Age Of Second Language Acquisition Research Articles

Enhanced efficiency in the bilingual brain through the inter-hemispheric cortico-cerebellar pathway in early second language acquisition

Bilingualism has a profound impact on the structure and function of the brain, but it is not yet well understood how this experience influences brain functional organization. We examine a large sample (151 participants) of monolinguals and bilinguals with varied age of second language acquisition, who underwent resting-state functional magnetic brain imaging. Whole-brain network analyses reveal higher global efficiency in bilingual individuals than monolinguals, indicating enhanced functional integration in the bilingual brain. Moreover, the age at which the second language was acquired correlated with this increased efficiency, suggesting that earlier exposure to a second language has lasting positive effects on brain functional organization. Further investigation using the network-based statistics approach indicates that this effect is primarily driven by heightened functional connectivity between association networks and the cerebellum. These findings show that the timing of bilingual learning experience alters the brain functional organization at both global and local levels.

The Role of Age in Second Language Development

This article delves into the ongoing debate surrounding the role of age in second language acquisition, examining developments over the past three decades and highlighting contentious issues. We argue that the commonly held belief in age’s pivotal role is frequently contradicted by empirical evidence. Additionally, we examine the age-related debate with respect to foreign language teaching. A brief review is provided on advances in neuroscientific techniques, which show that the adult brain retains substantial plasticity for language learning, followed by a discussion of these findings in relation to lifelong language learning. Finally, we turn to Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, which offers a dynamic perspective that emphasizes the evolving interplay of age, context, and individual factors, pointing to the need for more qualitative research.

Multilingualism is associated with small task-specific advantages in cognitive performance of older adults

The protective effects of multiple language knowledge on the maintenance of cognitive functions in older adults have been discussed controversially, among others, because of methodological inconsistencies between studies. In a sample of N = 528 German monolinguals and multilinguals (speaking two or more languages) older than 60 years, this study examined (1) whether speaking multiple languages is positively related to performance on tasks of interference suppression, working memory, concept shifting, and phonemic and semantic fluency, and (2) whether language proficiency and age of second language acquisition (AoA) are associated with cognitive performance of multilinguals. Controlling for education and daily activity, we found small cognitive benefits of speaking multiple languages on interference suppression, working memory, and phonemic fluency, but not on concept shifting and semantic fluency. Furthermore, no substantive correlations were found between language proficiency or AoA and cognitive performance. In conclusion, multilingualism appears to have small incremental effects on cognitive performance beyond education and daily activity in older age that are task-specific and widely independent of proficiency and AoA.

AoA-L2 and Usage-L2 modulate the functional neuroplasticity of the subcortex

Previous studies revealed structural differences in subcortical regions between monolinguals and bilinguals; however, whether the functional neuroplasticity of the subcortex is modulated by different bilingual experiences remains unclear. Here, we examined the effect of age of second language acquisition (AoA-L2) and usage of L2 (Usage-L2) on subcorto-cortical and intra-subcortical functional connectivity (FC) in bilinguals by using resting-state fMRI data. The relations between brain measurements and bilingual experiences were revealed by using multiple regression analysis. We found that increased AoA-L2 was mainly related to decreased subcortical FC involving the anterior thalamus, basal ganglia, and hippocampus. Increased Usage-L2 at home was mainly associated with decreased subcortical FC of the amygdala, globus pallidus, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens. The FC of these subcortical regions displayed a positive relation with Usage-L2 in social settings. These findings reveal that bilingual experiences modulate the functional neuroplasticity of the subcortex in different ways.

A dynamic view of the neurocognition of translation: Illustrated by neurocognitive studies of the translation process

Neurocognitive studies of the translation (including interpreting) process have developed quickly for decades. They not only shed new light on the black box of the translating brain but also spark discussions in neurolinguistic and neurocognitive issues in the translation process, which are firstly explicated in the paper, underlying a more in-depth explanation of a dynamic view of the neurocognition of translation. This dynamic view is further expounded by a comprehensive analysis of the research findings of ten representative neurocognitive studies in terms of cognitive components and relevant brain areas involved in the translation process. The above analysis reveals the connectivity and complexity of the neural basis of translation and demonstrates the neurocognitive variety of translating under the influence of different factors, such as language proficiency, the translator's age of second language acquisition, translation directionality, and the specific tasks of translation or interpreting, among others. The explication of the dynamic view offers a neurocognitive lens to observe the neural basis of translation psychology more comprehensively on the one hand and raises further problems to explore on the other.

