Spanish-English Bilinguals Research Articles

Syntax drives default language selection in bilingual connected speech production.

The present study investigated the role of syntactic processing in driving bilingual language selection. In two experiments, 120 English-dominant Spanish-English bilinguals read aloud 18 paragraphs with language switches. In Experiment 1a, each paragraph included eight switch words on function targets (four that repeated in every paragraph), and Experiment 1b was a replication with eight additional switches on content words in each paragraph. Both experiments had three conditions: (a) normal, (b) noun-swapped (in which nouns within consecutive sentences were swapped), and (c) random (in which words in each sentence were reordered randomly). In both experiments bilinguals produced intrusion errors, automatically translating language switch words by mistake, especially on function words (e.g., saying the day and stay awake instead of the day y stay awake). Intrusion rates did not vary across experiments even though switch rate was doubled in Experiment 1b relative to Experiment 1a. Bilinguals produced the most intrusions in normal paragraphs, slightly but significantly fewer intrusions in noun-swapped paragraphs, and a dramatic drop in intrusion rates in the random condition, even though the random condition elicited the most within-language errors. Bilinguals also demonstrated a common signature of inhibitory control in the form of reversed language dominance effects, which did not vary significantly across paragraph types. Finally, intrusions increased with switch word predictability (surprisal), but significant differences between conditions remained when controlling for predictability. These results demonstrate that bilingual language selection is driven by syntactic processing, which operates independently from other language control mechanisms, such as inhibition.the day and stay (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Spanish-English Code-Switching and Cognitive Control

Code-switching is the act of alternating between multiple languages within a conversation, common amongst bilingual speakers. The Control Process Model claims that different types of language contexts like code-switching involve different levels of engagement of cognitive control. In studying this phenomenon, prior research has demonstrated that reading code-switched sentences enhanced cognitive control (conflict resolution) on non-verbal trials compared to one-language contexts. The current study investigates how code-switching affects conflict resolution similar to that of the previous study but using more ecologically valid auditory stimuli (speech). Participants are Spanish-English bilinguals in the US who learned both languages before the age of 12. The experiment alternates one-language spoken sentences and Spanish-English sentences. Sentences are interleaved with Flanker trials, congruent or incongruent. Participants respond to the direction of the middle arrow. The prediction made is that both the presence of a code-switch and the type of code-switch modulates the conflict effect. Results show that the presence of a switch and the type of switch matters in modulating cognitive control in bilingual individuals.

Sociolinguistic Style, Awareness, and Agency among Southern California Latinx Spanish–English Bilinguals

This study examined different degrees of awareness regarding the stigmatization of Southern California (SoCal) Spanish across four groups of Spanish–English bilinguals from Southern California (n = 87). The participants were presented with Spanish sentences and asked to decide which profile of speaker would likely express that sentence, given six options, such as: “someone living in Los Angeles/SoCal who grew up in Mexico” or “a Spanish-English bilingual who grew up in Los Angeles/SoCal”. Experimental stimuli included seven different linguistic categories of stigmatization, including English contact forms. The participants tended to attribute the stigmatized forms to bilinguals who grew up in Southern California. Central Colloquial and Taboo categories were more salient and perceived as forms used by people in Mexico. In contrast, English borrowings and redundancies seemed to be recognized by the participants, particularly for simultaneous bilinguals who grew up in Southern California, as salient forms of an identified Southern California Spanish variety. The results are interpreted within Exemplar Theory, with certain stigmatized forms indexing “Mexican Spanish” exemplars, and English borrowings identified as exemplars of SoCal Spanish. We advocate for usage-based approaches to understanding language perceptions and critical approaches to interrogating academic discourses.

Multisensory Integration of Native and Nonnative Speech in Bilingual and Monolingual Adults.

