’Connor, E., & Nieto-Castañon, A. (2011). Cross-sectional associations of Spanish and English competence and well-being in Latino children of immigrants in kindergarten. International Journal of the Sociology of Language. https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2011.010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crosnoe, R. (2007). Early child care and the school readiness of children from Mexican immigrant families. International Migration Review, 41(1), 152–181. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2007.00060.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cuevas, K., & Bell, M. A. (2014). Infant attention and early childhood executive function. Child Development, 85(2), 397–404. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12126.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cuevas, K., Deater-Deckard, K., Kim-Spoon, J., Watson, A. J., Morasch, K. C., & Bell, M. A. (2014). What’s mom got to do with it? Contributions of maternal executive function and caregiving to the development of executive function across early childhood. Developmental Science, 17(2), 224–238. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12073.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, M. C., Amso, D., Anderson, L. C., & Diamond, A. (2006). Development of cognitive control and executive functions from 4 to 13 years: Evidence from manipulations of memory, inhibition, and task switching. Neuropsychologia, 44(11), 2037–2078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.02.006.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • De Feyter, J. J., & Winsler, A. (2009). The early developmental competencies and school readiness of low-income, immigrant children: Influences of generation, race/ethnicity, and national origins. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24(4), 411–431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2009.07.004.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Houwer, A., Bornstein, M. H., & Putnick, D. L. (2014). A bilingual–monolingual comparison of young children’s vocabulary size: Evidence from comprehension and production. Applied Psycholinguistics, 35(06), 1189–1211. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716412000744.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, A. (1988). Abilities and neural mechanisms underlying AB̄ performance. Child Development, 59(2), 523–527. https://doi.org/10.2307/1130330.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64(1), 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz, R. M., & Berk, L. E. (Eds.). (1992). Private speech: From social interaction to self-regulation. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson, D. K., McCabe, A., Anastasopoulos, L., Peisner-Feinberg, E. S., & Poe, M. D. (2003). The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: The interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool-aged children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(3), 465–481. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.465.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson, D. K., & Porche, M. V. (2011). Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms and children’s kindergarten and fourth-grade language and reading abilities. Child Development, 82(3), 870–886. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01576.x.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dickinson, D. K., & Tabors, P. O. (2001). Beginning literacy with language: Young children learning at home and school. Baltimore: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dilworth-Bart, J. E. (2012). Does executive function mediate SES and home quality associations with academic readiness? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27(3), 416–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.02.002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, J., & Owen, A. M. (2000). Common regions of the human frontal lobe recruited by diverse cognitive demands. Trends in Neurosciences, 23(10), 475–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2236(00)01633-7.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Sadovsky, A., & Spinrad, T. L. (2005). Associations of emotion-related regulation with language skills, emotion knowledge, and academic outcomes. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 109, 109–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eisenberg, N., Valiente, C., & Eggum, N. D. (2010). Self-regulation and school readiness. Early Education & Development, 21(5), 681–698. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.497451.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esposito, A. G., Baker-Ward, L., & Mueller, S. T. (2013). Interference suppression vs. response inhibition: An explanation for the absence of a bilingual advantage in preschoolers’ Stroop task performance. Cognitive Development, 28(4), 354–363. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogdev.2013.09.002.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fenson, L., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., Bates, E., Thal, D. J., Pethick, S. J., … Stiles, J. (1994). Variability in early communicative development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(5), i–i185. https://doi.org/10.2307/1166093.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, C., & Pagani, L. S. (2012). Toddler working memory skills predict kindergarten school readiness. Intelligence, 40(2), 205–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2011.11.007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuhs, M. W., & Day, J. D. (2011). Verbal ability and executive functioning development in preschoolers at Head Start. Developmental Psychology, 47(2), 404–416. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021065.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhs, M. W., Nesbitt, K. T., Farran, D. C., & Dong, N. (2014). Longitudinal associations between executive functioning and academic skills across content areas. Developmental Psychology, 50(6), 1698–1709. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036633.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gkaintartzi, A., Chatzidaki, A., & Tsokalidou, R. (2014). Albanian parents and the Greek educational context: Who is willing to fight for the home language? International Multilingual Research Journal, 8(4), 291–308. