ABSTRACT
How does the proficiency in a language affect the ability to solve problems? This is an important question for educators, testing and assessment specialists, and cognitive psychologists. Educators are interested in better understanding ways in which non-English background students can function effectively in classrooms offering instruction in one language or another. They need to understand whether the choice of a language of learning and problem solving will affect display of the underlying cognitive skills of bilingual students. Educators are especially interested in understanding how students’ earlier schooling experiences and backgrounds are related to their language proficiency skills, as well as to the cognitive skills in which students have developed competence.