The Role of Age in SLA: A Review of the Literature between 2012-2023

Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is a complex process of acquiring a second language after a first language is already established, one of the factors is the age factor. Over the past few years, there has been a lot of study that argued that age plays an important role in learning a second language. Some studies stated that age has been considered a major factor in determining language learners’ success in second language acquisition. There is an assumption that the younger the learner, the better it is for them to acquire a second language. Even so, those studies did not specifically talk about how the role of age has an effect on second language acquisition. Therefore, in order to fill that gap, this study aimed to give some contribution in offering some answers regarding the role of age in second language acquisition. The result of this study indicated that age can be a contributing factor in someone’s second language acquisition. However, it is not the only driving factor since there are still so many variables that can affect one’s ability to acquire a second language.

An ERP study on novel word learning in an immersive virtual reality context

AbstractIn this behavioral and electrophysiological study, we compare novel word learning, particularly lexical form acquisition, in an immersive virtual reality (VR) context with a picture-word (PW) association context. We also test whether inhibitory control and age of second language acquisition (L2 AoA) have modulating effects. Chinese speakers of L2 English learned two sets of German words, one set in each of the contexts. Behavioral performance from a subsequent recognition task indicated that responses to VR-learned words were faster than PW-leaned words. ERPs revealed that VR-learned words elicited more negative N100 and N200 waveforms than PW-learned words. Moreover, a significant relationship between L2 AoA and N200 amplitude was observed for VR-learned words. Taken together, the results suggest that the multi-sensory, interactive experience simulated by an immersive VR context has a positive effect on early lexical form acquisition of novel words.

The Effective Age of Second Language Acquisition: A Literature Review

The presence of language suggests that the human mind can handle a bunch of codes in an exceptional manner, which is then transformed into a bunch of significance for communication. It is important for a person to initially get familiar with the language to have the option to utilize it really for correspondence purposes. The peculiarity of language obtaining has drawn in light of a legitimate concern for linguists to lead research in this field to decide the tremendous limit that human minds give on how language is procured, both first and second language. The capacity to get and comprehend language isn’t hereditarily acquired yet the specific language that children speak is given to them socially and naturally. The outcome in language procurement can be accomplished by zeroing in on the inside factors that additionally influence it, such as maturing in language capacity and the so-called critical period. This study employed Literature Review as the research method, in which this research endeavored to investigate a portion of the current examination articles on the Critical Period Hypothesis and the impact toward Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Moreover, the consequence of the investigation was subsequently proposed to distinguish how much the SLA is dependent upon the impact of a critical period.

Bilingualism, brain and development: A neuroemergentist perspective

Neuroemergentism, (NM) is a novel framework which has sought to consider language development as involving the organization and reorganization of cognition and its underlying neural substrate. Work to support this framework comes from studies of language and cognitive development. In this talk, I will focus on two separate levels, the sensorimotor plasticity needed to adjust to new input and the cognitive flexibility needed to select between these competing sources of information. This talk will discuss both these levels with regard to the neurocognitive adaptations seen in bilinguals. This will include structural brain differences in monolinguals and bilinguals that vary in the age of second language acquisition. In the second part, of the talk work that has focused on the cognitive flexibility will be presented. This will focus on the adaptations of the basal ganglia and frontostriatal tracts as a gating mechanism crucial for selecting the correct motor response. This includes newer work which links genes associated with dopamine to cognitive and language flexibility in bilinguals. The ways in which sensorimotor plasticity and cognitive flexibility represent accurate but incomplete conceptualizations of the competitive processes involved in language and cognitive processing will be discussed. The talk will conclude with potential future directions using an NM framework.

Levels of skills and predictive patterns of reading comprehension in bilingual children with an early age of acquisition

Bilingualism appears to be related to poor language and reading comprehension in the instructional language (L2). However, in the long term, an early age of second language acquisition (AoA) may produce higher levels of second language skills than a later onset of L2 exposure. Most studies on school-aged second language learners (L2 learners) include children with 3–7 years of second language (L2) exposure. We compared 91 early bilingual (Norwegian and a variety of different native languages) 5th graders with 196 monolingual peers on a range of linguistic skills and their relationships with reading comprehension. All bilingual learners in the sample had been exposed to the instructional language by at least the age of 2. The results, using structural equation modelling and latent variables, show that early bilingual learners’ vocabulary, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension are significantly lower than those of monolingual learners. Nevertheless, they have similar levels of knowledge of conjunctions and decoding skills and corresponding predictive patterns from linguistic skills to reading comprehension. We discuss the implications of the findings.

