Language learning and cognitive restructuring in bilingual French-German event processing

Abstract

This study examines the influence of linguistic properties on cognitive processing of motion events in French-German sequential bilinguals (L2-speakers). Employing verbal production and categorization tasks paired with eye-tracking, the results indicate that L2-speakers overall align their Manner lexicalization with German L1-speakers. However, low-proficiency L2-speakers exhibit reduced Manner encoding for low Manner-salient events (e.g., walking). While preparing to verbalize, L2-speakers’ visual attention develops throughout the learning process: dwell time on Manner-salient areas
increases with longer L2-immersion – even exceeding L1 patterns before stabilizing. In the categorization task, a trend towards more Manner-congruent choices with increasing proficiency did not reach significance, pointing to important individual variability. These findings suggest that cognitive restructuring requires extensive experience with the target language, is task-dependent, and develops progressively.