Testing Second Language Oral Proficiency in Direct and Semidirect Settings: A Social-Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective

• Published in: Language learning Vol. 61; no. 3; pp. 675 - 699
• Main Authors: Jeong, Hyeonjeong, Hashizume, Hiroshi, Sugiura, Motoaki, Sassa, Yuko, Yokoyama, Satoru, Shiozaki, Shuken, Kawashima, Ryuta
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Blackwell Publishing Inc 01.09.2011; Wiley-Blackwell; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Auditory stimuli; Brain Hemisphere Functions; Brain mapping; Cognition & reasoning; Communication; Communicative Competence (Languages); computer-based interaction OPI; Correlation; Cortex (prefrontal); Diagnostic Tests; English (Second Language); face-to-face interaction; fMRI; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Interviews; Intonation; Japanese; Language; Language Proficiency; Linguistics; Native Language; Native Speakers; Nervous system; Neurosciences; Oral Language; Production and comprehension processes; Psycholinguistics; Psychology of language; Second Language Learning; Second Languages; Social Cognition; social communication; Social psychology; SOPI; speaking assessment; English as mother tongue; Language proficiency; Verbal interaction; Listening comprehension; Communication competence; Japanese; Language learning
• ISSN: 0023-8333; 1467-9922
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00635.x

This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify differences in the neural processes underlying direct and semidirect interviews. We examined brain activation patterns while 20 native speakers of Japanese participated in direct and semidirect interviews in both Japanese (first language [L1]) and English (second language [L2]). Significantly greater activation was observed in the regions involved in social communication (the medial prefrontal cortex and the bilateral posterior superior temporal sulci) during the direct interview conducted in the L2 than during the semidirect interview conducted in the L2. In contrast, both the direct and semidirect interviews conducted in the L1 produced similar increases in activation in the same brain areas as those observed during the L2 direct interview. These findings suggest that the direct interview may have elicited L2 communicative ability to a greater degree than the semidirect interview. Furthermore, during the L2 direct interview, activity in the right superior temporal region, which is involved in the processing of paralinguistic features (e.g., prosody and intonation), was positively correlated with increased L2 oral proficiency. Based on our findings, we conclude that the L2 direct interview may elicit more balanced and varied aspects of communicative ability than the L2 semidirect interview.