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A Review of Neural Mechanisms in Second-Language Acquisition

Author(s)

Ximeng Yang

Affiliation(s)

Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, Shandong, China

Abstract

The neural mechanism of second-language acquisition is an interdisciplinary research topic spanning second-language acquisition and neurolinguistics. Adopting the literature-review method, this paper systematically sorts out research outcomes in this field along research development threads: it reviews classic behavioral experiments such as morpheme-acquisition sequences, and summarizes contributions and limitations of early studies that infer innate cerebral linguistic mechanisms from learners' external linguistic performance; it elaborates the division of labour between the left and right cerebral hemispheres in second language(L2) processing and reviews indirect brain-function detection experiments including dichotic-listening tests; it summarizes research findings of modern neuroimaging techniques such as EEG, fMRI and MEG, interprets linguistic implications of ERP components including N400 and P600 as well as brain-connectivity remodelling induced by bilingual learning, and organizes academic controversies over the critical-period hypothesis and neuroplasticity. Existing studies confirm that age of acquisition and L2 proficiency are two core variables regulating neural representations of a second language. Second-language learning can trigger neuroplastic changes in brain function and structure, yet some experimental conclusions remain divergent. Relevant neural evidence provides theoretical references for L2 classroom teaching. More longitudinal tracking and interdisciplinary research combining multiple techniques are required in future to further clarify the complex cerebral neural processing underlying second-language acquisition.

Keywords

Second-Language Acquisition, Neural Mechanism; Neuroplasticity; Critical-Period Hypothesis

References

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