Cost of Language Switch of Bilinguals - Essay Example

Running Head: Human Abilities in Perspectives Research The cost of language switch of Bilinguals Abstract The process of language learning and acquisition is a complex and psychologically taxing process to multi-languages speakers. It must be expected that language switching presents towering challenges which can be classified in various categories that represent the nature of the costs; either conceptually abstract or concrete; that bilinguals have to incur in the process of switching languages. There are various studies and researches that been conducted to explore the dynamics and establish extent of the costs that bilinguals have to go through in the process of switching languages. The paper takes a thrust at an evaluation of researches from a largely psychology approach detailing various experimentation outcomes that shed light into the dynamics of the complexities of switching language for the bilinguals. This paper culminates in form of a discussion and suggestions to the educators and for the bodies of knowledge covering the entirety of the spectrum of stakeholders in the language learning and acquisition and domains particularly for bilinguals Introduction Bilingual speakers normally have to shift across the two languages in their communication activity and particularly in speech production. The fundamental fact here is that the bilinguals have to separate their two languages and settle for the appropriate lexical alternative; one language for effective communication purposes. Abutalebi J et al 2007) note that in the sense of the foregoing, the process entails that the bilinguals have to be possession of effective neural mechanisms that will suffice to facilitate smooth switching and to avert the highly likely chances of interference or the probable competition between the two language alternatives. This is particularly so considering the fact that the first and second languages both posses protruding neuro-anatomical bases as illuminated by the topical neuro-imaging researches. Bilinguals have to possess feasible lexical selection. This highlights the dynamics that characterise the process in which bilinguals have to go through in the techniques of switching between languages. The switch demands various neural mechanisms and facilities which have been illumined by various researches and propounded models. The broad range of varying challenges or costs that a bilingual incurs in the process of switching between languages demands a deeper exploration. The process evidently involves various psychological transitions and processes which will be explored in this study. Literature Review The concern and keen interest around the nature of costs and processes entailed in the switch between languages by bilinguals has received overwhelming contributions from various researchers, scholars and professionals. The studies, experimentations and researches conducted shed valuable light on the nitty-gritties of the language switching process of the bilinguals. Rodriguez-Fornells et al (2002) have presented that the processes of language switching for bilinguals can be accomplished on the basis and facilities of effective neural mechanism that will suffice to prevent distortion and interference and even the projected tendency of competition involving the two languages of the bilingual. The scholars have reinforced that the foregoing is particularly so in view of the fact that the first and second languages have both overlapping neuro-anatomical foundations that have been enunciated in researches focused on neuroimaging. In the contributions made by Costa et al., 1999; (2004) there is a presentation and outline of two salient models. The scholars have proposed two kinds of neuro-cognitive theories and frameworks on the matter of lexical selection mechanisms. One of the model types takes a thrust articulating that in the language switching processes only words in a particular language system are activated. In this framework the researchers argue that a language switch is required to switch on and off the entire language system. An ER_FMRI study masterminded by Yapeng Wang (2007) explores the neural base of asymmetric language toggling in second language learners. The scholars conducted a study using the ER-fMRI method to examine the neural substrates of language toggling for the second language learners. The study made use of 12 Chinese tertiary students who were in the midst of their English studies. The students' language switch activities were examined. The activities entailed the naming of images in their first language [L1, Chinese] and second [L2, English]. The outcomes of the examinations showed that in comparisons to non-switching settings, language toggling required fro more activation in the right superior cortex , also in the left middle and premium frontal cortex as well as the right middle cingulum and caudate. The results further showed that where the path of switching was in perspective forward switching from the first language to the second language and not backward switching from the second language to the first language; "this activated various brain sections that are linked to executive functions such the bilateral frontal cortices as well as the left ACC in relation to the non-toggling settings." (Opcit) The results indicate that neural correlates of language toggling vary according to path of the switch and that there seems to be no precise brain section functioning as a "Language switch". (Yapeng Wang et al 2007) The behavioral outcomes of the research enlist that the subjects of the experimentations made the following mistake patterns when naming images; use of incorrect language, use of erroneous names, naming emendation and in some cases extremely slow responses. The results presented Yapeng Wang et al (2007) further show that there were also recording failures as well as the recording of non-verbal sounds noted in the examination. Error evaluation indicated that the amount of errors did not differ on the basis of response language or by the kind of attempts nor their interaction. The recorded attempts which