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Related Experiment Video

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Bilingual Language Switching: Production vs. Recognition.

Michela Mosca^1,2, Kees de Bot³

¹International Doctorate for Experimental Approaches to Language and Brain (IDEALAB), University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany / University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands / University of Trento, Trento, Italy / University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom / Macquarie UniversitySydney, NSW, Australia.

Frontiers in Psychology

|June 23, 2017

Summary

Bilinguals manage language interference differently in speaking versus understanding. While language recognition aligns with the Inhibitory Control (IC) model, language production shows unique patterns not fully explained by current models.

Keywords:

BIA model IC model bilingual production and recognition language inhibition language switching

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Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task

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Published on: February 26, 2020

Area of Science:

Psycholinguistics
Cognitive Neuroscience
Bilingualism Research

Background:

Bilinguals constantly manage two languages, facing challenges of interference and selection.
Two models, Inhibitory Control (IC) and Bilingual Interactive Activation (BIA), explain how bilinguals suppress non-target languages.
The IC model posits greater inhibition for stronger languages, while BIA suggests stronger inhibition for weaker languages in recognition.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if a single model can explain bilingual language processing in both production and recognition.
To test the predictions of the IC and BIA models using behavioral tasks.
To determine if language dominance influences inhibition strategies differently across production and recognition.

Main Methods:

A group of Dutch (L1) native speakers, advanced in English (L2), participated in the study.
Participants performed bilingual lexical decision (recognition) and picture naming (production) tasks.
Language switching costs were measured to infer processing mechanisms and inhibition levels.

Main Results:

In language recognition, inhibition of the non-target language increased with its dominance, supporting the IC model.
In language production, inhibition was not directly related to language dominance.
Production inhibition appeared modulated by unconscious strategies aimed at supporting the weaker language.

Conclusions:

Bilingual language recognition and production may utilize distinct processing mechanisms.
Current models, such as IC and BIA, do not fully account for the observed differences between production and recognition.
Further research is needed to develop comprehensive models of bilingual language processing.