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2014.953004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gleason, J. B., & Ratner, N. B. (2009). The development of language (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gomez, C. J., & Yoshikawa, H. (2017). Earthquake effects: Estimating the relationship between exposure to the 2010 Chilean earthquake and preschool children’s early cognitive and executive function skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 38, 127–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guttentag, C. L., Landry, S. H., Williams, J. M., Baggett, K. M., Noria, C. W., Borkowski, J. G., … Ramey, S. L. (2014). “My Baby & Me”: Effects of an early, comprehensive parenting intervention on at-risk mothers and their children. Developmental Psychology, 50(5), 1482–1496. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035682.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Halle, T. G., Whittaker, J. V., Zepeda, M., Rothenberg, L., Anderson, R., Daneri, P., … Buysse, V. (2014). The social–emotional development of dual language learners: Looking back at existing research and moving forward with purpose. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 734–749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.12.002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamers, J. F., & Blanc, M. (2000). Bilinguality and bilingualism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Han, W.-J. (2010). Bilingualism and socioemotional well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 32(5), 720–731. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.01.009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harman, C., Rothbart, M. K., & Posner, M. I. (1997). Distress and attention interactions in early infancy. Motivation and Emotion, 21(1), 27–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendry, A., Jones, E. J. H., & Charman, T. (2016). Executive function in the first three years of life: Precursors, predictors and patterns. Developmental Review, 42, 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2016.06.005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernandez, D. J., & Napierala, J. S. (2012). Children in immigrant families: Essential to America’s future (p. 38). New York: Foundation for Child Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review, 26(1), 55–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2005.11.002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, E., Burridge, A., Ribot, K. M., & Giguere, D. (2017). Language specificity in the relation of maternal education to bilingual children’s vocabulary growth. Developmental Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000492.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39(01), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000910000759.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iluz-Cohen, P., & Armon-Lotem, S. (2013). Language proficiency and executive control in bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16(4), 884–899. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728912000788.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob, R., & Parkinson, J. (2015). The potential for school-based interventions that target executive function to improve academic achievement: A review. Review of Educational Research, 85(4), 512–552. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654314561338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, L., Rothbart, M. K., & Posner, M. I. (2003). Development of executive attention in preschool children. Developmental Science, 6(5), 498–504.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., Barnes, S. P., & Partee, A. (2016). Executive function mapping project: Untangling the terms and skills related to executive function and self-regulation in early childhood (No. OPRE 2016-88). Washington, D.C.: Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. M., Bailey, R., & Jacob, R. (2014). Social-emotional learning is essential to classroom management. Phi Delta Kappan, 96(2), 19–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0031721714553405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. M., & Bouffard, S. M. (2012). Social and emotional learning in schools: From programs to strategies. Society for Research in Child Development, 26(4), 1–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, S. M., Bub, K. L., & Raver, C. C. (2013). Unpacking the Black Box of the Chicago School Readiness Project Intervention: The mediating roles of teacher–child relationship quality and self-regulation. Early Education & Development, 24(7), 1043–1064. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2013.825188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karatsareas, P. (2018). Attitudes towards Cypriot Greek and Standard Modern Greek in London’s Greek Cypriot community. International Journal of Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006918762158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., & Knaack, A. (2004). Effortful control as a personality characteristic of young children: Antecedents, correlates, and consequences. Journal of Personality, 71(6), 1087–1112. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.7106008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., & Harlan, E. T. (2000). Effortful control in early childhood: Continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology, 36(2), 220–232.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhl, P. K. (2015). Baby talk. Scientific American, 313(5), 64–69. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1115-64.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Vernon-Feagans, L., Blair, C. B., & The, F. L. P., Key Investigators. (2016). The contribution of children’s time-specific and longitudinal expressive language skills on developmental trajectories of executive function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 148, 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2016.03.008.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Wilbourn, M. P., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Blair, C. B. (2014). Early communicative gestures prospectively predict language development and executive function in early childhood. Child Development, 85(5), 1898–1914. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12249.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Landry, S. H., Smith, K. E., & Swank, P. R. (2006). Responsive parenting: Establishing early foundations for social, communication, and independent problem-solving skills. Developmental Psychology, 42(4), 627–642. