Using a self-paced reading task, the present study investigates how highly proficient second language (L2) speakers of German with English as their native language process unambiguous wh-subject-extractions and wh-object-extractions in German. Previous monolingual research has shown that English and German exhibit different processing preferences for the type of wh-question under investigation,...

How second language (L2) learning is achieved in the human brain remains one of the fundamental questions of neuroscience and linguistics. Previous neuroimaging studies with bilinguals have consistently shown overlapping cortical organization of the native language (L1) and L2, leading to a prediction that a common neurobiological marker may be responsible for the development of the two languag...

Extensive reading (ER) has been implemented under a wide variety of names, such as (uninterrupted) sustained silent reading, free voluntary reading, pleasure reading, book flood, independent reading, and Drop Everything And Read (DEAR); its various names emphasize different aspects of the same/similar kind of reading. Since a series of pioneering publications by Elley and his colleagues demonst...

l2 learners’ multiple intelligences (mi) profile plays a central role in theirperformance on different aspects of language learning, one of which is the use oflanguage learning strategies (llss). gaining insights into the relationship betweenmi and llss makes l2 teachers better understand their learners’ strengths andweaknesses in the use of such strategies and lets them guide the learners bett...

following innovations in intelligence and its radical changes from a unitary concept (iq) to a multi-dimensional conceptualization, i.e. multiple intelligences and the need to design classroom activities based on the l2 learners’ cognitive styles, this study examined the impact of linguistic intelligence and emotional intelligence on the reading comprehension ability of the iranian efl learners...

The present study was an attempt to determine a relationship between foreign language reading anxiety and reading strategy use among a group of EFL Iranian readers (no = 100) with low vs. high proficiency levels. To this end, FLRAS (Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale) developed by Saito, Horwitz, and Garza, (1999) was used in order to measure the participants’ level of anxiety in reading an...

Introduction How human brains acquire second languages (L2) is one of the fundamental questions in neuroscience and language science. However, it is unclear whether the first language (L1) has a cross-linguistic influence on the processing of L2. Methods Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare brain activities during L2 word reading tasks of phonographic Japanese Kana bet...

Title of dissertation: AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION OF SEMANTIC REPRESENTATION DURING SECOND LANGUAGE PROCESSING Written by: Sun Young Ahn, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Directed by: Professor Nan Jiang Department of Second Language Acquisition The present study is motivated by two questions. First, can late learners of a second language (L2), who begin learning after puberty and are unbalanced bilinguals...