Proactive interference between languages: Do task demands matter?

Abstract

A recent discovery of research on bilingualism is that a bilingual's two languages are both active during online speech production and comprehension. Speakers may manage the interference that arises from possessing two simultaneously active languages by inhibiting the language that is task inappropriate or enhancing the activation of the language they intend to use. These accounts were assessed by examining the consequences of earlier use of a language on the current use of another language and by determining whether such consequences are modulated by task demands. Unbalanced bilinguals for whom two languages coexist served as participants. Evidence indicated that the consequences of earlier use depend on task demands that modulate the interplay between inhibition and facilitation. © The Author(s) 2012.