While the Minimalist Program argues that Spanish-English code-switches between pronominal subjects and finite verbs are ungrammatical (Van Gelderen & MacSwan, 2008), the MLF/4-M models (Myers-Scotton, 1993; Myers-Scotton & Jake, 2000) predict their grammaticality when overt pronouns are… read more
A growing body of research within cognitive perspectives of second language acquisition (SLA) has investigated how individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity may impact second language (L2) processes. Many of these studies have employed versions of complex span measures, such as the… read more
In this chapter, a theoretical account of non-selectivity effects in word recognition with a particular emphasis on the second language (L2) learner is described. Non-selectivity is the idea that lexical items from both languages are activated simultaneously. The focus is on how L2 learners and… read more
This study compared the effects of the Keyword Method and rote rehearsal on the quality of developing second language (L2) lexical representations. We assessed accuracy and latency of English-to-Spanish translations provided by English-speaking absolute beginning learners of Spanish after each of… read more
This study tests whether or not trilingual language learners rely on inhibitory control (IC) when accessing words during speech production. In particular, it investigates the extent to which second language (L2) and third language (L3) lexical robustness modulates such reliance. English language… read more
The following study uses a bilingual version of the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) false memory paradigm (Deese 1959; Roediger & McDermott 1995) to investigate conceptual mediation in second language (L2) learners. In this paradigm, participants are exposed to a list of words (e.g. bed, rest,… read more
In this study we compared second language (L2) vocabulary learning with real objects versus nonobjects as referents (a) to test the effects of increased semantic processing (when learning nonobjects) and (b) to assess the viability of using L2 vocabulary learning with nonobjects (which forces… read more
Recent research on language production suggests that bilinguals shift from using inhibitory control mechanisms to a language-specific selective mechanism during development (Costa, Santesteban, & Ivanova, 2006). Costa et al. argue that the robustness of the L2 lexical representations may be… read more