Sequential bilingual heritage children's L1 attrition in lexical retrieval: Age of acquisition versus language experience

AbstractThis study investigated the unresolved issue of potential sources of heritage language attrition. To test contributing effects of three learner variables – age of second language acquisition, length of residence, and language input – on heritage children's lexical retrieval accuracy and speed, we conducted a real-time word naming task with 68 children (age 11–14 years) living in South Korea who spoke either Chinese or Russian as a heritage language. Results of regression analyses showed that the participants were less accurate and slower in naming target words in their heritage language as their length of residence in Korea and the amount of Korean input increased. The age of Korean acquisition did not significantly influence their performance. These findings support the claim that heritage speakers’ language experience is a more reliable predictor of first language attrition than age of acquisition. We discuss these findings in light of different approaches to explaining language attrition.

The Effect of Using KWL (Know-Want-Learned) Strategy on Reading Comprehension Of 5th Grade EFL Students in Kuwait

Metacognitive reading strategies play an essential role in improving reading comprehension. This study explores the effects of English metacognitive reading strategies and reading comprehension in Kuwaiti primary school students as foreign language learners; this experimental study tries to find a relationship between students' metacognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, and students' reading performance. Participants were fifth grade EFL students in Kuwait primary education government public schools. The students' reading comprehension was evaluated. Comprehension tracking strategies were measured using Metacognitive strategies (K-W-L Plus). While the experimental groups (B) received instructions according to (K-W-L Plus) techniques, the control (A) group was trained with the traditional teaching approach based on the Kuwait national curriculum school textbooks. A questionnaire investigating the use of English and perceived English proficiency was also conducted. The results revealed that Perceived proficiency in English was not determined by the early or late pre-school age of second language acquisition. Also, bilingual students with perceived proficiency in English had better meta-cognitive reading skills than low perceived proficiency in English. Comprehension monitoring and (K-W-L) strategy was adequate and the most important predictor of reading comprehension among all students in the research sample.

Bilingualism and Healthy Aging: Onset Age of Bilingualism as a Predictor of Older Adult Theory of Mind

The ability to understand and speak more than one language (i.e., bilingualism) may protect against age-related cognitive deterioration (Abutalebi et al., 2015). While there is mounting evidence suggesting that bilingualism confers advantages in domain-general cognitive abilities in late adulthood (see Bialystok, 2017, for a review), few studies have investigated the influences of bilingualism on socio-cognitive abilities such as theory of mind (ToM) in the normal aging process. Thus, in this study, we examine how bilingualism factors (i.e., onset age of bilingualism, language balance, and diversity in language use) are associated with individual differences in ToM in healthy older adult bilinguals aged 58-79 (N=44). ToM abilities were assessed using the Theory-of-Mind Task Battery (Hutchins et al., 2008), where participants viewed vignettes and answered questions about the protagonists’ cognitive and affective mental states. All participants completed a self-report language background questionnaire and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test as a measure of general cognitive ability. Results revealed that better ToM was negatively correlated with participants’ chronological age (r=-.43, p=.004) and the onset age of second-language acquisition (r=-.41, p=.006), but not language balance and diversity (ps>.40). Partial regression analyses showed that earlier onset age of bilingualism predicted better ToM performance (β=-.40, p=.009), even after controlling for age, education, and general cognitive ability. These findings suggest that bilingual language experience, particularly earlier exposure to a second language, may provide benefits to older adults in preserving their ability to understand others’ mental states, acting as a cognitive reserve against age-related declines in socio-cognitive functions.

