Abstract:

Several studies on the emotional language processing in bilingual individuals have consistently found a reduced emotional responsiveness to stimuli presented in the non-native language (L2) as compared to the native language (L1) [1,2]. The aim of this study is to investigate how emotional regulation and memory processes in bilingual individuals are linked, with a special focus on cognitive aspects, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) in vocabulary retention. Fourteen Slovak/English bilinguals were subjects in a linguistic experiment using a galvanic skin response (GSR) device. All the participants were given instructions to memorize 10 Slovak and 10 English words, which they had to reproduce after a short break lasting 15 seconds. The experiment was repeated after one week. Emotional states of the participants were monitored and recorded on the GSR device before, during and after the word recall tasks. Two sample t-test as well as Spearman correlation test were used to analyze the study results. We found out that best cognitive recall of words (14-16 in total) was in the range of relative deviation from the relaxed state 8.33% - 10.94%. There was a statistically significant difference between the beginning and the end of the measurement on the GSR device (p=0.00158). Thus, the students were more stressed when reproducing the words in L1 (p<0.05) than in L2 (p>0.05), while they remembered statistically significantly (p=0.00189) more words in L1 (108 words) than in L2 (81 words). Overall percentage of word recall success in both languages was 67.5% in the case of STM and 34.64% in LTM, while there was a statistically significant difference between them (p<0.05). Present study partially correlates with findings from the scientific literature, but further studies with a larger sample are needed. In order to better understand emotional-cognitive processes, it is necessary to further investigate brain activity in bilingual students [3]. Our study correlates with the European Union's (EU) policy on multilingualism and linguistic diversity in EU countries.

References:
[1] Ivaz, Lela et al. “The emotional impact of being myself: Emotions and foreign-language processing.” Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition vol. 42,3 (2016): 489-96. doi:10.1037/xlm0000179
[2] Shao, Kaiqi et al. “Emotions and Instructed Language Learning: Proposing a Second Language Emotions and Positive Psychology Model.” Frontiers in psychology vol. 11, 2142. 25 Aug. 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02142
[3] Fragkaki, M., et al. “Higher Education Teaching Transformation with Educational Neuroscience Practices.” ICERI2022 Proceedings, (2022): 579-584. doi: 10.21125/iceri.2022.0194

Keywords:

Bilingual students, English language acquisition, galvanic skin response, emotion, neuro-cognitive processes.