Abstract Bilingualism changes language and literacy development, with morphological awareness and vocabulary as fundamental skills. This study tested whether experience with Chinese, which primarily uses compounds and lacks affixes, creates distinct pathways for acquiring English compound and affix awareness, thereby shaping their associations with English vocabulary. We tested Chinese-English-bilingual and English-monolingual preschoolers ( N = 202, 3-to-5-year-olds) and built two path models. Model 1 included bilinguals and revealed that English affix awareness was primarily explained by cumulative English exposure (% English-input) and associated with vocabulary, while English compound awareness was predicted by Chinese compound proficiency and unrelated to vocabulary. Model 2 compared between groups, revealing significant associations between English vocabulary and both types of morphological awareness for monolinguals, whereas bilinguals only showed significance for affix awareness. Findings suggest that Chinese-English-bilingual and English-monolingual children show distinct morphological development patterns. Importantly, awareness of affixes, a rare feature in Chinese, is crucial for Chinese-English-bilinguals’ English vocabulary.
Abstract Language control in bilinguals is often studied using switch and mixing costs, primarily with bilinguals who separate the languages they speak by context. However, some bilinguals, such as Lebanese Arabic–French speakers, use languages in an integrated manner, by code-switching daily, a pattern captured by language entropy. This study examines language-switching costs and benefits in 62 frequent code switchers (FCS) using cued and voluntary picture-naming tasks. Results showed reduced switch and mixing costs in the voluntary condition compared to the cued condition. Half the participants even exhibited a mixing benefit when switching freely, modulated by L2 proficiency, with more balanced bilinguals showing larger benefits. In line with De Bruin et al. (2018), these findings suggest that less constrained language switching may reduce language control demands, and for FCS, mixing languages can even be easier than having to stay in one. Findings remain to be supported by more ecological discourse-based research.
Abstract This preregistered study investigated how moral identity relates to moral decisions and emotional responses in 106 Greek–English bilinguals. Participants evaluated two sacrificial-harm and two honesty-based interpersonal moral dilemmas and completed the Moral Identity Questionnaire (Black & Reynolds, 2016, Personality and Individual Differences , 97, 120–129). Analyses combined NHST and Bayesian approaches. Higher moral self and moral integrity scores predicted stronger emotional reactions and more deontological choices, particularly in honesty-based dilemmas. Language did not exert a reliable overall effect on moral decisions. However, participants responding in their first language (L1) reported higher moral self scores than those responding in their second language (L2), whereas moral integrity did not differ across language conditions. Emotional intensity varied by language and dilemma type: participants generally reported stronger emotions in their L2 but experienced stronger emotional intensity in response to sacrificial dilemmas in their L1. A multilevel mediation analysis indicated that emotional intensity did not reliably mediate the relationship between language and moral choices.
Abstract 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.
Abstract Interpreting requires regular and frequent language switching and is thus likely beneficial to cognitive flexibility. However, advantage research found mixed results, probably due to two confounding factors: interpreter expertise and task differences. This study targeted the critical period of intermediate interpreter expertise and compared participants’ switching performance in the rule–based Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the cue-based colour–shape switching tasks (uni-/bivalent versions). Results showed that interpreting students at the pre-intermediate level outperformed bilingual controls in switch cost, and in WCST errors and global RT. With the same participants tested 1 year later and with interpreting students at the post-intermediate level, interpreters outperformed in mixing cost in the bivalent task and in WCST global RT. The findings of the colour–shape switching tasks (further confirmed by cue-based analysis) revealed a developmental transition of interpreters’ advantage from local switching to global monitoring, and a differential sensitivity of the tasks, with implications for studies on bilingual advantage.
