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Discourse-Level Information Recall in Early and Late Bilinguals: Evidence From Single-Language and Cross-Linguistic
Isabelle Chou1, Jiehui Hu1, Edinson Muñoz2
1School of Foreign Languages, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|November 12, 2021
Summary
Early bilinguals show superior verbal memory recall from naturalistic discourse compared to late bilinguals. This highlights how the age of second language (L2) acquisition impacts real-world information processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
Background:
- Verbal memory is sensitive to the age of second language (L2) acquisition.
- Existing research often uses decontextualized stimuli, limiting ecological validity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how age of L2 acquisition (AoA) affects recall from naturalistic discourse.
- To compare recall in single-language and cross-linguistic tasks.
Main Methods:
- Twenty-four early and 25 late Chinese-English bilinguals participated.
- Participants listened to L2 newscasts and orally reproduced information in English and Chinese.
- Recalled information (idea units) and control measures (attention, speech rate) were assessed.
Main Results:
- Early bilinguals demonstrated higher information completeness than late bilinguals.
- This effect persisted regardless of attentional speed and speech rate.
- Results were consistent across single-language and cross-linguistic recall tasks.
Conclusions:
- AoA significantly influences the ability to recall information from realistic communicative contexts.
- Findings bridge traditional memory research with ecologically valid bilingualism studies.
- Language acquisition timing shapes how bilinguals process information in daily life.
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