In studies of bilingual word recognition with masked priming, first language (L1) primes activate their second language (L2) translation equivalents in lexical decision tasks, but effects in the opposite direction are weaker (Wen & van Heuven, 2017). This study seeks to clarify the relative weight of stimulus-level (frequency) and individual-level (L2 proficiency, L2 exposure/use) factors in the emergence of asymmetrical priming effects. We offer the first data set where L2 proficiency and L1/L2 exposure/use are simultaneously investigated as continuous variables, along with word frequency. While we replicate the asymmetry in priming effects, our data provide useful insights into the factors driving L2–L1 priming. These fall almost exclusively under the category of stimulus-level factors, with L2 exposure/use being the only experiential variable to show considerable influence, although complex interactions involving L2 proficiency and word frequency are also present. We discuss the implications of these results for models of bilingual lexical processing and for the appropriate measurement of experiential factors in this type of research.

A growing consensus sees the bilingual lexicon as an integrated, nonselective system. However, the way bilingual experience shapes the architecture and functioning of the lexicon is not well understood. This study investigates bilingual lexical-semantic representation and processing employing written translation priming. We focus on the role of active exposure to and use of the second language (L2)—primarily operationalized as immersion. We tested 200 highly proficient Spanish–English bilinguals in two groups differing in their societal language (immersed vs. nonimmersed) and amount of L2 use. L2 proficiency was controlled across participants, allowing us to disentangle its effects from those of L2 use. Overall, however, the immersion’s impact on our data was minimal. This suggests a ceiling effect for the influence of active L2 use on bilingual lexical functioning when L2 development is maximal. The present data provide relevant insights into the nature of the bilingual lexicon, informing developmental models.

The role of proficiency is widely discussed in multilingual language acquisition research, and yet, there is little consensus as to how one should operationalize it in our empirical investigations. The present study assesses the validity of the LexTALE (Lemhöfer & Broersma, 2012) as a ‘quick and valid’ measure of global proficiency. We first provide an overview review of how the LexTALE has been used since its publication, showing that although the test has gained popularity in the last few years, its reliability has not been thoroughly examined. Thus, herein we present results of a partial replication of Lemhöfer and Broersma (2012), where we empirically assess the validity of the LexTALE as a measure of L2 global proficiency in two groups of learners of English with various degrees of proficiency (L1 Spanish, n = 288; L1 Chinese, n = 266). Results indicate that if we are to use LexTALE in our investigations, we should do so with caution as the analyses show that irrespective of the L1 and level of proficiency of the targeted participants, its reliability as a measure of global proficiency is under question evidenced by the low and moderate correlations found with a standardised measure of global proficiency.

Language control in bilinguals is often investigated with the language switching paradigm. Switch costs reflect the ease/difficulty of applying this control mechanism. The type of stimuli employed in the experiments may influence switch costs. To date, only one study has compared digit vs picture processing, reporting reduced switch costs for digits (Declerck, Koch & Philipp, 2012). This result was adjudicated to phonological overlap between the languages used. Crucially, it remains an open question whether this digit effect generalises to language combinations without phonological relation. We fill this gap by investigating language switching with two language pairs differing in relative proficiency (L1 Chinese–L2 English, L1 Chinese–L3 French), where cross-language phonological activation is not expected. Overall, a digit effect is observed in the Chinese–English pair. Contrary to Declerck et al.'s (2012) finding, digits increased switch costs. Phonological mediation cannot explain this effect; instead, we suggest its origin lies in within-language word association links.

This study tests the Competing Systems Hypothesis (CSH) as applied to adult second language acquisition of aspect in Spanish. The CSH purports that differences among tutored and untutored learners result from competition between one system of underlying grammatical knowledge and another of learned metalinguistic knowledge in tutored learners (TLs). Twenty-nine first language (L1) English and second language (L2) Spanish (L1-English–L2-Spanish) TLs and 29 native Spanish speakers completed three tasks examining knowledge of Spanish aspect. A Cloze Task targeted typical use of preterit and imperfect morphology, while a Semantic Entailments Task assessed acquired knowledge of entailments falling out from convergence on the aspectual system. Finally, a Binary-Choice Task targeted three pedagogical simplifications common to L1-English–L2-Spanish textbooks: adverbials that ‘go with’ the preterit or imperfect, ‘meaning-changing’ verbs in preterit, and the lower frequency of stative verbs in preterit. Results align with the CSH in that TLs performed above 80% accuracy on preterit and imperfect items in the Cloze Task, indicating acquisition of Spanish aspectual morphology. The Semantic Entailments Task further shows TLs converge on underlying knowledge of grammatical aspect by making a significant distinction between logical and illogical entailments. Finally, competition between the underlying grammatical system and learned metalinguistic knowledge is evidenced in the Binary-Choice Task where TLs are less accurate with preterit; specifically, TLs demonstrate effects from pedagogical simplifications regarding adverbials and ‘meaning-changing’ verbs.