contained errors were eliminated in further analyses. Research contributions of Albert Costa et al (2004) have unveiled that the ability of separating the two languages during speech production is one of the remarkable capabilities of bilinguals. The scholars noted that even though the speech production of exceptionally language competent bilinguals in their second language usually carries traces of the influences of their second language. This they note that is "well exemplified by the first language accent as well as first language syntactic structures. "(Albert Costa et al 2004) The striking observation in relation to the foregoing as presented by the researchers is that in cases where there is need, the bilinguals are significantly capable of selecting and generating words from one of their lexicon systems for the two language frameworks, the first and second language domains. The scholars cite that this capability is more illuminant in the L2 speech production than it is in L1. The study afore-cited has brought significant contribution into the researches on the existing mechanisms and hence the cost of entailed in the control of lexical access in the speech production of bilinguals. The scholars have further examined the manner in which two languages are handled by just one mind. The search has involved a further probing of mechanisms that enable bilinguals to limit their lixicalisation process to just one language at one time. The core thrust of the scholars' research has been to asses the ways in which L2 proficiency proportions impacts on the methods of lexical selection in the speech production of bilinguals. The study has been conducted through drawing comparisons between the patterns of language toggling performance by several groups of bilinguals that have different proficiency levels. "A crucial part of language production is that where speakers retrieve the words from the lexicon that correspond their communicative intention" This process is often referred to as lexicon selection. (Caramazza 1997) The researchers have underscored the essence of the selection of mechanism mentioning that this is due to the fact that various lexical representations get activated attributably to the rippling activation effect from the semantic complex to the lexical levels. "Thus, any depiction stimulated at the conceptual plane spreads a share of its activation to its analogous lexical nodule. In this case the semantic system set off not only the word that corresponds to the intended sense but also other semantically linked items" (Albert Costa et al 2004) In simple terms this means that for instance in the activity such the naming of the 'car' in the picture naming exercise not only the lexical node 'car' is set off but also other associative nodes like 'airplane', 'train', 'road', etc. Jackson R et al (2004) works have showed that there are huge response time costs (in surfeit of 50ms) in cases where bilinguals toggle predictably forward and backward ( L1, L2 and L2 and L1) perspectives. The study by the scholars shows that toggling between languages is closely related to the activity over the frontal (n2) and parietal sections of the cortex. The ERP study conducted by the scholars also shows that switching across naming in different languages demands a switch in both the aspects of language analogies (representations) and language-particular motor responses. The contemporary research examined an amenable (input) language-toggling exercise with a shared manual reaction. Number words were offered in L1 as well as in L2, and subjects were instructed to determine whether the words were odd or even (a parity ruling). According to the scholars the response costs were considerably diminished whilst the frontal and parietal switch associated activity reported in the speech production switching task was not present. The research thrust reinforce s that dimension that explores the time costs associated with switching languages in the speech production processes of bilinguals. Conclusion and Suggestions It is evident that process of switching between two languages for bilinguals is costly exercise that requires various forms of psychologically mental activity. Bilinguals need to be empowered with mechanisms that afford them the ability to make language switches without incurring proficiency drops and semantic errors also illumined by some noted behavioral failures associated with language toggling processes. Educators of the bilinguals have to consider various means that have been tabled in attempts to alleviate the plight of the bilinguals through language switching processes. Matthew Finkbeiner et al (2001) have noted that the most challenging task in bilingual lexical access comes from settings where translation-equivalent lexical analogies are also activated to approximately corresponding levels "and thus compete evenly for in the process of lexical selection". The contributions of (D. W. Green, 1998) present a considerable solution for this dilemma. His language suppression hypothesis suggests a suppression of lexical accounts in the premises of the non-target language system. His propositions have provided an impetus for the projections that lexical choices must take longer time spans on language switch attempt due to the fact that the to-be chosen representation is just suppressed on the previous attempt in speech production. In variance with projection, subjects took more time to name pictures in their principal language on language toggle attempts than they did on non-switch trials. These results specify that non-target lexical analogies are not suppressed. The scholars propose that these outcomes undercut the feasibility of the language suppression proposition as a feasible solution to the challenges encountered in bilingual lexical access. These are typical solutions to be revisited remodeled for recommendations to bilinguals' tutors to enhance the speaker's language switching speech production skills. References Abutalebi, J., & Green, D. (2007). Bilingual language production: The neurocognition of language representation and control. 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