This paper reports an expansion of the English as a second language (L2) component of the Multilingual Eye Movement Corpus (MECO L2), an international database of eye movements during text reading. While the previous Wave 1 of the MECO project (Kuperman et al., 2023) contained English as a L2 reading data from readers with 12 different first language (L1) backgrounds, the newly collected dataset adds eye-tracking data on English text reading from 13 distinct L1 backgrounds (N = 660) as well as participants’ scores on component skills of English proficiency and information about their demographics and language background and use. The paper reports reliability estimates, descriptive statistics, and correlational analyses as means to validate the expansion dataset. Consistent with prior literature and the MECO Wave 1, trends in the MECO Wave 2 data include a weak correlation between reading comprehension and oculomotor measures of reading fluency and a greater L1-L2 contrast in reading fluency than reading comprehension. Jointly with Wave 1, the MECO project includes English reading data from more than 1,200 readers representing a diversity of native writing systems (logographic, abjad, abugida, and alphabetic) and 19 distinct L1 backgrounds. We provide multiple pointers to new venues of how L2 reading researchers can mine this rich publicly available dataset.

Morphological knowledge refers to the ability to recognize and use morphemes correctly in syntactic contexts and word formation. This is crucial for learning a morphologically rich language like Finnish, which features both agglutinative and fusional morphology. In Finnish, agglutination occurs in forms like aamu: aamu+lla (‘morning: in the morning’), where a suffix is transparently added. Fusional features, as seen in ilta: illa+lla (‘evening: in the evening’), involve allomorphic stem changes that reduce transparency. We investigated the challenges posed by stem allomorphy for word recognition in isolation and in context for L2 learners and L1 speakers of Finnish. In a lexical decision task, L2 speakers had longer response times and higher error rates for semitransparent inflections, while L1 speakers showed longer response times for both transparent and semitransparent inflection types. In sentence reading, L2 speakers exhibited longer fixation times for semitransparent forms, whereas L1 speakers showed no significant effects. The results suggest that the challenges in L2 inflectional processing are more related to fusional than agglutinative features of the Finnish language.

In cross-linguistic word learning, learning new knowledge based on existing knowledge is a common and lifelong process. This study investigated whether inhibitory control would be conducive to this process. We asked Chinese-English bilinguals to learn new meanings for familiar English ambiguous words within two consecutive days, manipulating semantic relatedness and word frequency to create four categories: high-frequency-unrelated, high-frequency-related, low-frequency-unrelated and low-frequency-related ambiguous words. Participants completed translation recognition and production tests immediately after learning and again one week later, with flanker and stop-signal tasks interspersed to measure their interference inhibition and response inhibition. The results indicated that inhibitory control, particularly interference inhibition, significantly aided in learning new meanings when direct knowledge transfer from existing knowledge was unfeasible. This research enhances our comprehension of individual differences in word learning, offering valuable perspectives for broader theories of word learning and targeted educational interventions.

The study explored the origin of the age of acquisition (AoA) effect in second language (L2) using ERPs technique. We simulated L2 AoA by manipulating the order at which English pseudowords entered into training. Chinese-English bilinguals (mean age 22.04, range 18–28) learned English pseudowords matched with Chinese (L1) words, investigating the order of acquisition (OoA) effect of English pseudowords and its relationship with the matched L1 words’ AoA. OoA effects were observed in lexical decision, naming and semantic judgment tasks on N170, P200 and N400. Furthermore, OoA effects were modulated by L1 AoA in the semantic judgment task. These results suggested that OoA effects were independent at orthographic and phonological levels but modulated by L1 AoA at the semantic level. The interpretation of L2 AoA effects requires not only the integration of Semantic and Arbitrary Mapping Hypotheses, as well as consideration of the representation and activation characteristics of L2 words.

This study investigated the impact of reading statements in a second language (L2) versus the first language (L1) on core knowledge confusion (CKC), superstition, and conspiracy beliefs. Previous research on the Foreign Language Effect (FLE) suggests that using an L2 elicits less intense emotional reactions, promotes rational decision-making, reduces risk aversion, causality bias and superstition alters the perception of dishonesty and crime, and increases tolerance of ambiguity. Our results do not support the expected FLE and found instead an effect of L2 proficiency: Participants with lower proficiency exhibited more CKC, were more superstitious and believed more in conspiracy theories, regardless of whether they were tested in L1 or L2. The study emphasises the importance of considering L2 proficiency when investigating the effect of language on decision-making and judgements: It—or related factors—may influence how material is judged, contributing to the FLE, or even creating an artificial effect.

