L2 proficiency predicts inhibitory ability in L1-dominant speakers

Abstract

Aims and Objectives: Bilinguals reportedly perform better in tasks that require the suppression of interference because of the constant practice in linguistic inhibition. However, previous literature was largely based on comparisons of pure monolinguals and balanced bilinguals. Those in between the two extremes were rarely examined. This project aimed at studying whether the population who primarily speak in a first language with a different level of second language proficiency also enjoy bilingual advantage. Methodology: Twelve monolingual and 38 bilingual Hong Kong older adults were recruited to perform the Stroop task and the second language (English) proficiency tests. The subjects were all frequent first language (Cantonese) speakers with various levels of second language proficiency. Data and Analysis: Pearson correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to identify the relationship between inhibition ability (Stroop score) and demographic and language background variables (including proficiency in and frequency of exposure to their second language). Findings: Both correlation and multiple regression analysis showed that the subjects with higher proficiency in a second language performed significantly better in the Stroop task. The results suggested that higher second language proficiency leads to higher difficulty in suppressing it, thus the training of inhibition is more effective. Originality: This study expanded the literature on bilingual advantage from a dichotomous comparison between monolingual and bilingual to the more continuous spectrum of bilinguals with different levels of second language proficiency. This study aimed at showing a fuller picture of bilingualism in the world. Significance/Implications: This study proposed that with high proficiency in a second language, frequent first language speakers could also enjoy cognitive advantages brought by bilingualism. Our study provides further evidence for the bilingual advantage hypothesis.

Interference suppression in bilingualism: Stimulus-Stimulus vs. Stimulus-Response conflict

“…It has been suggested that a strong L2 (i.e., higher proficiency) is assumed to elicit a stronger interference on the L1 as compared to a weak L2 (i.e., lower proficiency), leading to increased cognitive demands (e.g., inhibitory control; Green, 1998;Hui, Yuan, Fong & Wang, 2020;Lehtonen et al, 2018). Given that bilingualism is a continuous and dynamic process, it could be possible that monolingualbilingual differences could only be observed when bilinguals reach certain level of L2 proficiency (Vega-Mendoza et al, 2015).…”

“…The effects of language proficiency on executive control were examined by comparing performance on these abovementioned cognitive tasks of high and low-proficient bilinguals to monolinguals. We predicted that monolingual-bilingual differences would be more likely to be observed between high-proficient bilinguals and monolinguals, while low-proficient bilinguals took an intermediate position (Hui et al, 2020;Vega-Mendoza et al, 2015).…”

Effects of third-language learning on inhibitory control with consideration of task complexity and language proficiency

“…There have been a few recent studies concerning the relationship between language proficiency and bilingual inhibitory control (e.g., Bosma et al, 2017;Boumeester et al, 2019;Hui et al, 2020;Iluz-Cohen & Armon-Lotem, 2013;Poarch, 2018;Poarch & van Hell, 2012;Singh & Mishra, 2012, 2013Wang et al, 2016;Yow & Li, 2015). However, similar studies on trilingualism have not been found.…”

“…Similarly, Wang et al (2016) administered the Simon arrow task in adult Mandarin learners of English with high and low proficiency in L2, finding that high-proficiency learners outperformed low-proficiency peers in interference suppression observed with the bivalent Simon arrow tasks. Most recently, Hui et al (2020) using a Stroop task investigated the relationship between L2 proficiency and inhibitory control ability in L1-dominant speakers with different degrees of proficiency in L2. They also found that L2 learners with higher proficiency performed significantly better in response inhibition in the Stroop task.…”

Social facilitation and bilingual cognitive advantage: Bridging social psychology and psycholinguistics

“…We used the color-word Stroop test, which requires subjects to inhibit a highly automatic task while focusing attention on a less automatic one [ 41 , 42 ] and the social facilitation paradigm. Stroop interference (SI), a measure of the cost of resolving the conflict between the distractor and the task, has been shown to be inversely correlated with the cognitive advantage: the greater the advantage, the lower the SI [ [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] ]. The study used SI to quantify the advantage in two groups of bilingual participants which differed in the level of L2 proficiency (high vs. low L2 proficiency).…”