This Element provides an overview of research considering variables deemed to impact bilingual language acquisition, and highlights research outcomes from a variety of disciplines. An exploratory study takes into account these variables and examines the language acquisition of adult Spanish-English bilinguals across a range of domains in their two languages. The results demonstrate that the highly interactive nature of bilingual speakers' languages is in line with a holistic view of the dynamic, interdependent nature of bilingualism as described by usage-based theories and dynamic systems theories, and by the conceptualization of bilingual language from a Dynamic Interactive Processing Perspective.

For bilinguals, it is argued that a cognitive advantage can be linked to the constant management and need for conflict resolution that occurs when the two languages are co-activated (Bialystok, 2015). Language mode (Grosjean, 1998, 2001) is a significant variable that defines and shapes the language experiences of bilinguals and consequently, the cognitive advantages of bilingualism. Previous work, however, has not sufficiently tested the effects of language mode on the bilingual experience. In this brief conceptual analysis, we discuss the significance of language mode in bilingual work on speech perception, production, and reading. We offer possible explanations for conflicting findings and ways in which future work should control for its modulating effects.

Http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7968.2016v36n3p60O presente estudo de caso analisou o desempenho tradução de quatro tradutores profissionais com o objetivo de explorar o esforço cognitivo envolvido durante a tradução direta e a inversa. Quatro tradutores profissionais traduziram dois textos comparáveis do inglês para o espanhol e do espanhol para o inglês. A tecnologia de rastreamento ocular foi usada para analisar o tempo total gasto em cada tarefa, o tempo de fixação, e o tempo médio de fixação. A contagem de fixação em três áreas de interesse foi medida e inclui: a) o texto de partida, b) o texto de chegada e c) o navegador de internet, usado como apoio externo. Os resultados sugerem que, embora o tempo total e contagem de fixação sejam indicadores de esforço cognitivo durante as tarefas, os dados da contagem de fixação nas áreas de interesse mostram que mais esforço foi alocado ao texto de partida em ambas as tarefas. De maneira geral, este estudo demonstra que, enquanto as variáveis tradicionalmente usadas para aferir níveis de dificuldades durante uma tradução (e.g., o tempo total) indicam um maior esforço na tarefa de tradução inversa, os dados de rastreamento ocular sugerem que as diferenças no esforço aplicado em ambas as direções devem ser cuidadosamente analisadas, sobretudo em relação às áreas de interesse.

Input Processing refers to the initial process by which learners connect grammatical forms with their meanings as well as how they interpret the roles of nouns in relationship to verbs. The pedagogical intervention derived from this theoretical framework, Processing Instruction (PI), has consistently shown success at improving second language (L2) learners’ processing strategies. PI helps learners to intake “better input” by directing their attention to targeted forms during input processing and to assign grammatical and semantic roles. Although previous findings reveal that PI is an effective pedagogy in L2 learning, in this chapter we explore whether similar benefits would hold for third language (L3) learning. Through considerations related to the complimentary and competitive nature of first languages (L1s) and L2s, along with insight from cognitive bilingualism, we advocate for future studies to test the hypotheses discussed in this chapter.

In real-life communication, individuals use language that carries evident rewarding and punishing elements, such as praise and criticism. A common trend is to seek more praise while avoiding criticism. Furthermore, semantics is crucial for conveying information, but such semantic access to native and foreign languages is subtly distinct. To investigate how rule learning occurs in different languages and to highlight the importance of semantics in this process, we investigated both verbal and non-verbal rule learning in first (L1) and second languages (L2) using a reinforcement learning framework, including a semantic rule and a color rule. Our computational modeling revealed that individuals may be more motivated to learn and adhere to rules in an L1 compared to L2, with greater striatum activation during the outcome phase in the L1. Additionally, results on the learning rates and inverse temperature in the two rule learning tasks showed that individuals tend to be conservative and are reluctant to change their judgments regarding rule learning of semantic information. Moreover, the greater the prediction errors, the greater activation of the right superior temporal gyrus in the semantic-rule learning condition, demonstrating that such learning has differential neural correlates than symbolic rule learning. Overall, the findings provide insight into the neural mechanisms underlying rule learning in different languages, and indicate that rule learning involving verbal semantics is not general symbolic learning that resembles a conditioned stimulus-response, but rather has its own specific characteristics.