Second language (L2) processing engages both language-specific and domain-general control systems, yet how these systems vary with L2 proficiency remains unclear. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural activity during L2 English processing in Korean–English (K-E) bilinguals across three proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced). Participants performed rhyme and spelling judgement tasks manipulating orthographic–phonological conflict. Behaviourally, conflict conditions reduced accuracy, with proficiency effects observed selectively in the rhyme task. fMRI results showed that conflict processing recruited frontoparietal control regions, including inferior frontal and parietal cortices, accompanied by deactivation in default mode network regions. Critically, proficiency-related effects differed by task. During rhyme judgement, advanced bilinguals showed greater activation in the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and cerebellum, whereas intermediate bilinguals exhibited greater recruitment of the left middle orbital gyrus and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. During spelling judgement, advanced bilinguals showed greater thalamic activation alongside greater deactivation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Activity in the left SMG and cerebellum was positively associated with L2 reading score, and cerebellar activity was also associated with rhyme-task performance, whereas right DLPFC activity was negatively associated with the scores. These findings suggest that increasing L2 proficiency is associated less with altered recruitment of core reading regions than with task-specific shifts in the balance between phonological-specialized, subcortical attentional, and domain-general control systems supporting L2 processing.
During production, multilinguals face increased lexical competition within and across languages, demanding cognitive control. This study investigated how multilingual experience—indexed by proficiency and usage—modulates the influence of trait-level (via control tasks) and state-level (using a Stroop-embedded picture naming task) cognitive control on non-native language production. Greater lexical competition was associated with poorer naming performance. Stroop trials showed facilitation for individuals with stronger control abilities but interference for those with weaker abilities, particularly among lower-proficiency participants. Higher English proficiency and more balanced language use were linked to better naming performance. Although proficient multilinguals exhibited larger lexical competition effects, those with more balanced language use demonstrated better adaptation to conflict resolution. Neuroimaging revealed increased activation in language-specific and domain-general regions under high competition, with higher-proficiency individuals dynamically recruiting additional neural resources. Together, these findings show that multilingual experience and cognitive control shape behavioral and neural mechanisms during non-native language production.
Si-Fan Zhang, Hao-Yun Zhang· Bilingualism: Language and C...· 0 citations
Understanding how multiple languages are represented in the multilingual brain is critical to theories of multilingual assimilation and accommodation. Whether a second language (L2) recruits native‐like networks (assimilation) or engages additional neural resources (accommodation) depends partly on the linguistic distance between L1 and L2. However, it remains unclear whether multilinguals can flexibly modulate assimilation and accommodation mechanisms when dealing with different L2 systems. Using 7 T‐fMRI, we investigated brain activation patterns during a covert picture‐naming task involving one‐back phonological retrieval in 15 native Chinese speakers highly proficient in Japanese and English. Whole‐brain univariate analysis revealed a common fronto‐parieto‐occipital network across all three languages (Chinese, Japanese, and English), supporting a shared core language system. However, the Japanese task elicited greater activation in the left lingual and middle occipital gyri, suggesting increased implicit visual‐lexical demands. Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA) showed greater pattern similarity between Chinese and English than between Chinese and Japanese, indicating differential neural representation across L2 languages. VOI‐based RSA showed a trend toward correlations between Japanese proficiency and representational similarity in the executive regions (pars triangularis and anterior cingulate gyrus), although these correlations did not reach statistical significance. These findings demonstrated that the trilingual brain relied on both assimilation and accommodation, with the level of each modulated by differences in linguistic structure and language experience. Language with a distinct writing system (English) seemed to be assimilated into the dominant L1 Chinese neural framework, whereas orthographically related language (Japanese) rather drove neural accommodation, probably due to script‐driven interference. This study highlighted multi‐level neural adaptation processes underlying multilingual lexical processing and provided a neurocognitive basis for tailor‐made educational strategies considering each student's linguistic background.
