LEXTALE_CH: A quick, character-based proficiency test for Mandarin Chinese

Research in second language acquisition suggests that objective performance-based assessments may provide more reliable and valid measures of second language proficiency than subjective self-ratings. To measure proficiency in English as a second language, a quick, vocabulary-based test called LexTALE (Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English) was developed and shown to be able to differentiate between various levels of English proficiency. Following in the line of adaptations of this test for other languages, we created a character-based adaptation for Mandarin Chinese: LEXTALE_CH. In this paper, we discuss the development and validation of LEXTALE_CH in detail. In short, LEXTALE_CH can discriminate between high and low levels of Mandarin proficiency and is sensitive to the significant differences in vocabulary size between native speakers and second language learners of Mandarin; further, it takes only a few minutes to administer and is simple to score, making it a practical tool for low-stakes estimation of Mandarin proficiency.http://www.lingref.com/bucld/42/BUCLD42-09.pdfPublished versio

Introducing LexTALE: A quick and valid Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English

The increasing number of experimental studies on second language (L2) processing, frequently with English as the L2, calls for a practical and valid measure of English vocabulary knowledge and proficiency. In a large-scale study with Dutch and Korean speakers of L2 English, we tested whether LexTALE, a 5-min vocabulary test, is a valid predictor of English vocabulary knowledge and, possibly, even of general English proficiency. Furthermore, the validity of LexTALE was compared with that of self-ratings of proficiency, a measure frequently used by L2 researchers. The results showed the following in both speaker groups: (1) LexTALE was a good predictor of English vocabulary knowledge; 2) it also correlated substantially with a measure of general English proficiency; and 3) LexTALE was generally superior to self-ratings in its predictions. LexTALE, but not self-ratings, also correlated highly with previous experimental data on two word recognition paradigms. The test can be carried out on or downloaded from www.lextale.com

Co-lateralized bilingual mechanisms for reading in single and dual language contexts: evidence from visual half-field processing of action words in proficient bilinguals

When reading, proficient bilinguals seem to engage the same cognitive circuits regardless of the language in use. Yet, whether or not such ‘bilingual’ mechanisms would be lateralized in the same way in distinct – single or dual – language contexts is a question for debate. To fill this gap, we tested 18 highly proficient Polish (L1) – English (L2) childhood bilinguals whose task was to read aloud one of the two laterally presented action verbs, one stimulus per visual half field. While in the single-language blocks only L1 or L2 words were shown, in the subsequent mixed-language blocks words from both languages were concurrently displayed. All stimuli were presented for 217 ms followed by masks in which letters were replaced with hash marks. Since in non-simultaneous bilinguals the control of language, skilled actions (including reading), and representations of action concepts are typically left lateralized, the vast majority of our participants showed the expected, significant right visual field advantage for L1 and L2, both for accuracy and response times. The observed effects were nevertheless associated with substantial variability in the strength of the lateralization of the mechanisms involved. Moreover, although it could be predicted that participants’ performance should be better in a single-language context, accuracy was significantly higher and response times were significantly shorter in a dual-language context, irrespective of the language tested. Finally, for both accuracy and response times, there were significant positive correlations between the laterality indices (LIs) of both languages independent of the context, with a significantly greater left-sided advantage for L1 vs. L2 in the mixed-language blocks, based on LIs calculated for response times. Thus, despite similar representations of the two languages in the bilingual brain, these results also point to the functional separation of L1 and L2 in the dual-language context

White-matter structure in the right hemisphere predicts Mandarin Chinese learning success

AbstractSecond language learning becomes increasingly difficult with age, but some adults learn more successfully than others. We examined whether inter-subject variability in the microstructure of white matter pathways, as measured by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), would predict native English speakers' outcomes in learning Mandarin Chinese. Twenty-one adults were scanned before participating in an intensive 4-week Mandarin course. At the end of the Mandarin course, participants completed a final exam that assessed their skills in both spoken and written Mandarin. Individual participants' white-matter tracts were reconstructed from their native DTI data and related to final-exam performance. Superior language learning was correlated with DTI measures in the right hemisphere, but not in the left hemisphere. In particular, greater initial fractional anisotropy (FA) in both the right superior longitudinal fasciculus (parietal bundle) and the right inferior longitudinal fasciculus was associated with more successful Mandarin learning. The relation between white-matter structure in the right hemisphere of native English speakers and successful initial language learning may reflect the tonal and visuo-spatial properties, respectively, of spoken and written Mandarin Chinese

Spatio-temporal dynamics and laterality effects of face inversion, feature presence and configuration, and face outline

