Flexible adaptation of selective attention in bilingualism

Mirjana Bozic discusses multilingualism and cognitive development.

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Child writing. Image: Pixabay via Pexels

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Flexible adaptation of selective attention in bilingualism

17 Feb 2025, 18:00 – 19:30

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Learning and using multiple languages is cognitively demanding and alters the mechanisms of selective attention in both children and adults. Yet the nature of these changes is still not entirely clear. One possibility is that bilingualism boosts the capacity for selective attention; another is that it leads to adaptation in the usage of the available resources.

Mirjana Bozic will present research investigating the nature of modifications of selective attention in bilingualism. Using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques, her data confirm that bilingualism modifies the neural mechanisms of selective attention, even when monolinguals and bilinguals perform equally well on tasks. They further suggest that the similarity between bilinguals’ languages also plays a role in shaping this modification.

Importantly however, instead of enhanced attentional capacity, these modifications appear to reflect redistribution of the available resources that is commensurate with the demands. In other words, instead of boosting attentional capacity, bilingualism seems to trigger flexible adaptation in how the processing system uses the existing resources. Mirjana will conclude by discussing potential implications of these differences in resource allocation in bilingualism for educational and clinical contexts.

This event will be particularly useful for anyone interested in bilingualism or multilingualism.

Multilingualism and diversity: Impact on education, health and society seminar series

IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, in collaboration with the UCL Multilanguage and Cognition Lab (MULTAC), are organising a seminar series each year that aims to bridge science with practice in education. Leading international experts in Linguistics, Psychological Sciences and Neurosciences engage with education practitioners, parents, students and members of the public who have an interest in multicultural diversity and inclusion. The talks are also used as educational material in the Psychology of Multilanguage Acquisition Across the Lifespan course, part of the Psychology with Education BSc programme offered by the Department of Psychology and Human Development.

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Pixabay via Pexels.

Mirjana Bozic

Associate Professor

Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge

Mirjana Bozic is Fellow and Director of Studies for Psychological and Behavioural Sciences at King's College, Cambridge. She is a cognitive neuroscientist who studies language processing. She uses different behavioural and neuroimaging techniques to investigate how the underlying neurocognitive systems support and constrain language comprehension; how these systems may have evolved; and how our brains adapt to the requirements of learning and using multiple languages.