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The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading
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The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading

A special issue of Languages (ISSN 2226-471X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 October 2021) | Viewed by 28196

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Ana I. Schwartz

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USA
Interests: the bilingual lexicon; bilingual text comprehension; cross-language activation dynamics in long-term memory; reading fluency in the dominant and non-dominant language; cross-language transfer of reading skill and fluency; maintenance of literacy in a minority language

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This is a call for papers for a Special Issue of Languages on the cognitive nature of bilingual reading. We know that bilinguals are not simply two monolinguals in one. Instead, the cognitive architecture of the bilingual mind differs in fundamental ways from monolinguals. Although the last two decades has brought a much-needed increased research focus on bilingual reading, it is still the case that the most influential models and theories of reading are based on monolingual performance.  The goal of this issue is to provide a collection of research articles that reflect the most recent, cutting-edge advances in our understanding of the cognitive features of bilingual reading. The central questions and/or hypotheses of submissions should be focused on bilingualism and/or bi-dialectalism.

The scope is across the lifespan; we seek submissions addressing child language acquisition, emergent literacy and early reading development as well as studies on young and older adult reading processes. We particularly encourage submissions that address issues of language minority and heritage speaker status, which has a key impact on access to literacy experiences. We also seek research that examines reading processes in bi-dialectal populations, a much-neglected area to date. We encourage submissions that reflect a variety of paradigms and methods, from behavioral to neuroimaging.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors ([email protected]) or to the Languages editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

The tentative completion schedule is as follows:

  • Abstract submission deadline: 15 March 2021
  • Notification of abstract acceptance: 15 April 15 2021
  • Full manuscript deadline: 1 October 2021

Dr. Ana I. Schwartz
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Languages is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bilingualism
  • reading development
  • literacy
  • lexical access
  • sentence processing
  • syntax
  • discourse processing
  • the bilingual lexicon
  • comprehension strategies
  • individual differences
  • heritage speakers
  • bi-dialectalism