Abstract The structure of the bilingual mind has been the focus of many studies, especially regarding how different languages are stored and interact. Using the same sample pool of 101 Turkish–English bilinguals across eight experiments involving the masked priming paradigm, this extensive study investigated non-cognate translation priming, along with the potential effects of language direction (L1-to-L2 vs. L2-to-L1), task type (lexical decision task vs. semantic categorization task), prime duration (50 ms vs. 83 ms), individual differences (L2 proficiency, L2 immersion, and L2 dominance), and word frequency. The results revealed a prominent translation effect for both language directions across tasks and prime durations, with semantic categorization tasks eliciting more priming. Since 83-ms primes were largely visible, the findings reveal important differences between pre-conscious (50-ms primes) and conscious (83-ms primes) word processing. Overall, the findings support the quantitative models, Multilink in particular, highlighting that native-like L2 word processing can emerge in late bilinguals.
Abstract Research on the foreign language effect suggests that language context can shape judgement, although evidence varies across tasks and populations. We examined whether perceived accuracy of personality feedback differs across languages among 170 Polish native speakers with advanced English proficiency. Participants rated the accuracy of either genuine or enhanced feedback on their self-actualisation. Enhanced feedback was judged as more accurate than genuine feedback across language conditions, indicating a robust self-enhancement effect. The overall effect of language and the language × favourability interaction were not statistically significant, suggesting that L2 use did not reliably reduce self-enhancement in explicit self-judgement. In exploratory analyses, a significant language × feedback component interaction suggested that language context may be associated with variation in how different types of self-relevant information are evaluated. These findings suggest that explicit self-evaluation may be relatively resistant to foreign language effects globally, while showing tentative, component-specific variation that requires further investigation.
This study investigated cross-linguistic influence (CLI) in spoken word recognition in a typologically distinct language pair. Japanese-English bilinguals performed auditory lexical decision tasks in both L1 (Japanese) and L2 (English), presented in counterbalanced order, responding to cognates varying in cross-linguistic overlap and to matched nonwords. This design allowed direct comparison of L1 and L2 processing within the same individuals. Response times measured from stimulus onset and offset were compared to capture changes in effects across the time course of processing. In both languages, phonological and semantic similarities significantly facilitated responses, though phonological similarity effects varied slightly over time. Cognate frequency inhibited responses later in time, varying by language, and L2 proficiency further modulated performance. Importantly, these effects emerged spontaneously, without priming, demonstrating bidirectional cognate facilitation even across linguistically distant languages. The results support the applicability of the BIA+ model to auditory processing, even for different-script bilinguals.
It has been widely suggested in recent years that exposure to and use of multiple languages can affect cognitive performance, with bilinguals frequently being argued to demonstrate superior cognitive performance to their monolingual peers. The current study investigates whether there are any effects of minimal exposure to second-language (L2) Welsh on the cognitive skills of English-speaking emergent bilingual primary school children in Wales. Participants were divided into two language groups based on their school year, with performance between monolingual (N = 25) and emergent bilingual (N = 38) children compared on a variety of executive function (EF) tasks. Results revealed superior performance for the bilingual children in Reception and Year 1 on all EF tasks aside from the Forward digit recall compared to monolingual peers, with no differences between groups in Year 2. This suggests that the cognitive benefits of bilingualism emerge at very early stages of second-language exposure.
Researchers have speculated that proficiency in a language could affect the production of both referential and beat gestures. The primary purpose of the present study was to test whether bilinguals produced more referential and beat gestures than monolinguals, particularly in their second language. We also tested for possible effects of culture on gesture production by comparing speakers of both Farsi and Canadian French (on the one hand; English on the other). In the present study, Farsi-English bilinguals' gesture production when telling a story was compared to that of French-English bilinguals and English monolinguals. We found effects of proficiency on gesture production: participants tended to use more beats in their second language than in their first. We also found effects of culture: Farsi-English bilinguals used fewer referential gestures in both languages than the other participants. We discuss these results in light of the multiple factors that contribute to gesture production.
