Electrophysiological correlates of language switching in second language learners

Meij, Maartje van der; Cuetos, Fernando; Carreiras, Manuel; Barber, Horacio A.

doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01039.x

Cited by 77 publications

(114 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…Thus, the language nodes of the prime words are presumed to inhibit the target language lexical representations in switch trials and/or to enhance the activation of the same-language lexical representations in non-switch trials (see also Duñabeitia et al, 2010b). Other ERP studies have shown similar patterns (Martin et al, 2012;Midgley et al, 2009a;Proverbio et al, 2004;Van Der Meij et al, 2011), but to date no ERP study has investigated the contribution of orthographic cues. However, the time-course of visual word recognition based on results from experiments using masked priming relies on the interpretation of the N250 as typically associated with the mapping of orthographic units onto orthographic word forms (see Grainger & Holcomb, 2009, for a review), and the N400 with a later stage of processing sensitive to interactions between lexical forms and semantic representations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

How do bilinguals identify the language of the words they read?

2015

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How do bilinguals detect the language of the words they read? Recent electrophysiological research using the masked priming paradigm combining primes and targets from different languages has shown that bilingual readers identify the language of the words within approximately 200 ms. Recent evidence shows that language-detection mechanisms vary as a function of the orthographic markedness of the words (i.e., whether or not a given word contains graphemic combinations that are not legal in the other language). The present study examined how the sub-lexical orthographic regularities of words are used as predictive cues. Spanish-Basque bilinguals and Spanish monolinguals (control group) were tested in an Event-Related Potential (ERP) experiment, using the masked priming paradigm. During the experiment, Spanish targets were briefly preceded by unrelated Spanish or Basque words. Unrelated Basque words could contain bigram combinations that are either plausible or implausible in the target language (Spanish). Results show a language switch effect in the N250 and N400 components for marked Basque primes in both groups, whereas, in the case of unmarked Basque primes, language switch effects were found in bilinguals but not monolinguals. These data demonstrate that statistical orthographic regularities of words play an important role in bilingual language detection, and provide new evidence supporting the assumptions of the BIA+ extended model.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

How do bilinguals identify the language of the words they read?

2015

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“…eye movement recordings)language background questionnaire and self-ratings of proficiencyLiu, Guo, and Peng, (2009)neural organization of L1 and L2 productionL1 and L2 picture namingself-ratings of proficiencyMacizo, Bajo, and Cruz Martin, (2010)processing of interlingual homographsword relation judgmentslanguage background questionnaire and self-ratings of proficiencyMidgley, Holcomb, and Grainger, (2009)time-course of form and meaning activation during L2 word recognitionvisual word identification (animal name detection)language background questionnaire and self-ratings, L2-L1 translation of experimental itemsOta, Hartsuiker, and Haywood, (2009)L2 recognition of near-homophonessemantic relationship judgmentlanguage background questionnairePalmer, van Hooff, and Haavelka, (2010) (Exp. 1)word–concept mapping in bilingual memorytranslation recognition and ERPslanguage background questionnaire and self-ratings of proficiencyvan der Meij, Cuetos, Carreiras, and Barber, (2011)language switching, role of proficiencysentence reading (incl. ERPs) in-house English aptitude test (60 multiple-choice questions on grammar and vocabulary) Verhoef, Roelofs, and Chwilla, (2010)language switchingpicture naming with language switching (incl.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English

2011

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The increasing number of experimental studies on second language (L2) processing, frequently with English as the L2, calls for a practical and valid measure of English vocabulary knowledge and proficiency. In a large-scale study with Dutch and Korean speakers of L2 English, we tested whether LexTALE, a 5-min vocabulary test, is a valid predictor of English vocabulary knowledge and, possibly, even of general English proficiency. Furthermore, the validity of LexTALE was compared with that of self-ratings of proficiency, a measure frequently used by L2 researchers. The results showed the following in both speaker groups: (1) LexTALE was a good predictor of English vocabulary knowledge; 2) it also correlated substantially with a measure of general English proficiency; and 3) LexTALE was generally superior to self-ratings in its predictions. LexTALE, but not self-ratings, also correlated highly with previous experimental data on two word recognition paradigms. The test can be carried out on or downloaded from www.lextale.com.

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“…The few ERP studies that have analyzed code switching in a sentence context have observed a code switching effect on the left anterior negativity (LAN) or N400 amplitude, where switched words elicited larger negative amplitude than non-switched words (Moreno, Federmeier, & Kutas, 2002; Proverbio, Leoni, & Zani, 2004; van Der Meij, Cuetos, Carreiras, & Barber, 2011). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fox and the cabra: An ERP analysis of reading code switched nouns and verbs in bilingual short stories

González

Wicha

2014

Brain Research

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Comprehending a language (or code) switch within a sentence context triggers 2 electrophysiological signatures: an early left anterior negativity post code switch onset – a LAN – followed by a Late Positive Component (LPC). Word class and word position modulate lexico-semantic processes in the monolingual brain, e.g., larger N400 amplitude for nouns than verbs and for earlier than later words in the sentence. Here we test whether the bilingual brain is affected by word class and word position when code switching, or if the cost of switching overrides these lexico-semantic and sentence context factors. Adult bilinguals read short stories in English containing 8 target words. Targets were nouns or verbs, occurred early or late in a story and were presented alternately in English (non-switch) or Spanish (switch) across different story versions. Overall, switched words elicited larger LAN and LPC amplitude than nonswitched words. The N400 amplitude was larger for nouns than verbs, more focal for switches than non-switches, and for early than late nouns but not for early than late verbs. Moreover, an early LPC effect was observed only for switched nouns, but not verbs. Together, this indicates that referential elements (nouns) may be harder to process and integrate than relational elements (verbs) in discourse, and when switched, nouns incur higher integration cost. Word position did not modulate the code switching effects, implying that switching between languages may invoke discourse independent processes.

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Electrophysiological correlates of language switching in second language learners

Cited by 77 publications

References 52 publications

How do bilinguals identify the language of the words they read?

How do bilinguals identify the language of the words they read?

Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English

The fox and the cabra: An ERP analysis of reading code switched nouns and verbs in bilingual short stories

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