Face-to-face speech communication is an audiovisual process during which the interlocuters use both the auditory speech signals as well as visual, oral articulations to understand the other. These sensory inputs are merged into a single, unified process known as multisensory integration. Audiovisual speech integration is known to be influenced by many factors, including listener experience. In this study, we investigated the roles of bilingualism and language experience on integration. We used a McGurk paradigm in which participants were presented with incongruent auditory and visual speech. This included an auditory utterance of 'ba' paired with visual articulations of 'ga' that often induce the perception of 'da' or 'tha', a fusion effect that is strong evidence of integration, as well as an auditory utterance of 'ga' paired with visual articulations of 'ba' that often induce the perception of 'bga', a combination effect that is weaker evidence of integration. We compared fusion and combination effects on three groups ( N = 20 each), English monolinguals, Spanish-English bilinguals, and Arabic-English bilinguals, with stimuli presented in all three languages. Monolinguals exhibited significantly stronger multisensory integration than bilinguals in fusion effects, regardless of the stimulus language. Bilinguals exhibited a nonsignificant trend by which greater experience led to increased integration as measured by fusion. These results held regardless of whether McGurk presentations were presented as stand-alone syllables or in the context of real words.

Testing the Early Differentiation Hypothesis: A Case Study of a Spanish-English Bilingual Child

This paper contributes to the field of simultaneous bilingual first language acquisition (2L1). Specifically, it examines the developmental stages of a bilingual child in two languages, Spanish and English. The analysis is performed by analyzing bilingual acquisition data from CHILDES database with the CLAN program. The study aims to support several hypotheses proposed in the field of 2L1 (e. g., The Early Differentiation Hypothesis). The results show that the developmental stages of a bilingual child correspond to the stages of a monolingual child acquiring a language; the only difference is the number of languages that is being acquired. The data also show that the child’s caregivers use certain strategies in their socialization as the important prerequisite for 2L1 (e.g., frequency of input, discourse strategies and maximal engagement with a minority language available in the input). The results of the study confirm the Early Differentiation Hypothesis that argues for the language-specific morphosyntactic patterns in child’s grammar. The study has very important pedagogical implications for parents who raise their children in bi- and multilingual families.

English Vowel Perception in Spanish-English Bilingual Preschoolers: Multiple-Talker Input Is Only Beneficial for Children With High Language Exposure Levels.

This study examines English vowel perception in Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers, comparing bilinguals' perception patterns to those of monolinguals and examining how child internal (age) and external variables (input quantity and input diversity) predict perceptual performance. Sixty children between 3;6 and 5;6 (years;months) of age participated in the study, 28 of whom were Spanish-English bilinguals and 32 English monolinguals. Perception was assessed through a forced-choice minimal-pair identification task in which children heard synthesized audio stimuli (i.e., "sheep" and "ship") that varied systematically along the /i-ɪ/ continuum and were asked to match them with one of two pictures. The data were analyzed with Bayesian mixed-effects logistic regression analyses, modeling responses as a function of continuum step, language background (monolingual or bilingual), age, English exposure (i.e., input quantity), and number of English input providers (i.e., input diversity). The results indicate that, despite displaying nonnative English stop voicing perception in a previous study, the same bilingual children showed English /i-ɪ/ perception patterns that did not differ from those of monolinguals. While age did not predict vowel perception, input quantity and diversity jointly interacted to moderate how well children perceived the /i-ɪ/ contrast. Specifically, diverse input promoted perceptual performance in children who received high levels of English exposure-and who presumably had more advanced English language skills, whereas it limited perceptual performance in children with more limited English exposure and skills. This study shows that bilingual children can show monolingual-like perception patterns for some sounds while displaying nontarget perception for others. This is the first study to demonstrate that language exposure mediates the role of input diversity on speech sound development, suggesting that varied input can be more or less beneficial for speech sound development based on the learner's language learning stage.

Decomposing Variation in Vocabulary and Listening Comprehension Task Performance in Spanish and English Into Person, Ecological, and Assessment Differences for Spanish-English Bilingual Children in the United States.