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 651 KiB  
Article
Danish-English Bilinguals’ Cognate Processing in L1 and L2 Visual Lexical Decision Tasks
by Simone Møller Krogh
Languages 2022, 7(3), 228; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7030228 - 1 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2894
Abstract
Previous research and the BIA+ model support the hypothesis of language nonselective access during bilingual word recognition with language-ambiguous words like cognates organized in two distinct lexical representations. This paper adds to the existing literature by investigating how task demands and language proficiency [...] Read more.
Previous research and the BIA+ model support the hypothesis of language nonselective access during bilingual word recognition with language-ambiguous words like cognates organized in two distinct lexical representations. This paper adds to the existing literature by investigating how task demands and language proficiency influence cognate processing. Twenty-six Danish-English bilinguals with upper-intermediate to advanced L2 proficiencies performed four visual lexical decision tasks in which stimulus list composition (pure or mixed) and target language (L1 or L2) were varied. This study thus distinguishes itself from other studies by employing a within-subjects design to investigate a bilingual’s two languages. Significant cognate inhibition effects were found in the L2 mixed language condition while none of the other three tasks yielded significant results. Especially the absence of cognate facilitation effects in the L2 pure language condition was remarkable given the findings of previous literature. With reference to the BIA+ model’s assumptions of differing resting level activations for L1 and L2 lexical representations, the impact of L2 proficiency on cognate processing was tested in a post-hoc analysis dividing participants into two groups. This analysis revealed cognate facilitation effects for L2 upper-intermediate bilinguals in the L2 pure language condition while the results of the L1 tasks for both groups of bilinguals remained non-significant. The results therefore suggest that within-subject cognate processing is modulated by L2 proficiency in certain circumstances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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26 pages, 1039 KiB  
Article
Less Direct, More Analytical: Eye-Movement Measures of L2 Idiom Reading
by Marco S. G. Senaldi and Debra A. Titone
Languages 2022, 7(2), 91; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7020091 - 6 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3255
Abstract
Idioms (e.g., break the ice, spill the beans) are ubiquitous multiword units that are often semantically non-compositional. Psycholinguistic data suggests that L1 readers process idioms in a hybrid fashion, with early comprehension facilitated by direct retrieval, and later comprehension inhibited by [...] Read more.
Idioms (e.g., break the ice, spill the beans) are ubiquitous multiword units that are often semantically non-compositional. Psycholinguistic data suggests that L1 readers process idioms in a hybrid fashion, with early comprehension facilitated by direct retrieval, and later comprehension inhibited by factors promoting compositional parsing (e.g., semantic decomposability). In two eye-tracking experiments, we investigated the role of direct retrieval and compositional analysis when idioms are read naturally in sentences in an L2. Thus, French–English bilingual adults with French as their L1 were tested using English sentences. For idioms in canonical form, Experiment 1 showed that prospective verb-related decomposability and retrospective noun-related decomposability guided L2 readers towards bottom-up figurative meaning access over different time courses. Direct retrieval played a lesser role, and was mediated by the availability of a congruent “cognate” idiom in the readers’ L1. Next, Experiment 2 included idioms where direct retrieval was disrupted by a phrase-final language switch into French (e.g., break the glace, spill the fèves). Switched idioms were read comparably to switched literal phrases at early stages, but were penalized at later stages. These results collectively suggest that L2 idiom processing is mostly compositional, with direct retrieval playing a lesser role in figurative meaning comprehension. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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22 pages, 1345 KiB  
Article
How Many Palabras? Codeswitching and Lexical Diversity in Spanish-English Picture Books
by Viridiana L. Benitez, Marissa Castellana and Christine E. Potter
Languages 2022, 7(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010069 - 16 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4788
Abstract
Bilingual picture books have been growing in popularity, with caregivers, teachers, and researchers increasingly interested in understanding how picture books might be able to support the learning of words in two languages. In this study, we present the first evaluation of the quantity [...] Read more.
Bilingual picture books have been growing in popularity, with caregivers, teachers, and researchers increasingly interested in understanding how picture books might be able to support the learning of words in two languages. In this study, we present the first evaluation of the quantity and quality of text contained within bilingual picture books in English and Spanish targeted to children ages 0–9 and available to parents in the United States. We focus specifically on a sample of codeswitching books (N = 45) which present text in one language embedded in another language. All books were transcribed and evaluated for (1) the number of words and utterances presented in each language; (2) the quality and complexity of text presented in each language; and (3) how switching occurred between the two languages. Results showed that although picture books in our sample presented predominantly English text and more complex English sentences, relatively more unique words were presented in Spanish. Furthermore, picture books in our sample presented frequent switching between languages, particularly within utterances. We suggest that bilingual picture books provide children with potentially enriching yet asymmetrical opportunities for learning in each language. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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19 pages, 917 KiB  
Article
Can Heritage Speakers Predict Lexical and Morphosyntactic Information in Reading?
by Olga Parshina, Anastasiya Lopukhina and Irina A. Sekerina
Languages 2022, 7(1), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010060 - 4 Mar 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3123
Abstract
Ample evidence suggests that monolingual adults can successfully generate lexical and morphosyntactic predictions in reading and that correct predictions facilitate sentence comprehension. In this eye-tracking corpus reading study, we investigate whether the same is true for reading in heritage language. Specifically, we ask [...] Read more.
