Automaticity and cognitive control in bilingual and translation expertise.

What is it about?

The present study explores how different linguistic experiences might modulate the balance between automaticity and cognitive control at the general cognitive level. It is suggested that when asked to search in memory for learned items, monolinguals showed higher levels of automaticity in performance after extensive practice; on the contrary, bilinguals and professional translators seemed to exert control over the memory search despite practice. This pattern might have caused higher cognitive costs for monolinguals when they were asked to switch to a new learning condition and higher flexibility to adapt to the new task requirements in the case of bilinguals and translators.

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Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash

Photo by Laura Ockel on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is important because it allows to target relevant mechanisms at the general cognitive level that might be influenced by different language experiences. The understanding of how different uses of one or more languages impact cognition is fundamental to know more about how our brain responds to specific communication needs; moreover, the results of this study might contribute significantly to the improvement of first and second language pedagogy and training programs in professional translation and interpreting.

Perspectives