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.627.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Landry, S. H., Smith, K. E., Swank, P. R., & Guttentag, C. (2008). A responsive parenting intervention: The optimal timing across early childhood for impacting maternal behaviors and child outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 44(5), 1335–1353. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013030.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lengua, L. (2009). Effortful control in the context of socioeconomic and psychosocial risk. Psychological Science Agenda. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579408000254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liew, J. (2012). Effortful control, executive functions, and education: Bringing self-regulatory and social-emotional competencies to the table. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 105–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lonigan, C. J., Allan, D. M., Goodrich, J. M., Farrington, A. L., & Phillips, B. M. (2017). Inhibitory control of Spanish-speaking language-minority preschool children: Measurement and association with language, literacy, and math skills. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(4), 373–385. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219415618498.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lu, Y., He, Q., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2018). Diverse experience of immigrant children: How do separation and reunification shape their sevelopment? Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13171.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Luchtel, M., Hughes, K., Luze, G., Bruna, K. R., & Peterson, C. (2010). A comparison of teacher-rated classroom conduct, social skills, and teacher–child relationship quality between preschool English learners and preschool English speakers. NHSA Dialog, 13(2), 92–111. https://doi.org/10.1080/15240751003737877.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mancilla-Martinez, J., Greenfader, C. M., & Ochoa, W. (2018). Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ conceptual vocabulary knowledge: Towards more comprehensive assessment. NHSA Dialog, 21(1), 22–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marti, M., Melvin, S., Noble, K. G., & Duch, H. (2018). Intervention fidelity of Getting Ready for School: Associations with classroom and teacher characteristics and preschooler’s school readiness skills. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 44, 55–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.02.010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Masur, E. F. (1983). Gestural development, dual-directional signaling, and the transition to words. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 12(2), 93–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01067406.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, M. M., & Cameron, C. E. (2012). Self-regulation in early childhood: Improving conceptual clarity and developing ecologically valid measures. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 136–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, M. M., Cameron, C. E., Connor, C. M., Farris, C. L., Jewkes, A. M., & Morrison, F. J. (2007). Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers’ literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Developmental Psychology, 43(4), 947–959. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.43.4.947.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McClelland, M. M., & Wanless, S. B. (2012). Growing up with assets and risks: The importance of self-regulation for academic achievement. Research in Human Development, 9(4), 278–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/15427609.2012.729907.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCoy, D. C. (2013). Early violence exposure and self-regulatory development: A bioecological systems perspective. Human Development, 56(4), 254–273. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353217.

    Google Scholar 

  • Méndez, L. I., Crais, E. R., Castro, D. C., & Kainz, K. (2015). A culturally and linguistically responsive vocabulary approach for young Latino dual language learners. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58(1), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1044/2014_JSLHR-L-12-0221.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, S. E., & Marcovitch, S. (2015). Examining executive function in the second year of life: Coherence, stability, and relations to joint attention and language. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 101.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, B., Dyer, N., Pacheco, D., Brinkley, D., Owen, M. T., & Caughy, M. O. (2018). Developmental transactions between self-regulation and academic achievement among low-income African American and Latino children. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13091.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., … Caspi, A. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences United States of America, 108(7), 2693–2698. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1010076108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montroy, J. J., Bowles, R. P., Skibbe, L. E., & Foster, T. D. (2014). Social skills and problem behaviors as mediators of the relationship between behavioral self-regulation and academic achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(3), 298–309. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.03.002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M. M., Hammer, C. S., & Maczuga, S. (2015). 24-month-old children with larger oral vocabularies display greater academic and behavioral functioning at kindergarten entry. Child Development, 86(5), 1351–1370.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, F. M., Ponitz, C. C., & McClelland, M. M. (2010). Self-regulation and academic achievement in the transition to school. In S. D. Calkins & M. A. Bell (Eds.), Child development at the intersection of emotion and cognition (pp. 203–224). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Early Literacy Panel. (2008). Developing early literacy: Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (p. 260). National Institute for Literacy and National Center for Family Literacy. Retrieved from https://lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/NELPReport09.pdf.