The emotion triggered by emotion words is usually reduced in a second language (L2) compared with a first language (L1). In L1, several features contribute to the representation of affective meaning in highly emotion prototypical words (e.g., valence, arousal), particularly feelings and interoception (internal bodily sensations). We had English-Spanish L2 users to rate Spanish words on various features to examine whether the prototypicality of emotion words is determined by the same features in L1 and L2. Prototypicality obtained higher ratings in L2 than in L1, in contrast, all the other features had lower ratings in L2. Interoception predicted prototypicality significantly less in L2 than in L1, suggesting that L2 users do not rely on body sensation as much as L1 users when evaluating emotional prototypicality and supporting the theory of disembodied emotion in L2. The ratings provide a database of emotion words in L2 Spanish with new features like prototypicality, feelings and interoception.
Second language (L2) processing places substantial demands on working memory (WM). Because WM training programs are time-consuming and effortful, the present study examined whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a region associated with WM, can facilitate L2 comprehension. Intermediate L2 learners of Spanish were randomly assigned to an active or sham group. Both groups completed pre- and posttests of listening and reading comprehension; between tests, the treatment group received two 20-minute sessions of 2.0 mA anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC, whereas the sham group received only brief stimulation. Results showed no improvement in reading comprehension, but the treatment group exhibited significant gains in listening comprehension from pre- to posttest and relative to the sham group. These findings suggest that anodal tDCS over the left DLPFC facilitates L2 listening comprehension under the present experimental conditions, offering a potential neuromodulatory aid for adult learners.
This study examined how newly learned emotional meanings influence word processing in first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) speakers. Participants learned Chinese pseudowords paired with disgusted, sad or neutral faces. Generalization and refreshing tests assessed whether the learned meanings extended beyond specific pairings, and event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded during a modified lexical decision task to probe neural processing. Both groups successfully learned and generalized the emotional associations, although L2 speakers showed reduced cross-modal generalization for sadness. ERP analyses revealed that unlearned pseudowords elicited stronger early posterior negativity (EPN) while emotional pseudowords elicited larger late positive complex (LPC). Also, L2 participants exhibited greater LPC amplitudes and broader cortical recruitment than L1 counterparts. Moreover, disgust and sadness diverged in early neural responses, with disgust eliciting enhanced EPNs. These findings indicate rapid affective binding to novel words and greater neural effort for L2 processing, suggesting similar temporal dynamics but increased resource demands in L2.
Preterm-born children are at increased risk for executive function (EF) deficits, particularly in inhibitory control. While bilingualism has been linked to enhanced EF in term-born children, its effects on preterm populations are less understood. This study explored whether bilingualism supports inhibitory control in preterm-born children using behavioral and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data during a Go/No-Go task. Sixteen preterm-born children (ages 6-7), both bilingual and monolingual, were assessed. Bilingual participants demonstrated faster reaction times (RTs) without compromising accuracy and showed lower levels of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) in the frontal lobe, indicating more efficient neural effort. Results underscore a distinct neural and behavioral profile in bilingual preterm children during inhibitory control tasks, emphasizing the role of language experience in shaping EF outcomes. These findings suggest that bilingualism may offer cognitive benefits for inhibitory control in preterm-born children and highlight the potential for bilingualism to support EF development in at-risk groups.
This study examined emotional interference and facilitation in cognitive processing among heritage bilingual and monolingual young adults across six tasks varying in emotional and linguistic demands. Results showed that bilinguals often exhibited comparable or more efficient processing than monolinguals in more demanding conditions (i.e., nonword rejection, high-load working memory tasks). Emotional valence effects were task-dependent and rarely differed across language groups, likely reflecting bilinguals' dominance in English. Moreover, heritage bilingual performance was shaped by both English and Spanish language proficiency, as well as the age of second-language acquisition (AoA). Cognitive cost and valence effects varied by task, highlighting the interaction between task demands and bilingual language background. Findings emphasize the importance of individual bilingual experiences and task context in understanding cognitive and emotional processing, suggesting that group differences are not uniform but depend on nuanced language and task factors.