Thuy Ha Duy Dinh, Naoya Oishi, T. Akasaka et al.· Human Brain Mapping· 0 citations
Processing emotionally negative words in a second language (L2) feels less vivid and more cognitively demanding than in the first language (L1), yet the neural mechanisms underlying this difference remain poorly understood. Using single-trial modelling of event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs), we examined attention allocation to negative versus neutral words in highly proficient late Polish–English bilinguals performing a semantic categorisation task in a modified oddball paradigm. Valence and language modulated early posterior negativity (EPN) and P300, but not the N400. Mass-univariate analysis detected valence modulations in the N400 range, highlighting limitations of classic ERP approaches. Time–frequency analysis further revealed Language × Valence interactions: negative L2 words selectively elicited a cascade of delta, theta and alpha synchronisation from posterior to frontal regions across 59–641 ms, consistent with successive perceptual, lexical-semantic and regulatory processing stages. Emotional processing in L2 is thus qualitatively distinct, more effortful and regulated rather than simply being less efficient.
Iga Krzysik, Marcin Naranowicz, Olivia Molina-Nieto et al.· Bilingualism: Language and C...· 0 citations
Introduction Many studies have examined the neural bases of word translation based on the revised hierarchical model (RHM). However, the findings reported thus far, mostly focusing on advanced or elementary second-language (L2) learners, have been diverse and often inconsistent. Thus, to explore possible neural bases for translation asymmetry, there is a distinct need to examine word translations by intermediate L2 learners. Methods We examined differences in cortical activation patterns during L1 (first language)-to-L2 and L2-to-L1word translation for high and low word familiarity in intermediate-level Japanese learners of English. TOEIC scores were used to confirm intermediate English proficiency, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to examine cortical activation patterns during word translation. Data from 36 participants were used for analyses. Results Greater activation was observed in the frontopolar area, the pars triangularis of Broca’s area, and the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for low-familiarity words regardless of translation direction. Discussion These findings provide no clear evidence of translation asymmetry in intermediate L2 learners but suggest the possible involvement of concept mediation in both translation directions.
Wakana Kawai, Kiyomitsu Niioka, Hikari Tanaka et al.· Frontiers in Human Neuroscie...· 0 citations
Research on the cognate facilitation effect (CFE) in sequential bilinguals and trilinguals' lexical processing has offered important insights into the structure of the multilingual mental lexicon. A key cross‐linguistic factor that has received particular attention is second language (L2) proficiency, yet its role in different‐script trilinguals remains underexplored. The present study addressed this issue in L2 and L3 lexical processing among Chinese–English–Spanish trilinguals using lexical decision tasks. By manipulating L2 proficiency and measuring the strength of CFE through reaction times and accuracy, the study aimed to investigate orthographic‐overlap‐driven, form‐based cross‐language activation between the two non‐native languages. The findings provide preliminary evidence that the strength of form‐based L2–L3 cross‐language activation may vary with L2 proficiency, and they are compatible with the possibility that more entrenched lexical representations reduce reliance on orthographic overlap during visual word recognition.
Hao Chen, Fei Gao, Chuqiao Song et al.· International Journal of App...· 0 citations
Integrating new words into an existing semantic network is a core challenge of second language (L2) acquisition. We investigated how evidence-based learning strategies and individual performance relate to the neurocognitive dynamics of vocabulary learning. Eighty-three adults proficient in German or French learned 48 Finnish (L2) nouns over 14 days using a mobile app that systematically varied retrieval practice, corrective feedback, multisensory learning, and distributed learning. Before and after training, EEG was recorded during a translation recognition task designed to elicit the N400, an index of semantic integration. Vocabulary accuracy increased from 0.41% pre-learning to 75.5% post-learning (dz = 3.96), and the N400 incongruity effect increased significantly, F(1, 75) = 99.52, p < .001, η²g = .32, reflecting successful integration of new L2 words into the mental lexicon. High performers showed larger N400 responses, consistent with more differentiated semantic processing. In addition, performance group differences emerged in ERP template-map preponderance (i.e., the proportion of epoch time points assigned to a given template map), indicating differences in processing dynamics and network configurations. Despite systematic manipulation of learning strategies, no single approach yielded consistent behavioral or neural advantages, suggesting that overall exposure and cumulative practice, rather than any specific strategy, may have been primary contributors to the observed learning gains. ERP template-map analyses further revealed that learning not only increased neural responses but also shifted map preponderance within the N400 window as a function of Session and Congruency, indicating a qualitative reorganization of semantic processing. These findings suggest that vocabulary learning success is more closely related to the degree of semantic integration than to any single instructional strategy.
Nicole H. Skieresz, Sandy C. Marca, Micah M. Murray et al.· Imaging Neuroscience· 0 citations
We use cookies to run the site and, with your consent, for analytics and to show ads.
See our Cookie Policy.