We investigated the contributions of person, ecological, and assessment characteristics to one's performance on vocabulary and listening comprehension tasks in English and Spanish. Person characteristics included English learner status, ecological characteristics included instructional program enrollment (bilingual vs. English immersion) and poverty status, and assessment characteristics included the language of assessment (Spanish vs. English) and linguistic grain size (vocabulary vs. listening comprehension). Data were from 208 Spanish-English emergent bilingual children in Grade 1 in the United States and were analyzed using explanatory item response models. Substantial variance in the tasks across both languages was attributable to the random effects of assessment/item (74%) and person (26%). English learner status was a significant student predictor of language performance, and the instructional program was a significant ecological predictor of language performance. Regarding assessment characteristics, both the language of assessment and linguistic grain size explained the variance in performance. There were no differences in performance on English assessments between children in the Spanish-English bilingual program and children in the English immersion program. However, on the Spanish tasks, children in the bilingual program outperformed their peers in the English immersion program. These findings highlight the importance of considering not only person/child characteristics but also ecological and assessment characteristics for Spanish-English bilingual children's performance on oral language tasks. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.26972749.

A - 74 Comparing HVLT-R Performance in Monolingual Vs. Spanish/English Bilingual Veterans

Abstract Objective Norms developed in monolingual populations may not be appropriate for use with bilingual patients. This study examined the impact of Spanish-English bilingualism on rote verbal memory using the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test-Revised (HVLT-R). Methods Clinically-referred veterans (86 monolingual; 30 bilingual) completed HVLT-R (English) during a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation. Chi square analyses and independent samples t-tests were used to examine group demographic differences. Verbal fluency scores and HVLT-R scores were compared between groups using independent samples t-tests. Results Groups did not differ significantly in age (monolingual-M = 62.62; bilingual-M = 65.67) or education (monolingual-M = 13.9; bilingual-M = 13.2). Self-reported race/ethnicity was mostly White for the monolingual sample, while the bilingual sample was predominantly Hispanic. Groups also differed in gender composition (bilingual: 100% male; monolingual: 84% male). Groups did not differ in their speeded English phonemic word generation, t(108) = 0.311, p = 0.757, or speeded semantic word generation, t(109) = 1.931, p = 0.056, suggesting the current bilingual sample had high English proficiency. Cognitively unimpaired monolingual and bilingual veterans did not differ in their raw total recall, t(114) = 1.228, p = 0.222, delayed free recall, t(114) = 0.331, p = 0.741, percent retention, t(114) = 0.240, p = 0.811, or recognition discrimination, t(114) = 0.521, p = 0.603, for target words. Groups did not differ in their age-corrected T-scores in any of the above scores. Conclusions Results support the use of existing HVLT-R normative data for assessment of rote verbal memory in Spanish/English bilinguals with high English proficiency.

Students’ language and subject learning attitudes in CLIL secondary education

ABSTRACT This study examines the attitudes of CLIL learners to both language and subject learning in the context of Madrid’s Spanish-English Bilingual Education Program. The research compared 70 students enrolled in two secondary school strands with differing CLIL exposure (high versus low) in terms of their attitudes towards the languages of instruction and their beliefs about how content subjects are taught in the L1 (Spanish) and the L2 (English). Their answers to two open-ended questions from a longer questionnaire were coded using thematic analysis. The results indicate that, whilst participation in either the high- or the low-exposure strand has an effect on students’ preferences regarding the language of instruction, it does not seem to influence their orientation towards the practical value of CLIL. In addition, students tend to attribute similarities and differences in the teaching of subjects in the L1 and the L2 to the content and to the change in language of instruction. These results are further discussed by addressing the amount of CLIL instruction across strands and by contextualising this approach in a primarily monolingual context and mindset, where certain expectations clash with fears and presuppositions concerning the effect on L1 literacy of learning in an additional language.

Are Written Syntax Features Related to Writing Quality? An Examination of Spanish and English Compositions by Bilingual Children.

