DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CANADIAN AND U.S. BILINGUALS:SOCIAL STIGMAS AFFECTING COGNITIVE TASK PERFORMANCE

Abstract

Studies conducted in Canada (e.g., Bialystok, Craik, & Ryan, 2006; Bialystok, Craik, & Luk, 2008) have found evidence of a bilingual advantage on cognitive task performance. However, we have yet to replicate these findings in a U.S. sample (e.g., Grant, Dennis, & Li, 2014). There is a difference between Canada and the U.S. with regard to bilingual individuals, specifically in terms of how bilingualism in Canada is perceived to be a marker of elite status, while in the U.S., bilingualism may be an indication of having immigrant status. We suggest that the discrepancies in Canadian and U.S studies on bilingualism could be attributed to a negative social stigma associated with being bilingual in the U.S. The purpose of the current study was to replicate the findings produced out of Canada in a non-stigmatized bilingual sample in the U.S. by recruiting French-English bilinguals and English-only monolinguals. All participants completed two cognitive tasks (the Simon task, the Stroop task), a language use survey, and a modified Racial Microaggression scale. The results showed that there were no cognitive performance differences in favor of the bilingual speakers however, the results of the Racial Microaggression scale showed that bilingual speakers born in the US feel more stigmatized and targeted than individuals who were not born in the US. Overall, this study was not able to replicate the findings found in the Canadian bilingualism studies because of the existing stigma that is present in the US.