  • Nazzi, T., Bertoncini, J., & Mehler, J. (1998). Language discrimination by newborns: Toward an understanding of the role of rhythm. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 24(3), 756–766. https://doi.org/10.1037/0096-1523.24.3.756.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nesbitt, K. T., Baker-Ward, L., & Willoughby, M. T. (2013). Executive function mediates socio-economic and racial differences in early academic achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4), 774–783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.07.005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neville, H. J., Stevens, C., Pakulak, E., Bell, T. A., Fanning, J., Klein, S., & Isbell, E. (2013). Family-based training program improves brain function, cognition, and behavior in lower socioeconomic status preschoolers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences United States of America, 110(29), 12138–12143. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1304437110.

    Google Scholar 

  • NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Pathways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition to reading. Developmental Psychology, 41(2), 428–442. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.41.2.428.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nigg, J. T. (2000). On inhibition/disinhibition in developmental psychopathology: Views from cognitive and personality psychology and a working inhibition taxonomy. Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 220.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Noble, K. G., Norman, M. F., & Farah, M. J. (2005). Neurocognitive correlates of socioeconomic status in kindergarten children. Developmental Science, 8(1), 74–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00394.x.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Oades-Sese, G. V., & Li, Y. (2011). Attachment relationships as predictors of language skills for at-risk bilingual preschool children. Psychology in the Schools, 48(7), 707–722. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20583.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U., & Simons, H. D. (1998). Voluntary and involuntary minorities: A cultural-ecological theory of school performance with some implications for education. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 29(2), 155–188. https://doi.org/10.1525/aeq.1998.29.2.155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oller, D. K., Pearson, B. Z., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B. (2007). Profile effects in early bilingual language and literacy. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28(2), 191–230. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716407070117.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Palermo, F., Mikulski, A. M., & Conejo, L. D. (2017). Self-regulation abilities and Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ vocabulary and letter-word skills in Spanish and English. Early Education and Development, 28(2), 207–223. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2016.1197670.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, B. Z., Fernandez, S. C., Lewedeg, V., & Oller, D. K. (1997). The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18(1), 41–58. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716400009863.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, S. C., & Oller, D. K. (1993). Lexical development in bilingual infants and toddlers: Comparison to monolingual norms. Language Learning, 43(1), 93–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1993.tb00174.x.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peña, E. D., Bedore, L. M., & Kester, E. S. (2016). Assessment of language impairment in bilingual children using semantic tasks: Two languages classify better than one. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 51(2), 192–202. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12199.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., & Staples, A. D. (2015). The role of language ability and self-regulation in the development of inattentive-hyperactive behavior problems. Development and Psychopathology, 27(1), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579414000698.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Place, S., & Hoff, E. (2011). Properties of dual language exposure that influence 2-year-olds’ bilingual proficiency. Child Development, 82(6), 1834–1849. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01660.x.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ponitz, C. C., McClelland, M. M., Matthews, J. S., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). A structured observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 605–619. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015365.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Posner, M. I., Rothbart, M. K., Sheese, B. E., & Voelker, P. (2012). Control networks and neuromodulators of early development. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 827–835. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025530.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Poulin-Dubois, D., Blaye, A., Coutya, J., & Bialystok, E. (2011). The effects of bilingualism on toddlers’ executive functioning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108(3), 567–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.10.009.