There is limited research on the writing of young Spanish-English bilinguals and their writing in both languages. In the current study, we addressed whether written syntax features differed by language (English and Spanish) and varied as a function of grade level, English learner status, and instructional program (dual or English immersion). We also examined whether Spanish and English syntax features were related cross-linguistically and related to writing quality within languages and whether these relations to writing quality were moderated by grade level, English learner status, and instructional program. We examined written syntax features of Spanish and English essays by simultaneous and emergent bilinguals in Grades 1, 2, and 3 in either Spanish-English dual immersion or English immersion instruction in the United States (N = 278). Essays were scored for quality and evaluated for mean length of T-units, number of verbs, number of noun agreement words, and number of subject agreement words accurately conjugated. Written syntax features significantly differed by language and varied as a function of grade level, English learner status, and instructional program. Grades 2 and 3 wrote longer utterances, more verbs, and greater noun agreement accuracy than Grade 1. Syntax features were related to writing quality within languages, but Spanish relations were weaker for English learners than non-English learners and for dual immersion students than English immersion students. Our findings suggest written syntax features may be useful for evaluation of English-Spanish simultaneous and emergent bilinguals' writing. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25927366.

False memories in bilinguals: Integration of information across languages and limits on proficiency effects.

Research on false memory in bilinguals using the DRM task has shown that false memories transfer across languages, but comparisons to within-language conditions have yielded mixed results. In two experiments, Spanish-English bilinguals completed standardized language assessments and a DRM task. Experiment 1 (N = 96) had several study-recall cycles before a final recognition test, and Experiment 2 (N = 72) only tested recognition. Relative to within-language conditions, more critical lures were recalled when the language changed from study to test and when words were studied in mixed-language sequences. With no prior recall test, the rate of critical lure recognition did not differ across language conditions. Language proficiency was not associated with the false-memory effects. Associations of false and veridical memory were negative in recall and positive in recognition. Overall, the findings indicate that proficient bilinguals can integrate information across their languages via a shared semantic network to form false memories.

Syntactic and emotional interplay in second language: emotional resonance but not proficiency modulates affective influences on L2 syntactic processing

ABSTRACT Previous research has demonstrated the influence of emotions during linguistic processing, indicating the interactivity of both processes in the brain. However, little is known regarding such interplay in a second language (L2). This study addressed this question by examining the reading effects of syntactic violations while processing L2 emotional and neutral statements. Forty-six Spanish-English bilinguals with various levels of L2 proficiency and emotional resonance (i.e. capability for emotional experience in L2) were presented with a self-paced sentence reading task. Sentences contained positive (16), neutral (16) and negative (16) verbs, half of them presented in agreement and half in disagreement with the preceding pronoun. Analysis of verb reading times using linear mixed effects modelling revealed a significant interaction between syntactic violation, verb valence and emotional resonance, suggesting that stronger emotional L2 experience results in a higher saliency of negative verbs, reducing the impact of syntactic violations.

Sprinting in two languages: Picture naming performance of older Spanish-English bilinguals on the Multilingual Naming Test Sprint 2.0.

The present study examined how years of immersion in a nondominant language affect (a) the degree of bilingualism as measured by picture naming scores and (b) the bilingual disadvantage relative to monolinguals. Forty-two older Spanish-English bilinguals named pictures in an expanded rapid administration version of the Multilingual Naming Test (MINT Sprint 2.0) in both languages and completed a language history questionnaire. English-speaking monolinguals (n = 138; from Gollan et al., 2024) named pictures in just one language. Spanish-dominant bilinguals named more pictures in the nondominant language but fewer pictures in the dominant language relative to English-dominant bilinguals. Increased years of immersion in the nondominant language increased naming scores in that language but decreased naming scores in the dominant language. When controlling for differences in age and education level, monolinguals named more pictures than bilinguals even in their dominant language, a difference that was numerically smaller for English-dominant bilinguals. However, two bilinguals who stated that they prefer to be tested in English scored much higher in Spanish. Older bilinguals name fewer pictures than demographically matched monolinguals even when bilinguals are tested in their dominant language and especially if they report many years of immersion in their nondominant language. The bilingual disadvantage can be magnified if self-reported language preference is used to determine the language of testing. Accurate interpretation of bilingual picture naming scores requires a thorough language history and objective assessment in both languages, which can be done in relatively little time using rapid administration procedures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Revisiting which language declines more in Spanish-English bilinguals with Alzheimer's disease: Longitudinal decline patterns on the multilingual naming test

