The effects of bilingualism on auditory memory using Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test

Background and Aim: Today, Bilingualism is a developing phenomenon which half of the world population is bilingual. Auditory system is the main route to language learning, so it is expected that bilingualism has an effect on functions of the auditory system. Auditory memory is one of the auditory processes which is a cornerstone of linguistic skills and learning process growth, so that, it has an important role in language learning. In this paper, functions of the auditory memory in monolinguals and precocious bilinguals have been investigated through dichotic auditory-verbal memory test. Methods: A cross sectional-contrastive study of the Persian version of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test has been carried out among 30 monolingual and 30 bilingual persons. The participants were chosen from both sexes in the age range of 18-30, and test scores have been compared in both groups and sexes. Results: Mean score of dichotic auditory-verbal memory test in monolinguals was 5.47 (from 10), with a standard deviant of 0.55, and in bilinguals were 7.52, with a standard deviant of 0.90, which statistically, it showed a significant difference in scores between the two groups (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference among men and women’s scores in monolingual (p=0.06) and bilingual (p=0.10) groups. Conclusion: Results of this limited research showed that there was a considerable functional difference between monolinguals and bilinguals in dichotic auditory-verbal memory test. Therefore, it seems precocious bilingualism has a positive effect on the auditory memory.