Proficient Foreign Language Learners Resemble Natives; Less Proficient Learners Struggle Uniquely
Poster No:
819
Submission Type:
Late-Breaking Abstract Submission
Authors:
Junjie Wu1, Pingping Xin1, Xinping Pu1, Guoli Yan1, Chanyuan Gu2, Hehui Li3
Institutions:
1Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, Tianjin, 2University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 3Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guandong
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
A longstanding debate in bilingualism centers on whether foreign language (FL) learners attain proficient FL reading primarily through developing native-like mechanisms (accommodation) or leveraging their first language (assimilation). Predominantly shaped by word recognition studies, this debate lacks evidence from natural reading, which integrates grammar and context to provide insights into real-life reading and may hold the key to its resolution.
Methods:
This study addresses this gap by examining natural reading in English among native speakers and Chinese-speaking English learners, using integrated eye-tracking and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets.
Results:
Using fixation-related brain activation analysis, we replicated the typical reading brain networks and identified both shared and distinct brain regions between the two groups. Exemplar-based pattern similarity analysis revealed that FL learners whose brain activation patterns were more similar to those of native readers or high-proficiency FL learners displayed superior eye movement performance, such as shorter total reading times and regression path durations. However, the similarity to high-proficiency FL learners did not significantly correlate with eye movement measures after controlling for the similarity to native readers, suggesting that proficient FL reading primarily resembles the brain activation patterns of native readers. Furthermore, FL learners whose brain activation patterns were more similar to those of low-proficiency FL learners did not display inferior eye movement performance, indicating the absence of common brain patterns among them.
·Figure 1 and Figure 2
·Figure 3 and Figure 4
Conclusions:
Collectively, our study supports the accommodation hypothesis over the assimilation hypothesis, demonstrating that high-proficiency FL learners primarily accommodate the brain activity patterns of native readers, while each low-proficiency FL learner struggles in their own distinct way. This study is the first to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying natural reading in FL learners by integrating eye-tracking and fMRI techniques, providing key insights into FL processing and learning with potential implications for research and education.
Language:
Reading and Writing 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Activation (eg. BOLD task-fMRI)
Multivariate Approaches 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Keywords:
Language
MRI
Multivariate
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Abstract Information
By submitting your proposal, you grant permission for the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) to distribute your work in any format, including video, audio print and electronic text through OHBM OnDemand, social media channels, the OHBM website, or other electronic publications and media.
The Open Science Special Interest Group (OSSIG) is introducing a reproducibility challenge for OHBM 2025. This new initiative aims to enhance the reproducibility of scientific results and foster collaborations between labs. Teams will consist of a “source” party and a “reproducing” party, and will be evaluated on the success of their replication, the openness of the source work, and additional deliverables. Click here for more information. Propose your OHBM abstract(s) as source work for future OHBM meetings by selecting one of the following options:
Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Are you Internal Review Board (IRB) certified? Please note: Failure to have IRB, if applicable will lead to automatic rejection of abstract.
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel? NOTE: Any animal studies without IACUC approval will be automatically rejected.
Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
Provide references using APA citation style.
Perfetti, C. (2007). Reading in two writing systems: Accommodation and assimilation of the brain's reading network. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10(2), 131-146.
Yan, G. (2013). Review of Eye-movement Measures in Reading Research. Advances in Psychological Science, 21(4), 589-605.