Theories of bilingual language production predict that bilinguals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) should exhibit one of two decline patterns. Either parallel decline of both languages (if decline reflects damage to semantic representations that are accessed by both languages), or asymmetrical decline, with greater decline of the nondominant language (if decline reflects reduced ability to resolve competition from the dominant language with disease progression). Only two previous studies examined decline longitudinally with one showing parallel, and the other asymmetrical, decline. We examined decline over 2–7 years (3.9 on average) in Spanish-English bilinguals (N = 23). Logistic regression revealed a parallel decline pattern at one year from baseline, but an asymmetrical decline pattern over the longer decline period, with greater decline of the nondominant language (when calculating predicted probabilities of a correct response). The asymmetrical decline pattern was significantly greater for the nondominant language only when including item-difficulty in the model. Exploratory analyses across dominance groups looking at proportional decline relative to initial naming accuracy further suggested that decline of the nondominant language may be more precipitous if that language was acquired later in life, but the critical interaction needed to support this possibility was not statistically significant in a logistic regression analysis. These results suggest that accessibility of the nondominant language may initially be more resilient in early versus more advanced AD, and that AD affects shared semantic representations before executive control declines to a point where the ability to name pictures in single-language testing block is disrupted. Additional work is needed to determine if asymmetrical decline patterns are magnified by late age of acquisition of the nondominant language, and if more subtle impairments to executive control underlie impairments to language switching that occur in the earliest stages of AD (even preclinically).

Supplemental Material for Sprinting in Two Languages: Picture Naming Performance of Older Spanish–English Bilinguals on the Multilingual Naming Test Sprint 2.0

Supplemental Material for Sprinting in Two Languages: Picture Naming Performance of Older Spanish–English Bilinguals on the Multilingual Naming Test Sprint 2.0

Family Language Preference, Not Provider-Family Language Concordance, Predicts Integrated Psychology Treatment Engagement in a Spanish-English Bilingual Clinic.

Monolingual Spanish speakers-many of whom identify as Hispanic/Latine-often experience barriers to accessing psychology services, including language access. Integrated primary care (IPC) clinics, where individuals receive psychological services within primary care, aim to improve service accessibility. However, minoritized populations are less likely to engage with these services than non-Hispanic/Latine White individuals. Few studies examine psychology treatment engagement within pediatric integrated clinics for Spanish-speaking families. This study investigated differences in psychology treatment engagement for Spanish-speaking families and the role of patient-provider language concordance within pediatric IPC. A retrospective chart review examined data from a multiethnic sample of 887 patients (M age = 8.97 yrs, 55.69% male, 64.83% Hispanic/Latine, 6.99% non-Hispanic/Latine White, 41.71% Spanish-preferring) from an urban pediatric IPC clinic serving a high proportion of Hispanic/Latine, Spanish-speaking families. We examined the association between language preference and patient-provider language concordance on service engagement using hierarchical linear regression. Spanish-preferring families were more likely than English-preferring families to engage in psychology services. Working with a Spanish-speaking provider during an initial psychology visit was unrelated to psychology treatment engagement for Spanish-preferring families. Higher engagement for Spanish-preferring families seems to reflect the clinic's reputation as a center for linguistically accessible services. While linguistic accessibility remains important, our study did not detect an effect of language concordance during the initial psychology visit and subsequent treatment engagement. The findings highlight the importance of providing culturally responsive and linguistically accessible mental health services for Spanish-speaking families.

