A comparison of temporal processing and spectral processing abilities of monolingual, bilingual and multilingual children

Objective: This study examined the effects of bilingualism and multilingualism on supra-threshold auditory processing abilities in children. Design: Cross-sectional study. Study sample: Ninety children participated in the study, based on the number of languages they know children were assigned into three groups, i.e. monolingual, bilingual and multilingual. Amplitude modulation detection threshold, gap detection threshold, pitch discrimination threshold and spectral ripple discrimination threshold were measured. Results: Results showed superior supra-threshold auditory processing abilities among multilingual and bilingual children than monolingual children. The results further showed that, the supra-threshold auditory processing of multilingual children was better than bilingual children. Conclusion: This finding suggests that knowledge of multiple languages improves supra-threshold auditory processing abilities. This study adds to the growing body of literature supporting the superior supra-threshold auditory processing abilities among bilingual and multilingual individuals.