Ample evidence suggests that monolingual adults can successfully generate lexical and morphosyntactic predictions in reading and that correct predictions facilitate sentence comprehension. In this eye-tracking corpus reading study, we investigate whether the same is true for reading in heritage language. Specifically, we ask whether heritage speakers (HSs) of Russian are able to anticipate lexical and/or morphosyntactic information of the upcoming words in the sentence and whether they differ in the predictions from monolingual children and L2 learners. We are also interested in whether the literacy level (i.e., Russian literacy experience or reading fluency in English) influences lexical and morphosyntactic prediction. Our results indicate that HSs as well as other groups were able to anticipate the specific lexical item, and the ability was contingent on the Russian literacy experience and reading fluency in dominant English as evident in some of the early and late eye-tracking measures. Similar to children and L2 learners, the word class and the verb number predictability affected reading times in HSs, but HSs were the only group to anticipate the number of the upcoming noun. We discuss findings in respect to the utility account of the bilingual prediction and divergent attainment trajectory of the heritage language development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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27 pages, 1519 KiB  
Article
Predictors of Word and Text Reading Fluency of Deaf Children in Bilingual Deaf Education Programmes
by Ellen Ormel, Marcel R. Giezen, Harry Knoors, Ludo Verhoeven and Eva Gutierrez-Sigut
Languages 2022, 7(1), 51; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010051 - 25 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 5598
Abstract
Reading continues to be a challenging task for most deaf children. Bimodal bilingual education creates a supportive environment that stimulates deaf children’s learning through the use of sign language. However, it is still unclear how exposure to sign language might contribute to improving [...] Read more.
Reading continues to be a challenging task for most deaf children. Bimodal bilingual education creates a supportive environment that stimulates deaf children’s learning through the use of sign language. However, it is still unclear how exposure to sign language might contribute to improving reading ability. Here, we investigate the relative contribution of several cognitive and linguistic variables to the development of word and text reading fluency in deaf children in bimodal bilingual education programmes. The participants of this study were 62 school-aged (8 to 10 years old at the start of the 3-year study) deaf children who took part in bilingual education (using Dutch and Sign Language of The Netherlands) and 40 age-matched hearing children. We assessed vocabulary knowledge in speech and sign, phonological awareness in speech and sign, receptive fingerspelling ability, and short-term memory at time 1 (T1). At times 2 (T2) and 3 (T3), we assessed word and text reading fluency. We found that (1) speech-based vocabulary strongly predicted word and text reading at T2 and T3, (2) fingerspelling ability was a strong predictor of word and text reading fluency at T2 and T3, (3) speech-based phonological awareness predicted word reading accuracy at T2 and T3 but did not predict text reading fluency, and (4) fingerspelling and STM predicted word reading latency at T2 while sign-based phonological awareness predicted this outcome measure at T3. These results suggest that fingerspelling may have an important function in facilitating the construction of orthographical/phonological representations of printed words for deaf children and strengthening word decoding and recognition abilities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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15 pages, 3392 KiB  
Article
How Cognitive Abilities May Support Children’s Bilingual Literacy Development in a Multilingual Society
by Margreet Vogelzang, Ianthi Maria Tsimpli and Minati Panda
Languages 2022, 7(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages7010033 - 11 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2732
Abstract
Underprivileged but highly multilingual Indian children often show low literacy performance. As a complicating factor, these children are often expected to develop literacy not just in the regionally dominant language but also in English. As good literacy skills are crucial for later academic [...] Read more.
Underprivileged but highly multilingual Indian children often show low literacy performance. As a complicating factor, these children are often expected to develop literacy not just in the regionally dominant language but also in English. As good literacy skills are crucial for later academic development, it is important to identify factors that could support these children’s literacy development. We, therefore, investigated whether cognitive abilities are associated with literacy development and whether they are so in the same way for both of these children’s languages. In a longitudinal design (Std. 4 and Std. 5), literacy data in Hindi and English were collected from 336 children in Delhi, India. In addition, three cognitive tasks (Raven’s, 2-back, Flanker) were performed. We found that bilingual literacy development is evident across children, although the starting point is low in some cases. Fluid intelligence (Raven’s) and working memory capacity (2-back) significantly positively related to literacy performance in Std. 4 and Std. 5 in both Hindi and English. Literacy improvement from Std. 4 to Std. 5 also related to cognitive abilities—working memory capacity (2-back) for Hindi and inhibitory skills (Flanker) for English—but in the opposite direction: Children who had lower scores on these cognitive tasks show more improvement, indicating that they are in the process of catching up with their higher-performing peers—although they have not fully managed to do so by Std. 5. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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12 pages, 430 KiB  
Opinion
Understanding Language Attrition through Orthography
by Beatriz Bermúdez-Margaretto, Federico Gallo, Mikhail Pokhoday, Yury Shtyrov, Hamutal Kreiner and Andriy Myachykov
Languages 2021, 6(4), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6040199 - 2 Dec 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4487
Abstract
The decay in the proficiency of the native language (L1), known as first language attrition, is one of the least understood phenomena associated with the acquisition of a second language (L2). Indeed, the exact cause for the deterioration in L1 performance, be that [...] Read more.
The decay in the proficiency of the native language (L1), known as first language attrition, is one of the least understood phenomena associated with the acquisition of a second language (L2). Indeed, the exact cause for the deterioration in L1 performance, be that either the interference from L2 acquisition or the less frequent use of L1, still remains elusive. In this opinion paper, we focus on one largely understudied aspect of L1 attrition—namely, the erosion of the L1 orthographic knowledge under the influence of L2 orthography. In particular, we propose to study differences in orthographic processing between mono- and bilingual populations as an approach, which, in turn, will allow to address both cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying L1 attrition. We discuss relevant experimental paradigms, variable manipulations and appropriate research methods that may help disentangle the largely debated question of L2 interference vs. L1 disuse, clarifying the nature of the L1 orthographic attrition. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Cognitive Nature of Bilingual Reading)
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