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16:30 - 18:00
Parallel sessions 6
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16:30 - 18:00
Room: HSZ - 7E02
Chair/s:
Tanja C Roembke, Matilde Ellen Simonetti
Bilinguals require language control to regulate the activation of their known languages. Language switching paradigms are commonly used to investigate the processes underlying bilingual language control. Several approaches fall under the umbrella term “language switching,” whose defining feature is the alternation between languages, thereby requiring bilinguals to select one language over another on each trial. In this symposium, five talks present innovative research using language switching to explore language control processes in both comprehension (Talks 1-2) and production (Talks 3-4). Across studies, different paradigms (e.g., picture naming, voluntary switching, sequential switching) and methodologies, from behavioral measures to virtual reality, are employed. The focus extends beyond single-word processing to include also sentence-level processing. In Talk 1, Aaron Vandendaele examines proactive control mechanisms during language switching using a semantic classification task involving written word categorization. Luigi Falanga (Talk 2) investigates the flexibility of control and the role of interference in language-switching comprehension tasks. His study explores how recent and ongoing cross-language interference influences comprehension in complex listening contexts. In Talk 3, Andrea Philipp discusses how between-language conflict at the lemma-level shapes language control during switching. She examines the impact of cross-language interference on lexical selection and how conflict resolution processes facilitate language switching. Finally, in Talk 4, Maria Sanchez investigates sentence production in interactions with virtual interlocutors. Her study uses both voluntary and cued language-switching paradigms to examine how speakers adapt their language choice based on the interlocutor’s accent and linguistic background. Together, these talks showcase new directions in the study of bilingual language control, illustrating how innovative paradigms and technologies are reshaping our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying language switching.
Submission 279
Proactive Control During Bilingual Comprehension: Terms and Conditions Apply
SymposiumTalk-01
Presented by: Aaron Vandendaele
Aaron Vandendaele, Anna Dalakoura, Esli Struys, Mathieu Declerck
Free University of Brussels, Belgium

Bilingual language control is commonly described as the ability to manage cross-language interference. Whilst most traditional research has studied this process through reactive control, recent work has shown increased interest in a possible role for proactive control. In the current work, we investigated whether proactive control mechanisms can also be observed during language comprehension, where the need for language control is assumed to be smaller than in production. Across two experiments, Italian–English bilinguals performed a cued semantic categorization task in which cues were either informative or uninformative about the upcoming language. Experiment 1 employed arbitrarily colored cues, while Experiment 2 used more ecologically valid flag cues. Experiment 1 showed robust switch costs in the reaction times, indicating evidence for reactive strategies. However, Experiment 2 demonstrated an interaction between cue informativity and language transition: participants were more accurate on switch trials when preceded by an informative cue, suggesting a proactive benefit. On top of this, the same benefit was also present in the reaction times, but only when greater language control was needed (i.e., when participants needed to switch back to their L1). These findings provide novel evidence that proactive control can be engaged during bilingual comprehension, but its implementation is dependent on the strategic activation of language cues in the environment. We further argue that proactive control is costly and is recruited only when the benefits outweigh the expenditure, complementing reactive processes rather than replacing them.