# The effect of language experience on a bilingual's ability to process arithmetic and other memorized facts

> **NIH NIH F99** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO · 2022 · $22,649

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In the United States, English is the primary language of instruction and testing in most schools. However, many
bilingual students entering US schools learned foundational concepts in a language other than English and might
be at a developmental disadvantage when expected to build on this knowledge. It has been widely debated in
the literature which concepts are stored as language-specific memories and how bilinguals might access this
information in their other language. In this proposal, I will investigate how the bilingual brain processes
foundational knowledge that is thought to be affected by language experience. In Aim 1, I used event-related
potentials (ERPs) to understand how foundational arithmetic concepts, namely memorized multiplication facts,
are processed in each of a bilingual’s languages. My research revealed that fluent bilingual adults and children
elicit similar brain responses, suggesting equivalent access to these facts from memory, in both languages. This
data suggests that bilinguals may have overlapping cortical representations of facts in both languages. In Aim
2, I will directly test this by using a neuroimaging method with better localization than ERPs, specifically functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). I will investigate whether children have shared or separate cortical
representations of multiplication facts in their two languages. My pre-doctoral training will give me expertise in
complementary brain imaging methodologies with precision in time (ERPs) and space (fMRI) for a more complete
understanding of brain development. I will also gain an interdisciplinary perspective intersecting child
development, bilingualism, language, and math cognition. In my doctoral work, I use multiplication facts as a
unique tool in assessing bilingual memory and processing. However, as a finite set of memorized concepts,
multiplication facts may be processed differently than other concepts in bilingual memory. In Aim 3, I will expand
my training to understand language dependent memory more broadly, and explore how the dynamics of the
bilingual experience modulates learning and retrieval of foundational knowledge. For example, students learning
English as a second language score on average 40 points lower than fluent English speakers on the nation’s
standard science assessment. This disparity in performance may leave second language learners at a long-term
disadvantage as they build on this foundational knowledge. Through this fellowship I aim to become a
developmental cognitive neuroscientist versed in multiple research methodologies and an interdisciplinary
approach to science. Ultimately, I aim to establish my own research lab to understand the brain basis of language
dependent memory in bilinguals. I hope to not only train future generations of students, but also spearhead
advancements in basic research that will benefit bilingual education and child development for the 21% of the
U.S. population that is bilin...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10651600
- **Project number:** 5F99NS124178-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SAN ANTONIO
- **Principal Investigator:** Vanessa Cerda
- **Activity code:** F99 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $22,649
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2022-09-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10651600

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10651600, The effect of language experience on a bilingual's ability to process arithmetic and other memorized facts (5F99NS124178-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10651600. Licensed CC0.

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