The role of general executive functions in receptive language switching and monitoring

• Published in: Bilingualism (Cambridge, England) Vol. 21; no. 4; pp. 839 - 855
• Main Authors: JYLKKÄ, JUSSI, LEHTONEN, MINNA, KUUSAKOSKI, ANNA, LINDHOLM, FRED, HUT, SUZANNE C. A., LAINE, MATTI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.08.2018
• Subjects: Bilingualism; Code switching; English as a second language; Executive Function; Finnish language; Interference (Language); Lexical access; Monolingualism; Phonology; Receptive language; Semantic categories; Finland; asymmetric switch cost; BIA+ model; Adaptive Control hypothesis; Inhibitory Control model; language switching; asymmetric mixing advantage; inhibition; BIA model; set-shifting; semantic categorization; language mixing; Horse Race model
• ISSN: 1366-7289; 1469-1841
• DOI: 10.1017/S1366728917000384

We assessed language switch and mixing costs in a language-general semantic categorization task and examined how these costs relate to general inhibition and set shifting capacities. The participants were 51 native Finnish subjects with English as L2. The results showed significant symmetric language switch costs and, unexpectedly, a mixing advantage in L2: reaction times were faster in the mixed language block than in the single language block. The interactions with the general executive functions showed no consistent overall pattern. We argue that the L2 mixing advantage stems from statistical facilitation in line with a horse race model, or from opportunistic planning as suggested by the Adaptive Control hypothesis. We argue that the results overall indicate that lexical access in language reception is non-selective.