Moving from China to York: How do changes in language experiences modulate bilingual language control?

Lead Research Organisation: University of York
Department Name: Psychology

Abstract

In our international society, speaking more than one language is becoming increasingly common. Many people move to a new country for their work or studies or due to wars or natural disasters. They frequently study, work, and communicate in a non-native language. One in five students in the UK is international and for many English is a foreign language. Speaking two languages requires not only a certain proficiency level in each language, but also language control to ensure that the contextually appropriate language is used. Even when a bilingual has to use just one of their languages, the other language is still active. Bilingual language use is therefore not as easy as it often looks. For example, when attending classes in the UK, a Mandarin-English bilingual has to use English. To achieve this, not only do they need to select English words, but they also have to ensure that they do not accidentally speak Mandarin words. Furthermore, bilinguals often switch between their languages. For example, the same Mandarin-English bilingual needs to switch back to Mandarin when talking with a Chinese friend. Bilinguals often switch languages apparently effortlessly, but this actually requires various control processes. Bilinguals need to look at the environment (e.g., the faces of their interlocutors) to choose a language, they need to select words in that language, avoid interference from the other language, and make the switch when needed.

Language control might differ between bilinguals. Bilinguals differ from each other in many ways, especially in terms of how they use their languages. Some bilinguals live in an environment that predominantly requires the use of one language, for example Mandarin-English bilinguals living in China and using Mandarin most of the time. Other bilinguals live in an environment that requires interchangeable use of two languages, for example Mandarin-English bilinguals in the UK surrounded by both English and Mandarin native speakers. The proposed research will assess how these daily-life language experiences influence bilingual language-control mechanisms that are needed for fluent communication. Do all bilinguals use similar control mechanisms? Or are these language-control mechanisms shaped by actual daily-life language experiences?

To do this, the project will study a group of Chinese students who have moved from China to the UK to complete a university degree. We will test these students multiple times throughout their first year in the UK. They will complete several language production and comprehension tasks to measure language control. In addition, they will complete questionnaires assessing their language experiences in the UK. We will assess how language control develops within this group of international students. In addition, we will compare them to a control group of Mandarin-English bilinguals who continue their studies in China.

This project will provide novel insights into how bilinguals apply language control to communicate, with a focus on how individual daily-life language experiences might shape language control. It will show how bilinguals, depending on their daily-life language experiences, manage to select words in the intended language, how they manage interference from the other language, and how they switch languages in production and comprehension. Practically, this project will provide us with more knowledge about how bilinguals communicate in their native and non-native languages. This will help bilinguals who work and study in their non-native language, including international students and migrants. For example, by understanding how international students use their native and non-native languages, we can more adequately prepare new international students for English language use in academic and non-academic environments. As such, this project will benefit both academic and non-academic audiences.

Publications

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Coumel M (2024) Do accent and input modality modulate processing of language switches in bilingual language comprehension? in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance

publication icon
Coumel, M. (2024) Do Accent and Input Modality Modulate Processing of Language Switches in Bilingual Language Comprehension? in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance.

 
Description We are living in an international society in which people travel all over the world and often move for work or studies. As a consequence, many people are working, studying, and regularly communicating in more than one language, including approximately 20% of students in the UK. These bilinguals need to make sure they speak the language(s) they want to and/or need to use, without interference from the other language disrupting their communication. In some cases, bilinguals also switch between their languages. To achieve all of this, bilinguals use a series of language-control mechanisms. This project aimed to better understand how a bilingual's language environment and language experiences can influence their language control. We studied this by testing Mandarin-English bilinguals who moved from China to the UK. They were tested on a few baseline measures before their move and we then assessed their language control immediately after arrival in the UK and approximately seven months later. They were compared to a control group who stayed in China. In addition to examining potential changes after moving to a new overall language environment, we also studied the potential influence of the immediate language context in which a bilingual is producing or comprehending language. To do this, we studied the multifaceted nature of language control through single- and dual-language tasks and by comparing different types of language switching (e.g., voluntary and cued switching) and modalities (comprehension and production).

Key findings:

1. Changes in language environment: language control during single-language production (manuscript to be submitted this month).
We assessed single-language production in verbal-fluency and picture-naming tasks. Both showed that bilinguals used language control over the language they were not currently using, possibly by inhibiting the first language (L1) while they had to produce the second language (L2). This language control did not change after the bilinguals moved from China (L1-dominant environment) to the UK (more L2-dominant environment).

2. Changes in language environment: language control during language switching (dual-language contexts, manuscript to be submitted this month)
We assessed dual-language contexts and language switching in three types of contexts: while having to switch languages in response to cues, when switching languages freely, and while processing language switches spoken by another bilingual. We showed language control differed substantially between these three contexts: producing language switches freely and processing language switches required less control than when bilinguals had to produce switches in response to cues. While the immediate context was very important, this language control did not change longitudinally in response to the change in language environment.

Overall, this longitudinal study suggested that while language control depends on the current language context, it does not appear to adapt after a change in the more global language environment. This was despite the bilinguals reporting (the expected) changes in their daily-life language use after moving to the new language environment. Furthermore, individual difference analyses showed no clear relationships between (changes in) daily-life language use and (changes in) language control.