Multilingual experience is seen as a cognitive reserve factor that may protect against neurodegeneration. Accurate language use measurement is essential to understand its cognitive and neural effects. Traditional assessments often rely on a single retrospective questionnaire, which may not reflect the dynamic, context-dependent nature of multilingualism. This study introduces complementary tools - Language History Questionnaire (LHQ), Daily Report Form (DR), Online Messages (OM) and In-lab Language Tasks (EXP) - to assess language use across social contexts in native and non-native languages. Correlational, ANOVA and network analyses showed that self-report tools had high internal consistency, while objective and experimental methods varied in sensitivity to context and modality. Consistency across tools was higher for native language use, especially when aggregating data across contexts. In contrast, non-native English assessments were more affected by contextual variability and tool-specific biases. Findings highlight the need for multimodal, context-rich assessments to improve validity and comparability in real-world multilingual research.
Recent research suggests that a cognitive bias, the illusion of causality, can be attenuated when the task is presented in a foreign language (D & iacute;az-Lago & Matute, 2019a, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72(1), 41-51), supporting the well-known foreign language effect on decision making and reasoning. We conducted a replication study with a large sample (N = 220), determined through a Bayes factor design analysis, but our results did not support the original findings. This finding challenges the generalizability of the foreign language effect on reducing cognitive biases. Additionally, we found that the magnitude of the illusion decreased with increasing years of formal education and was generally weaker among male participants compared to females. These findings emphasize the importance of using samples with balanced demographic characteristics to avoid potential confounds in between-group comparisons. Overall, our study highlights the need for further research to clarify the conditions under which the foreign language effect can influence cognitive biases.
Current approaches to bilingualism and language learning ability obscure differences between capacity for learning (ability) and dominance (relative proficiency). Bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have persistent difficulties with complex syntax. The effects of language learning ability and relative proficiency on syntactic development in bilingual acquisition are not well described. This cross-sectional study examined the continuous effects of language ability and relative proficiency on the production of conditionals, subject/object relatives and passives in a sample of 34 five- to nine-year-old Spanish-English bilingual children, 12 of whom were identified as having DLD. Conditionals were significantly easier than other forms, and there were no differences between subject and object relatives. Higher language ability was associated with greater accuracy. Relative proficiency predicted higher English performance for balanced and English-dominant children. Further examination of language ability and relative proficiency in diverse language learners is warranted.
Language, emotion, and environment jointly shape how words are processed in real life. This study tested how valence and simulated weather influence bilingual lexical access in virtual reality (VR). Forty Spanish-English bilinguals completed a language-decision task with negative high-arousal and neutral low-arousal words under sunny and rainy conditions. Accuracy was high, with no reliable effects. Reaction times were faster for negative than for neutral words and slower under rain than sun, with no significant language effect. A Weather by Trial Order interaction reflected a practice-related speeding under sun under sunny weather. Valence and weather exerted additive influences, and weather did not modulate language or valence effects. These findings suggest that realistic perceptual load imposes general costs without altering emotional or language-related processing. The study underscores VR's potential to integrate ecological validity into psycholinguistic paradigms, revealing how intrinsic and extrinsic factors jointly constrain bilingual emotional word processing.
This study examines how emotional states interact with bilingual language control across different switching contexts. Chinese-English bilinguals performed cued and voluntary switching tasks under neutral, negative and positive emotional states. Behaviorally, negative states did not affect performance. Event-related potentials (ERPs) results revealed that in voluntary switching, negative state increased cue-locked late positive component (LPC) on switch trials, indicating greater reactive control during the late stage of language schemas competition phase. In cued switching, negative state enhanced cue- and stimulus-locked N2 and reduced stimulus-locked LPC on L1 trials, reflecting enhanced proactive control during the early stage of language schemas competition and throughout the lexical selection phase. As proactive control is more cognitively demanding than reactive control, these findings suggest that the compensatory mechanism is more strongly activated in cued switching across both language control phases. Our findings extend the adaptive control hypothesis by showing how bilinguals flexibly adjust control in emotional contexts.