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raver, C. C., Jones, S. M., Li-Grining, C. P., Metzger, M., Champion, K. M., & Sardin, L. (2008). Improving preschool classroom processes: Preliminary findings from a randomized trial implemented in Head Start settings. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23(1), 10–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2007.09.001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, B. L., Greenberg, M. T., Lanza, S. T., & Blair, C. (2011). Demographic and familial predictors of early executive function development: Contribution of a person-centered perspective. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 108(3), 638–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2010.08.004.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., Ellis, L. K., Rueda, M. R., & Posner, M. I. (2003). Developing mechanisms of temperamental effortful control. Journal of Personality, 71(6), 1113–1144. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.7106009.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83(5), 1762–1774.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Salley, B., Sheinkopf, S. J., Neal-Beevers, A. R., Tenenbaum, E. J., Miller-Loncar, C. L., Tronick, E., … Lester, B. M. (2016). Infants’ early visual attention and social engagement as developmental precursors to joint attention. Developmental Psychology, 52(11), 1721–1731. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000205.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, K., O’Kearney, R., Reese, E., & Fortune, C. A. (2016). The role of language skill in child psychopathology: Implications for intervention in the early years. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 19(4), 352–367. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sameroff, A. (2010). A unified theory of development: A dialectic integration of nature and nurture. Child Development, 81(1), 6–22. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01378.x.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schmitt, S. A., McClelland, M. M., Tominey, S. L., & Acock, A. C. (2015). Strengthening school readiness for Head Start children: Evaluation of a self-regulation intervention. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30, 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.08.001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segers, E., Damhuis, C. M. P., van de Sande, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2016). Role of executive functioning and home environment in early reading development. Learning and Individual Differences, 49, 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.07.004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sektnan, M., McClelland, M. M., Acock, A., & Morrison, F. J. (2010). Relations between early family risk, children’s behavioral regulation, and academic achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(4), 464–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.02.005.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sharkey, P. T. (2010). The acute effect of local homicides on children’s cognitive performance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences United States of America, 107(26), 11733–11738. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1000690107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharkey, P. T., Tirado-Strayer, N., Papachristos, A. V., & Raver, C. C. (2012). The effect of local violence on children’s attention and impulse control. American Journal of Public Health, 102(12), 2287–2293. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2012.300789.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Smithson, L., Paradis, J., & Nicoladis, E. (2014). Bilingualism and receptive vocabulary achievement: Could sociocultural context make a difference? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17(4), 810–821. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728913000813.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stoel-Gammon, C. (1998). Role of babbling and phonology in early linguistic development. In A. M. Wetherby, S. F. Warren & J. Reichle (Eds.), Transitions in prelinguistic communication (pp. 87–110) Baltimore: PHBrookes Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Surrain, S., & Luk, G. (2017). Describing bilinguals: A systematic review of labels and descriptions used in the literature between 2005–2015. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728917000682.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas-Sunesson, D., Hakuta, K., & Bialystok, E. (2018). Degree of bilingualism modifies executive control in Hispanic children in the USA. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 21(2), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1148114.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M., Carpenter, M., Call, J., Behne, T., & Moll, H. (2005). Understanding and sharing intentions: The origins of cultural cognition. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(05), 675–691. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05000129.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trentacosta, C. J., & Izard, C. E. (2007). Kindergarten children’s emotion competence as a predictor of their academic competence in first grade. Emotion, 7(1), 77–88. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.1.77.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Education. (2011). The growing number of English learner students, 1998/99-2008/09. Office of English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement and Academic Achievement for Limited English Proficient Students (OELA).

