28 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
The Bilingual Advantage in Computer Programmers
Like bilinguals, expert computer programmers successfully manage two or more separate lexicons, grammars and divergent concepts, avoiding inadvertent transfer between the two. Numerous studies of novice programmers indicate that they struggle to do achieve this division; transfer from natural language creates bugs (e.g. Soloway and Spohrer, 1989; Witschital, 1995). The present study therefore considers whether the “bilingual advantage” in executive control is found in computer programmers...Manifests in tasks involving executive function, but not in other bilingual tasks. More research needed.