An important issue in second-language acquisition concerns the role of explicit information (EI) and how it is affected by individual differences. The present study explored this question through a partial replication and extension of Fernández (2008: Experiment 2), which investigated the effects of EI in processing instruction (PI) for the Spanish present subjunctive. This replication compared training with EI (PI) to training without it (structured input; SI). In addition to methodological changes that balance the amount of exposure between groups, this study also includes a control group that received exposure to the target form (C+). Extending the original study, we also assessed the durability of training and whether its effects interact with individual differences in working memory (WM). Results indicate advantages for the PI group during training, supporting Fernández’s conclusions. Immediate post-tests show advantages for the PI group that are not sustained on delayed post-tests. Analyses also indicate benefits for higher WM but only for the PI and C+ groups, although this was only sustained for the C+ group. Thus, findings indicate that when paired with SI, EI and high WM may influence the initial learning of the Spanish subjunctive, but their influence may dissipate over time.

This study compared a unidimensional model of vocabulary and a two-factor model comprising vocabulary breadth and depth in a second language (L2). A total of 167 Chinese Grade 4 and 5 primary school children (Meanage = 9.96 years old) learning English as an L2 participated in this study, and they were tested on four English vocabulary tests. Our results of confirmatory factor analyses indicate that vocabulary breadth and depth were not two distinct dimensions, and the unidimensional model was supported. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Emotional experiences are often dulled in one's second language. We tested whether emotion concepts are more strongly associated with first language (L1) than second language (L2) emotion words. Participants (140 L1-Swedish–L2-English bilinguals) saw a facial expression of an emotion (cue) followed by a target, which could either be another facial expression, an L1 emotion word, or an L2 emotion word. Participants indicated whether the cue and target represented the same or different emotions as fast as possible. Participants were faster and more accurate in both the L1 and L2 word conditions compared to the face condition. However, no significant differences emerged between the L1 and L2 word conditions, suggesting that emotion concepts are not more strongly associated with L1 than L2 emotion words. These results replicate prior research showing that L1 emotion words speed facial emotion perception and provide initial evidence that words (not only first language words) shape emotion perception.

There exists insufficient eye-tracking evidence on the differences in emotional word processing between the first language (L1) and second language (L2) readers. This study conducted an eye-tracking experiment to investigate the emotional effects in L2 sentence reading, and to explore the modulation of L2 proficiency and individual emotional states. Adapted from Knickerbocker et al. (2015), the current study recorded eye movements at both early and late processing stages when late Chinese–English bilinguals read emotion-label and neutral target words in natural L2 sentences. Results indicated that L2 readers did not show the facilitation effects of lexical affective connotations during sentence reading, and they even demonstrated processing disadvantages for L2 emotional words. Additionally, the interaction effect between L2 proficiency and emotion was consistently significant for the measure of total reading time in positive words. Measurements of participants’ depressive and anxious states were not robustly correlated with eye movement measures. Our findings supplemented new evidence to existing sparse eye-tracking experiments on L2 emotion processing, and lent support to several theoretical frameworks in the bilingual research field, including the Emotional Contexts of Learning Theory, Lexical Quality Hypothesis and Revised Hierarchical Model.

Previous research has shown that bilingual speakers may be more tolerant to ambiguity, they might perceive situations of ambiguity more interesting, challenging and desirable (e.g., Dewaele & Li, 2013). To our knowledge, no data are available addressing the question whether the language in use can have an effect on the personality trait of tolerance of ambiguity (ToA). This study investigated whether and how reading statements in a second language (L2), as opposed to the native language (L1), affects ToA. 387 Italian–English bilingual adults completed a questionnaire measuring levels of ToA either in English or Italian. Results revealed that processing information in L2 promoted higher scores of ToA overall and in sentences that were related to challenging perspectives and change. Age, gender and L2 proficiency were significant predictors of higher ToA scores. This study offers new evidence that processing information in a L2 can affect tolerance of ambiguous situations.

The present study investigated the age of acquisition (AoA) effect in processing second language (L2) words and how it is related to the AoA of the corresponding first language (L1) words. We adopted a lexical decision task in three experiments. The filler words were orthographically illegal in Experiment 1 to elicit more word form processing, while Experiment 2 used legal fillers to shift the bias toward semantic processing. In Experiment 3, we used a larger amount of stimuli containing more longer words with legal fillers. Our results showed that L2 AoA has a weak effect at the orthographical processing level and a stable effect at the semantic processing level. The L1 AoA modulates the L2 AoA effect at the semantic processing level, which is more likely to appear in long words. These results suggest that it is important to take bilingual representation and activation into consideration to explain the L2 AoA effect.

Second language learners’ reading is less efficient and more effortful than native reading. However, the source of their difficulty is unclear; L2 readers might struggle with reading in a different orthography, or they might have difficulty with later stages of linguistic interpretation of the input, or both. The present study explored the source of L2 reading difficulty by analyzing the distribution of fixation durations in reading. In three studies, we observed that L2 readers experience an increase in Mu, which we interpret as indicating early orthographic processing difficulty, when the L2 has a significantly different writing system than the L1 (e.g., Chinese and English) but not when the writing systems were similar (e.g., Portuguese and English). L2 readers also experienced an increase in Tau, indicating later-arising processing difficulty which likely reflects later-stage linguistic processes, when they read for comprehension. L2 readers of Chinese also experienced an additional increase in Tau.