The effect of bilingualism on the brain is modulated by language experience

AbstractBackgroundResearch has shown that lifelong bilingualism may contribute to cognitive reserve in neurodegenerative diseases as shown by a delay of the age at symptom onset in bilinguals with different types of dementia. However, the study of the neural mechanisms behind this bilingual advantage is limited, especially for the preclinical stages of dementia, such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Additionally, most of the studies have operationalised bilingualism as a dichotomous variable, despite the fact that language experience results from a combination of different factors (language usage, frequency of language switching, age of second language acquisition, and language proficiency).MethodIn the present study we investigated cortical and subcortical grey matter structure volume, and episodic memory performance, in a group of bilingual individuals with MCI by considering their linguistic profile. Specifically, we compared active bilingual speakers of Spanish and Catalan and bilinguals who have good knowledge of their second language but without any active usage of it. This classification is based on the results of a previous study in which we found that actively speaking the two languages promotes the delay of symptoms in individuals with MCI.ResultThe results reveal that active bilingualism significantly delays the onset of MCI symptoms. Additionally, active bilingualism is also shown to result in increased cortical grey matter in the right supramarginal gyrus, increased bilateral hippocampal volume and reshaping of the right amygdala and right caudate nucleus.ConclusionThese results are compatible with the hypothesis that bilingualism protects against cognitive decline via neural compensation mechanisms and by increasing neural efficiency in individuals with MCI.

Tolerance of ambiguity, need for cognitive closure and feeling like a different person when speaking different languages

ABSTRACT Feeling like a different person when speaking different languages has been investigated before and attributed to several linguistic as well as psychological factors. Language proficiency, the context of language acquisition, personality traits, emotional intelligence, and the topic of conversation as well as the interlocutor have been found to give rise to this feeling. Here, the discussion of this phenomenon is continued and extended to the investigation of the psychological constructs of tolerance of ambiguity (TA) and need for cognitive closure (NCC) as well as several demographic and linguistic variables, including: age, gender, age of second language acquisition (L2 AoA), and second language (L2) proficiency. Data collected via an online questionnaire from a group of 452 bilingual first language (L1) German – L2 English speakers were analysed with binary logistic regression (GLM model). The analysis returned five factors, i.e. valuing diverse others, decisiveness, change, participants’ gender as well as age, as significant predictors of feeling like a different person (D 2 = 0.0718). In addition, qualitative thematic analysis revealed that the languages themselves as well as varied levels of language proficiency and distinct cultural backgrounds might be responsible for feeling different.

Use of Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess Syntactic Processing by Monolingual and Bilingual Adults and Children.

This exploratory study assessed the use of functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to examine hemodynamic response patterns during sentence processing. Four groups of participants: monolingual English children, bilingual Chinese-English children, bilingual Chinese-English adults and monolingual English adults were given an agent selection syntactic processing task. Bilingual child participants were classified as simultaneous or sequential bilinguals to examine the impact of first language, age of second-language acquisition (AoL2A), and the length of second language experience on behavioral performance and cortical activation. Participants were asked to select the agent of four types of sentences: subject-verb-object (SVO), passive (PAS), subject-extracted relative clause (SR), and object-extracted relative clause (OR) adopted from the “Whatdunit” task by Montgomery et al. (2016). Semantic cues were removed by using inanimate nouns for agents and patients, which constrained participants to make decisions based on syntactic knowledge. Behavioral results showed greater accuracy for canonical SVO and SR sentence types than for noncanonical OR and PAS sentence types, which aligns with prior studies. Neuroimaging results revealed greater hemodynamic responses to relative clauses (i.e., SR and OR sentences) than to simple sentences (SVO and PAS), especially for Chinese-English bilinguals suggesting first-language transfer influencing sentence processing in English. The effects AoL2A and the length of second language experience showed no significant differences between simultaneous and sequential bilinguals or between bilingual adults and children for identifying the correct agent in each sentence. However, neuroimaging results demonstrated greater hemodynamic responses in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in simultaneous bilinguals compared to sequential bilinguals and greater hemodynamic responses in left and right DLPFC and left IPL among bilingual adults. Different behavioral and neural hemodynamic response patterns afford new insights into the effects of syntactic knowledge on sentence processing.

The effect of background noise on speech perception in monolingual and bilingual adults with normal hearing.