  • Valiente, C., Eisenberg, N., Haugen, R., Spinrad, T. L., Hofer, C., Liew, J., & Kupfer, A. (2011). Children’s effortful control and academic achievement: Mediation through social functioning. Early Education & Development, 22(3), 411–433. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2010.505259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vallotton, C., & Ayoub, C. (2011). Use your words: The role of language in the development of toddlers’ self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26(2), 169–181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.09.002.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Velázquez, I. (2009). Intergenerational Spanish transmission in El Paso, Texas: Parental perceptions of cost/benefit. Spanish in Context, 6(1), 69–84. https://doi.org/10.1075/sic.6.1.05vel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky. (1986). Thought and language (Translation newly rev. and edited/by Alex Kozulin.). Cambridge: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wanless, S. B., McClelland, M. M., Tominey, S. L., & Acock, A. C. (2011). The influence of demographic risk factors on children’s behavioral regulation in prekindergarten and kindergarten. Early Education and Development, 22(3), 461–488. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2011.536132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiland, C., Barata, M. C., & Yoshikawa, H. (2014). The co-occurring development of executive function skills and receptive vocabulary in preschool-aged children: A look at the direction of the developmental pathways. Infant and Child Development, 23(1), 4–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weintraub, S., Dikmen, S. S., Heaton, R. K., Tulsky, D. S., Zelazo, P. D., Bauer, P. J., … Gershon, R. C. (2013). Cognition assessment using the NIH Toolbox. Neurology, 80(11 Suppl 3), S54–S64. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.0b013e3182872ded.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Weizman, Z. O., & Snow, C. E. (2001). Lexical output as related to children’s vocabulary acquisition: Effects of sophisticated exposure and support for meaning. Developmental Psychology, 37(2), 265–279. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.37.2.265.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, L. J., Alexander, A., & Greenfield, D. B. (2017). The relationship between executive functioning and language: Examining vocabulary, syntax, and language learning in preschoolers attending Head Start. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 164, 16–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.06.010.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • White, L. J., & Greenfield, D. B. (2017). Executive functioning in Spanish- and English-speaking head start preschoolers. Developmental Science, 20(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12502.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winsler, A., Burchinal, M. R., Tien, H.-C., Peisner-Feinberg, E., Espinosa, L., Castro, D. C., … De Feyter, J. (2014a). Early development among dual language learners: The roles of language use at home, maternal immigration, country of origin, and socio-demographic variables. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 750–764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.02.008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winsler, A., Diaz, R. M., Atencio, D. J., McCarthy, E. M., & Chabay, L. A. (2000). Verbal self-regulation over time in preschool children at risk for attention and behavior problems. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41(7), 875–886. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00675.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Winsler, A., Diaz, R. M., & Montero, I. (1997). The role of private speech in the transition from collaborative to independent task performance in young children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12(1), 59–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(97)90043-0.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winsler, A., Kim, Y. K., & Richard, E. R. (2014b). Socio-emotional skills, behavior problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty. Developmental Psychology, 50(9), 2242–2254. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037161.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zayas, L. H., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Yoon, H., & Rey, G. N. (2015). The distress of citizen-children with detained and deported parents. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3213–3223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0124-8.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Zelazo, P. D., Müller, U., Frye, D., Marcovitch, S., Argitis, G., Boseovski, J., … Sutherland, A. (2003). The development of executive function in early childhood. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, i–151.

  • Zhou, Q., Chen, S. H., & Main, A. (2012). Commonalities and differences in the research on children’s effortful control and executive function: A call for an integrated model of self-regulation. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 112–121.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Graduate School of Education, 20 University Drive #610, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Emily Hanno & Sarah Surrain

Authors
  1. Emily Hanno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sarah Surrain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emily Hanno.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Emily Hanno and Sarah Surrain declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hanno, E., Surrain, S. The Direct and Indirect Relations Between Self-Regulation and Language Development Among Monolinguals and Dual Language Learners. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 22, 75–89 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00283-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-019-00283-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation