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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 2026

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Modality-specific processing precedes amodal linguistic processing during L2 sign language acquisition: A

Joshua T Williams1, Isabelle Darcy2, Sharlene D Newman3

  • 1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, United States; Program in Cognitive Science, Indiana University, United States; Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, United States.

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior
|January 1, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Late hearing learners of American Sign Language (ASL) show distinct neural processing shifts during language acquisition. Brain activity transitions from modality-specific to phonological, then lexico-semantic processing, with increasing left-lateralization.

Keywords:
American Sign LanguageBimodal bilingualismInitial inputLanguage controlLanguage modalityLongitudinal designSecond language acquisition

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Linguistics
  • Cognitive Science

Background:

  • Second language acquisition (SLA) research often focuses on spoken languages.
  • Understanding sign language acquisition in hearing learners provides insights into modality-independent language processing mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the neural changes associated with learning American Sign Language (ASL) in late-stage hearing learners.
  • To characterize the transition from modality-specific to modality-general processing during L2 sign language acquisition.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to scan learners before and during ASL instruction.
  • Learners were scanned after their first and second semesters (10 months total) of ASL instruction.
  • Activation patterns were analyzed to track changes in neural substrates related to language processing.

Main Results:

  • Initially, modality-specific neural substrates were observed.
  • After ~45 hours of instruction, learners shifted to phonological processing (e.g., supramarginal gyrus, putamen).
  • Further instruction led to lexico-semantic processing (e.g., left inferior frontal gyrus) and language control activation (e.g., left caudate, cingulate gyrus).
  • Right hemispheric recruitment and increasing left-lateralization were noted during transitions.
  • Specialized sign language processing was observed in the inferior parietal lobule (angular gyrus).

Conclusions:

  • L2 sign language acquisition involves dynamic neural reorganization.
  • Learners progress through distinct processing stages, mirroring aspects of spoken L2 acquisition.
  • The study highlights modality-independent and modality-specific neural mechanisms underlying bilingual language processing.