Background:Previous studies have highlighted that bilingual listeners have a deficit in speech perception in their second language compared with monolingual listeners in noisy listening environments. This deficit may give rise to educational and occupational implications for bilingual speakers who are studying or working in non-native language environments in poor acoustic conditions.Objectives:To compare the speech perception performance of monolingual English speakers and English as a second language (ESL) bilinguals within environments with various levels of background noise and to examine whether bilinguals with an early age of second language acquisition would perform better than those with a late age of acquisition.Study sample:Two groups of adult listeners with normal hearing participated: monolingual British English listeners (N = 15) and bilingual Arabic listeners for whom English was their second language and who were proficient in English (N = 15). The quick speech-in-noise (QuickSIN) test was used to assess signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss and SNR-50 for both groups.Results:The QuickSIN test results indicated that bilingual Arabic listeners with normal hearing displayed a mild SNR loss comparable to that observed for a person with hearing loss, indicating a higher SNR needed for this population to achieve a comparable level of comprehension to their monolingual English peers.Conclusion:Results highlight the importance of measuring SNR loss to obtain accurate diagnosis and potential rehabilitative information that is not available from audiogram studies.

Onset age of second language acquisition and fractional anisotropy variation in multilingual young adults

The experience of speaking two languages, particularly the age of second language acquisition (L2AoA), has been robustly associated with differences in metrics indicative of white matter structure. However, bilingual language experience is complex, described not only by acquisition but also functional language usage and proficiency. We examined whether the onset age of the second most proficient language (pL2AoA) would indeed be a sensitive measure that incorporates onset age of second language acquisition and self-reported L2 proficiency and correlates with variation in fractional anisotropy in white matter. Thirty-one multilingual young adults with a range of L2AoA and pL2AoA from an English-dominant community participated. After accounting for age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and parental education, both L2AoA and pL2AoA were significantly correlated with fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum. Furthermore, we show that a larger and more extensive cluster in the corpus callosum was correlated with pL2AoA as compared to the conventional L2AoA. • Multilingualism has been associated with structural brain differences. • We correlated onset age of second language acquisition and white matter structures. • Negative correlations were found between onset age of second language and fractional anisotropy (FA) in corpus callosum. • Similar negative correlations were observed between FA in a larger and more extensive cluster in corpus callosum and the onset age of the second most proficient language.

Age of Acquisition of Mandarin Modulates Cortical Thickness in High-Proficient Cantonese-Mandarin Bidialectals.

Previous studies showed that the onset age of second language acquisition (AoA-L2) can modulate brain structure of bilinguals. However, the underlying mechanism of anatomical plasticity induced by AoA-L2 is still a question in debate. In order to explore the issue, we recruited two groups of native Cantonese-Mandarin speakers, the early group began to speak in Mandarin at about 3.5 and the late group at about 6.5years old. In addition, the early group had earlier experience in reading Chinese characters than the late group did. Through estimating the cortical thickness (CT), we found that (1) compared with the late group, the early group had thicker CT in the lateral occipital region, left middle temporal gyrus, and left parahippocampal region, which are all involved in visuospatial processing, probably reflecting the effect induced by the earlier or later experiences in processing the characters of Chinese for the two groups; and (2) compared with the late group, the early group had thicker CT in left superior parietal region, which is believed to be involved in language switching, maybe for the early group had the earlier experience in switching back and forth between Cantonese and Mandarin and therefore recruited the executive control network earlier. Our findings revealed the effects of the AoA-L2 in oral language acquisition as well as in written language acquisition as the main determinants of bilingual language structural representation in human brain.

Retraction to: The Effect of Bilingualism on Older Adults' Inhibitory Control: A Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The effect bilingualism has on older adults' inhibitory control has been extensively investigated, yet there is continued controversy regarding whether older adult bilinguals show superior inhibitory control compared with monolinguals. The objective of the current meta-analysis was to examine the reliability and magnitude of the bilingualism effect on older adults' inhibitory control as measured by the Simon and Stroop tasks. In addition, we examined whether individual characteristics moderate the bilingual advantage in inhibition, including age (young-old vs old-old), age of second language acquisition, immigrant status, language proficiency, and frequency of language use. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A total of 22 samples for the Simon task and 14 samples for the Stroop task were derived from 28 published and unpublished articles (32 independent samples, with 4 of these samples using more than 1 task) and were analyzed in 2 separate meta-analyses. RESULTS Analyses revealed a reliable effect of bilingualism on older adults' performance on the Simon (g = 0.60) and Stroop (g = 0.27) tasks. Interestingly, individual characteristics did not moderate the association between bilingualism and older adults' inhibitory control. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS The results suggest there is a bilingual advantage in inhibitory control for older bilinguals compared with older monolinguals, regardless of the individual characteristics previously thought to moderate this effect. Based on these findings, bilingualism may protect inhibitory control from normal cognitive decline with age.