Kara Morgan-Short, University of Illinois Chicago

Individual difference in the neurocognitive processing of adult-learned additional languages 

Neurocognitive research demonstrates the potential of adults to successfully learn and process second and additional languages (L2/As). However, this research has not yet fully addressed how contextual and individual difference factors, which are widely studied in behavioral L2/A research, contribute to neurocognitive processing of language. In this talk, I provide an overview of research that has examined neurocognitive processing for adult-learned additional languages with a focus on (morpho)syntax. I present results from studies that examine language processing using event-related potentials (ERPs), which reflect brain-based electrical activity associated with processing particular linguistic structures. I consider factors that appear to partially account for variability in ERPs, including learning context (e.g., classroom, study abroad) and cognitive individual differences (e.g., working memory, procedural memory). Although each of these variables uniquely contributes to the neurocognitive processing of adult-learned additional languages, a comprehensive understanding of variability continues to be an important question for our field to resolve, and thus, I conclude with suggestions for research directions for emerging scholars.