Description
This research presentation addresses the linguistic and neural change of one’s first language during second language learning in the second language environment. The participants of the research are three English native speakers (from the U.S. and the U.K.) who came to Japan to study and will stay here for a year. The research uses a neuroimaging technique, fNIRS(functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy), taking a longitudinal design over a year to examine the interaction of first and second language processing in the brain. The tasks used in the experiment are the Stroop Color and Word Test, Verbal Fluency Task, and Code-switching task. Additionally, linguistic and extralinguistic background data will also be collected to infer which factors are related to the change seen in the language and biological data collected during the experiments. The first experiment took place about the second month after the participants arrived in Japan. The research process is still ongoing and the results of the first experiment will be presented during the presentation.