In addition to this longitudinal research, two key findings were observed when examining the role of the current language context further in additional studies:
3. Processing of language switches: role of accent and modality (Coumel et al., JEP:HPP, in press)
Across three experiments, we studied how bilinguals process language switches during comprehension. Previous studies have suggested processing of language switches might require less language control than production. While our findings indeed suggest that comprehension recruits less language control than production (see point 2), switching languages during comprehension was still associated with (small) switching costs. However, these costs were not modulated by task-related factors such as modality (words being presented spoken or in written form) or accent (L2-English spoken words presented in an English or Mandarin accent).

4. Role of immediately preceding context (manuscript in progress)
Finally, we conducted two experiments examining a potential impact of the immediately preceding switching context on one's own language switching (in response to cues). Both experiments presented participants with different recordings of a bilingual who was either switching frequently or rarely. After being exposed to a high-switching conversation partner, bilinguals showed smaller switching costs in their own production. The second experiment, however, suggested that this pattern might be driven by exposure to a specific type of switching (namely, within-sentence switches).

Together, this project shows the importance of studying the language context a bilingual is in, as well as the potential impact of the immediately preceding language context.
Exploitation Route The project addressed several important theoretical questions in relation to the nature of bilingual language control and its adaptability, in line with an influential theoretical framework (Adaptive Control Hypothesis, Green & Abutalebi, 2013). Its findings show the importance of the immediate language context and the differences in language control depending on the context a bilingual is communicating in. Taking this research forward, it raises several new research questions that require further examination of the exact nature of the language context, the types of language control it affects most, and the type of bilinguals that could be most influenced by language context.

Furthermore, as part of our project, we also conducted a series of interviews and a workshop with international students and staff members who work with international students. These discussions are and can be used in the future to provide better support for international students who are studying in their second language. This is described further in the narrative impact section.
Sectors Education

 
Description In addition to the more theoretical part of the project, we conducted a series of interviews with international students and staff members who work with international students to better understand their (language) experiences within and outside the university. After the interviews, we also organised a workshop to further discuss this topic. Based on the interviews, we wrote a document summarising students' language experiences within and outside their studies, difficulties they face, the (local) support currently available, and suggestions interviewees offered to develop support initiatives further. This document has been shared on the PI's website (https://wordpress.com/page/angeladebruin.wordpress.com/287) so that it can be accessed freely. It has also been shared with stakeholders within the university. While evaluating its impact is not fully possible only a few months after the end of the grant (this narrative impact will therefore be updated in 2025), our work on this topic has already sparked several new discussions and initiatives within the university to bring international students together, further discuss their feedback, and to organise events such as conversational afternoons to support them.
First Year Of Impact 2023
Sector Education
Impact Types Societal

 
Title All data for longitudinal research project (includes the single- and dual-language tasks) 
Description This OSF page includes all longitudinal data from this ESRC grant, including single-language tasks (picture naming and verbal fluency) and the dual-language switching tasks (cued production, voluntary production, and comprehension). 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2024 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact These data underlie two manuscripts that are close to being submitted. 
URL https://osf.io/a24xv/
 
Title Dataset The effect of accent and input modality when processing language switches in bilingual language comprehension (paper published in JEP:HPP, in press) 
Description Datasets underlying three experiments examining comprehension of language switches in Mandarin-English bilinguals. Across the experiments we modulated modality (visual or spoken presentation of words) and the accent in which words were produced. 
Type Of Material Database/Collection of data 
Year Produced 2023 
Provided To Others? Yes  
Impact These data underlie Coumel, M., Liu, C., Trenkic, D., & de Bruin, A. (2024). Do accent and input modality modulate processing of language switches in bilingual language comprehension?. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. 
URL https://osf.io/zh7bx/
 
Description Partnership with Qingdao University 
Organisation Qingdao University
Country China 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution The collaboration with Qingdao university was developed for this grant and is part of the grant applications. Due to the nature of the project, we wanted to compare Chinese-English bilinguals in York and in Qingdao (China). Our research team in York have led the project. We provided the tasks for the experiments and written guidance for the research assistants in Qingdao leading the experiment. The initial plan was for the PI to travel to Qingdao to provide further training in person, but this was not possible due to COVID-19. As a consequence, some of the preprocessing of the data (e.g., scoring of responses) was done in York rather than in Qingdao.
Collaborator Contribution The Co-I in Qingdao and the research assistants based there have collected data for the control group and have completed some of the response scoring. The Co-I has also contributed to the conference abstracts submitted so far. Although we included budget in the ESRC grant to cover participant payments and RA costs in Qingdao, the Co-I offered to pay for these costs instead.
Impact The collaboration has not resulted in publications yet as data collection is still ongoing. However, the collaboration has led to conference presentations and the datasets described in "Other outputs".
Start Year 2019
 
Description Workshop/discussion language experiences international students 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Undergraduate students
Results and Impact This event had two parts. The first part was that we invited an external speaker, Dr Jiayi Wang from De Montfort University, to give a talk on her research. Dr Wang presented her work on pragmatics and L2 English speaking international students. The second part was a discussion with a panel including international students (L2 English speakers) and staff working with international students. Together with the audience, we discussed the language experiences of these students within and outside the university. We also discussed ways to support these students' language development and integration. The event itself was attended by approximately twenty people. Prior to the event, we also interviewed several staff members and students and we wrote a document summarising students' experiences, collecting support sources that are already available, and providing suggestions for additional support that can be offered. This document was shared with relevant stakeholders across the university and formed the basis for several new initiatives in relation to supporting international students.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023