Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 13, 2026

Examining Bilingual Language Control Using the Stroop Task
Published on: February 26, 2020
How do German bilingual schoolchildren process German prepositions? - A study on language-motor interactions
Daniela Katharina Ahlberg1, Heike Bischoff2, Jessica Vanessa Strozyk3
1LEAD Graduate School, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany.
Abstract:
While much support is found for embodied language processing in a first language (L1), evidence for embodiment in second language (L2) processing is rather sparse. In a recent study, we found support for L2 embodiment, but also an influence of L1 on L2 processing in adult learners. In the present study, we compared bilingual schoolchildren who speak German as one of their languages with monolingual German schoolchildren. We presented the German prepositions auf (on), über (above), and unter (under) in a Stroop-like task. Upward or downward responses were made depending on the font colour, resulting in compatible and incompatible trials. We found compatibility effects for all children, but in contrast to the adult sample, there were no processing differences between the children depending on the nature of their other language, suggesting that the processing of German prepositions of bilingual children is embodied in a similar way as in monolingual German children.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Language
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Components of Language
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Language and Cognition
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Motor Units