Individual differences in L2 proficiency moderate the effect of L1 translation knowledge on L2 lexical retrieval

Abstract The effect of translation knowledge on bilingual lexical production is mixed, with some studies showing translation interference and others showing facilitation. We considered the roles of first-language (L1) translation knowledge and second-language (L2) proficiency in lexical retrieval, testing predictions of the competition for selection, frequency lag and activation boosting accounts. In experiment 1, 54 highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals named pictures of low-frequency nouns in English (L2). Spanish (L1) translation knowledge and English proficiency had an interactive effect on tip-of-the-tongue experiences with increased L1 translation interference at low levels of L2 proficiency and facilitation at high levels of L2 proficiency, consistent with combined predictions of competition for selection and activation boosting accounts. Experiment 2 confirmed that confounding lexical variables did not drive translation effects. By examining individual differences within bilinguals, we found support for multiple mechanisms that play a role in bilingual lexical retrieval that were not evident at the group level.

Variability in English-Spanish bilingual phonotactics

Spanish prohibits initial sC clusters. Past studies have reported that this phonotactic restriction results in the perception of an illusory /e/, ‘repairing’ the illicit sequence (e.g., spid perceived as espid). Because English allows sC clusters, English-Spanish bilinguals are confronted with conflicting phonotactic systems. The present study investigated if this locus of phonotactic conflict yields bilingual variability (i.e., non-monolingual-like language behavior). Spanish monolinguals and English-Spanish bilinguals performed a nonce word judgment task, whereby they assigned acceptability ratings to sC-initial nonce words. Monolinguals were highly unaccepting of sC-initial words, whereas bilinguals were more likely to accept them as phonotactically licit, showing evidence of bilingual variability. The bilingual variability was constrained by English phonotactics, as sC clusters were rated as significantly more acceptable than other illicit onset clusters that are illicit in both languages. Furthermore, the monolinguals failed to show evidence of an illusory vowel effect, highlighting the importance of task type in phonotactic perception studies.

The relationship between executive function, age of L2 acquisition and speech disfluencies in bilinguals

Disfluencies signal errors in speech processes. Research in typically fluent monolinguals indicates a correlation between disfluencies and specific executive function (EF), including cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, working memory (WM), and attention. However, these relationships have not been systematically explored in bilinguals. This study investigates the relationship between these EF components, age of language acquisition and disfluencies in bilinguals. Two types of disfluencies were examined: stalling, where articulation is delayed until the speech plan is ready, and advancing, that is, the articulation of incomplete speech plans. A total of 120 English speech samples based on simulated job interviews from 20 typically fluent adult Spanish-English bilinguals were transcribed and coded for disfluencies. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Digit span was used to measure cognitive flexibility/inhibitory control, and the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Color-Word Interference Test was used to assess WM/attention. Findings indicate correlations between stalling disfluencies and cognitive flexibility/inhibitory control, advancing disfluencies and WM/attention, and age of acquisition and both stalling and advancing disfluencies.

Dual-language testing improves bilinguals’ verbal scores

Objective: Research demonstrates that college educated, English language dominant bilinguals underperform relative to English speaking monolinguals on tests of verbal ability. We investigated whether accepting responses in their two languages would reveal improved performance in bilinguals, and whether such improvement would be of sufficient magnitude to demonstrate the same performance level as monolinguals. Method: Participants were college students attending the same university. Spanish-English bilinguals were compared to English speaking monolinguals on the Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests (BVAT), which include Picture Vocabulary, Oral Vocabulary, and Verbal Analogies. Results: When given the opportunity to respond in Spanish to items failed in English, bilinguals obtained significantly higher scores on all three subtests, and their performance matched that of monolinguals on Oral Vocabulary and Verbal Analogies. Conclusion: An “either-language” scoring approach may enable optimal measurement of verbal abilities in bilinguals. We provide normative data for use in applying the either-language scoring approach on subtests of the BVAT. We discuss the findings in the context of clinical assessment.