Although a crucial role of the fusiform gyrus (FG) in face processing has been demonstrated with a variety of methods, converging evidence suggests that face processing involves an interactive and overlapping processing cascade in distributed brain areas. Here we examine the spatio-temporal stages and their functional tuning to face inversion, presence and configuration of inner features, and face contour in healthy subjects during passive viewing. Anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) combines high-density whole-head MEG recordings and distributed source modeling with high-resolution structural MRI. Each person's reconstructed cortical surface served to constrain noise-normalized minimum norm inverse source estimates. The earliest activity was estimated to the occipital cortex at ~100 ms after stimulus onset and was sensitive to an initial coarse level visual analysis. Activity in the right-lateralized ventral temporal area (inclusive of the FG) peaked at ~160 ms and was largest to inverted faces. Images containing facial features in the veridical and rearranged configuration irrespective of the facial outline elicited intermediate level activity. The M160 stage may provide structural representations necessary for downstream distributed areas to process identity and emotional expression. However, inverted faces additionally engaged the left ventral temporal area at ~180 ms and were uniquely subserved by bilateral processing. This observation is consistent with the dual route model and spared processing of inverted faces in prosopagnosia. The subsequent deflection, peaking at ~240 ms in the anterior temporal areas bilaterally, was largest to normal, upright faces. It may reflect initial engagement of the distributed network subserving individuation and familiarity. These results support dynamic models suggesting that processing of unfamiliar faces in the absence of a cognitive task is subserved by a distributed and interactive neural circuit

Functional Neuroanatomy of Second Language Sentence Comprehension: An fMRI Study of Late Learners of American Sign Language

The neurobiology of sentence comprehension is well-studied but the properties and characteristics of sentence processing networks remain unclear and highly debated. Sign languages (i.e., visual-manual languages), like spoken languages, have complex grammatical structures and thus can provide valuable insights into the specificity and function of brain regions supporting sentence comprehension. The present study aims to characterize how these well-studied spoken language networks can adapt in adults to be responsive to sign language sentences, which contain combinatorial semantic and syntactic visual-spatial linguistic information. Twenty native English-speaking undergraduates who had completed introductory American Sign Language (ASL) courses viewed videos of the following conditions during fMRI acquisition: signed sentences, signed word lists, English sentences and English word lists. Overall our results indicate that native language (L1) sentence processing resources are responsive to ASL sentence structures in late L2 learners, but that certain L1 sentence processing regions respond differently to L2 ASL sentences, likely due to the nature of their contribution to language comprehension. For example, L1 sentence regions in Broca's area were significantly more responsive to L2 than L1 sentences, supporting the hypothesis that Broca's area contributes to sentence comprehension as a cognitive resource when increased processing is required. Anterior temporal L1 sentence regions were sensitive to L2 ASL sentence structure, but demonstrated no significant differences in activation to L1 than L2, suggesting its contribution to sentence processing is modality-independent. Posterior superior temporal L1 sentence regions also responded to ASL sentence structure but were more activated by English than ASL sentences. An exploratory analysis of the neural correlates of L2 ASL proficiency indicates that ASL proficiency is positively correlated with increased activations in response to ASL sentences in L1 sentence processing regions. Overall these results suggest that well-established fronto-temporal spoken language networks involved in sentence processing exhibit functional plasticity with late L2 ASL exposure, and thus are adaptable to syntactic structures widely different than those in an individual's native language. Our findings also provide valuable insights into the unique contributions of the inferior frontal and superior temporal regions that are frequently implicated in sentence comprehension but whose exact roles remain highly debated

Neural correlates of phonological processing in Polish-English bilinguals: An fMRI study

Wydział AnglistykiNiniejsza dysertacja bada problem neuronalnych korelatów przetwarzania fonologicznego języka ojczystego i języka obcego u polskich użytkowników języka angielskiego. W celu wskazania struktur i funkcji mózgu odpowiedzialnych za przetwarzanie fonologiczne stworzono zestaw eksperymentów, które przeprowadzono na grupie średniozaawansowanych polskich użytkowników języka angielskiego. Korzystając z metody rezonansu magnetycznego sprawdzono hipotezę zakładającą zrózżnicowanie w reprezentacji procesów fonologicznych w mózgu, w zależności od przetwarzanego języka oraz stopnia zaawansowania użytkownika. Zestaw zawierał cztery eksperymenty z zadaniami w języku polskim i angielskim, takimi jak słuchanie pasywne, Test Pamięci Roboczej Sternberga, test fluencji słownej, oraz Test Leksykalny dla Zaawansowanych Uczniów Języka Angielskiego. Na eksperymenty złożyły się również trzy eksperymenty nie oparte na żadnych zadaniach. Wyniki wraz z dokładną dyskusją sugerują model przetwarzania drugiego języka, który składa się z modułów związanych z zadaniami językowymi zbudowanych ze współgrających ze sobą sieci mózgowych. W związku z tym, niniejsza dysertacja wnosi nowe odkrycia do dziedzin językoznawstwa i neuronauki, poszerzając nasze zrozumienie procesów przetwarzania języka w mózgu.The present thesis investigates the issue of neural basis for phonological processing of native and non-native speech in Polish-English bilinguals. In order to pinpoint the structures and functions that are relevant to phonological processing, a set of experiments was devised on a group of moderately proficient Polish-English bilinguals. Using the method of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and hypothesizing that there will be differences in the representation of phonological processes in the brain, dependent on the language and the level of proficiency in the language, four task-based experiments in both Polish and English, including listening to stories, Sternberg Working Memory Task, Verbal Fluency Task, and Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English, and three task-independent experiments were conducted. The results of the thesis, along with the detailed discussion suggest a model of phonological processing in L2, which consists of different task-related modules of interacting brain networks. As such, the present thesis contributes to both fields of linguistics and neuroscience, broadening the understanding of how the brain processes language