In an increasingly interconnected world, multilingualism is becoming ever more common. Whether acquired in early childhood or later, additional languages (L2, L3, etc.) present both opportunities (cognitive, social, economic) and challenges. One of the main challenges in second/foreign language acquisition is negative language transfer, where properties of a learner’s known language(s) interfere with accurate learning or use of another language. To understand how to minimize such interference, we need to examine both the brain mechanisms involved in multilingualism and what empirical research tells us about when and how negative transfer occurs.
Human Brain When Multiple Languages Are Learned — An Analytical Review And Strategies To Minimize Negative Language Transfer
DOI:
Keywords:
Multilingualism
Second Language Acquisition (SLA)
Bilingualism
Abstract
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
García-Sierra, A., & Ramírez-Esparza, N. (2025). Neural mechanisms of bilingual speech perception: The role of the executive control network in managing competing phonological representations. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 28(1), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728924000012
Grundy, J. G., Anderson, J. A. E., & Bialystok, E. (2017). Neural correlates of cognitive processing in monolinguals and bilinguals. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1396(1), 183–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13333
Hirosh, Z., Degani, T., & Titone, D. (2024). Negative pragmatic transfer in bilinguals: Cross-linguistic influence in the acquisition of quantifiers. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-024-10101-9
Liu, H., Wang, Y., & Bi, Y. (2024). Differential neural representations of syntactic and semantic information across languages in Chinese–English bilinguals: Evidence from fMRI adaptation and MVPA. NeuroImage, 289, 120106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120106
Tao, L., Liu, X., & Liu, C. (2024). Neural similarities and differences between native and second languages in the bilateral fusiform cortex in Chinese–English bilinguals. Brain and Language, 242, 105237.
Ullman, M. T. (2005). A cognitive neuroscience perspective on second language acquisition: The declarative/procedural model. In C. Sanz (Ed.), Mind and context in adult second language acquisition (pp. 141–178). Georgetown University Press.