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Testing Potential Transfer Effects in Heritage and Adult L2 Bilinguals Acquiring a Mini Grammar as an Additional Language: An ERP Approach

Pereira Soares, Sergio Miguel ; Kupisch, Tanja LU and Rothman, Jason (2022) In Brain Sciences 12(5).
Abstract
Models on L3/Ln acquisition differ with respect to how they envisage degree (holistic
vs. selective transfer of the L1, L2 or both) and/or timing (initial stages vs. development) of how
the influence of source languages unfolds. This study uses EEG/ERPs to examine these models,
bringing together two types of bilinguals: heritage speakers (HSs) (Italian-German, n = 15) compared
to adult L2 learners (L1 German, L2 English, n = 28) learning L3/Ln Latin. Participants were trained
on a selected Latin lexicon over two sessions and, afterward, on two grammatical properties: case
(similar between German and Latin) and adjective–noun order (similar between Italian and Latin).
Neurophysiological findings show an N200/N400... (More)
Models on L3/Ln acquisition differ with respect to how they envisage degree (holistic
vs. selective transfer of the L1, L2 or both) and/or timing (initial stages vs. development) of how
the influence of source languages unfolds. This study uses EEG/ERPs to examine these models,
bringing together two types of bilinguals: heritage speakers (HSs) (Italian-German, n = 15) compared
to adult L2 learners (L1 German, L2 English, n = 28) learning L3/Ln Latin. Participants were trained
on a selected Latin lexicon over two sessions and, afterward, on two grammatical properties: case
(similar between German and Latin) and adjective–noun order (similar between Italian and Latin).
Neurophysiological findings show an N200/N400 deflection for the HSs in case morphology and a
P600 effect for the German L2 group in adjectival position. None of the current L3/Ln models predict
the observed results, which questions the appropriateness of this methodology. Nevertheless, the
results are illustrative of differences in how HSs and L2 learners approach the very initial stages of
additional language learning, the implications of which are discussed. (Less)
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author
; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
categories
Higher Education
in
Brain Sciences
volume
12
issue
5
article number
669
pages
25 pages
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85131045033
ISSN
2076-3425
DOI
10.3390/brainsci12050669
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
9d1a768c-54a0-4469-a95e-71f5ca9d39b4
date added to LUP
2024-11-22 17:56:11
date last changed
2025-04-04 13:59:23
@article{9d1a768c-54a0-4469-a95e-71f5ca9d39b4,
  abstract     = {{Models on L3/Ln acquisition differ with respect to how they envisage degree (holistic<br/>vs. selective transfer of the L1, L2 or both) and/or timing (initial stages vs. development) of how<br/>the influence of source languages unfolds. This study uses EEG/ERPs to examine these models,<br/>bringing together two types of bilinguals: heritage speakers (HSs) (Italian-German, n = 15) compared<br/>to adult L2 learners (L1 German, L2 English, n = 28) learning L3/Ln Latin. Participants were trained<br/>on a selected Latin lexicon over two sessions and, afterward, on two grammatical properties: case<br/>(similar between German and Latin) and adjective–noun order (similar between Italian and Latin).<br/>Neurophysiological findings show an N200/N400 deflection for the HSs in case morphology and a<br/>P600 effect for the German L2 group in adjectival position. None of the current L3/Ln models predict<br/>the observed results, which questions the appropriateness of this methodology. Nevertheless, the<br/>results are illustrative of differences in how HSs and L2 learners approach the very initial stages of<br/>additional language learning, the implications of which are discussed.}},
  author       = {{Pereira Soares, Sergio Miguel and Kupisch, Tanja and Rothman, Jason}},
  issn         = {{2076-3425}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Brain Sciences}},
  title        = {{Testing Potential Transfer Effects in Heritage and Adult L2 Bilinguals Acquiring a Mini Grammar as an Additional Language: An ERP Approach}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050669}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/brainsci12050669}},
  volume       = {{12}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}