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Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect

Numerous studies have shown that the native language influences foreign word recognition and that this influence is modulated by the proficiency in the non-native language. Here we explored how the degree of reliance on cross-language similarity (as measured by the cognate facilitation effect) toget...

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Autores principales: Casaponsa, Aina, Antón, Eneko, Pérez, Alejandro, Duñabeitia, Jon A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4421941/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999899
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00588
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author Casaponsa, Aina
Antón, Eneko
Pérez, Alejandro
Duñabeitia, Jon A.
author_facet Casaponsa, Aina
Antón, Eneko
Pérez, Alejandro
Duñabeitia, Jon A.
author_sort Casaponsa, Aina
collection PubMed
description Numerous studies have shown that the native language influences foreign word recognition and that this influence is modulated by the proficiency in the non-native language. Here we explored how the degree of reliance on cross-language similarity (as measured by the cognate facilitation effect) together with other domain-general cognitive factors contribute to reading comprehension achievement in a non-native language at different stages of the learning process. We tested two groups of native speakers of Spanish learning English at elementary and intermediate levels in an academic context. A regression model approach showed that domain-general cognitive skills are good predictors of second language reading achievement independently of the level of proficiency. Critically, we found that individual differences in the degree of reliance on the native language predicted foreign language reading achievement, showing a markedly different pattern between proficiency groups. At lower levels of proficiency the cognate facilitation effect was positively related with reading achievement, while this relation became negative at intermediate levels of foreign language learning. We conclude that the link between native- and foreign-language lexical representations helps participants at initial stages of the learning process, whereas it is no longer the case at intermediate levels of proficiency, when reliance on cross-language similarity is inversely related to successful non-native reading achievement. Thus, at intermediate levels of proficiency strong and direct mappings from the non-native lexical forms to semantic concepts are needed to achieve good non-native reading comprehension, in line with the premises of current models of bilingual lexico-semantic organization.
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spelling pubmed-44219412015-05-21 Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect Casaponsa, Aina Antón, Eneko Pérez, Alejandro Duñabeitia, Jon A. Front Psychol Psychology Numerous studies have shown that the native language influences foreign word recognition and that this influence is modulated by the proficiency in the non-native language. Here we explored how the degree of reliance on cross-language similarity (as measured by the cognate facilitation effect) together with other domain-general cognitive factors contribute to reading comprehension achievement in a non-native language at different stages of the learning process. We tested two groups of native speakers of Spanish learning English at elementary and intermediate levels in an academic context. A regression model approach showed that domain-general cognitive skills are good predictors of second language reading achievement independently of the level of proficiency. Critically, we found that individual differences in the degree of reliance on the native language predicted foreign language reading achievement, showing a markedly different pattern between proficiency groups. At lower levels of proficiency the cognate facilitation effect was positively related with reading achievement, while this relation became negative at intermediate levels of foreign language learning. We conclude that the link between native- and foreign-language lexical representations helps participants at initial stages of the learning process, whereas it is no longer the case at intermediate levels of proficiency, when reliance on cross-language similarity is inversely related to successful non-native reading achievement. Thus, at intermediate levels of proficiency strong and direct mappings from the non-native lexical forms to semantic concepts are needed to achieve good non-native reading comprehension, in line with the premises of current models of bilingual lexico-semantic organization. Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-05-06 /pmc/articles/PMC4421941/ /pubmed/25999899 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00588 Text en Copyright © 2015 Casaponsa, Antón, Pérez and Duñabeitia. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Psychology
Casaponsa, Aina
Antón, Eneko
Pérez, Alejandro
Duñabeitia, Jon A.
Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title_full Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title_fullStr Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title_full_unstemmed Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title_short Foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
title_sort foreign language comprehension achievement: insights from the cognate facilitation effect
topic Psychology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4421941/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25999899
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00588
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