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Gelotophobia (the fear of being laughed at) is an individual difference variable that relates to a particular set of emotional reactions, behaviors, and processes towards laughter and ridicule that are potentially detrimental to learning processes. We extend the research of gelotophobia to the educational domain by exploring the direct effect of gelotophobia on willingness to communicate (WTC) and second-language (L2) achievement. We hypothesized that communication anxiety might have an indirect effect on the relation between gelotophobia and WTC and L2 achievement. A sample of 483 Iranian high school students completed measures of gelotophobia, WTC, and communication anxiety. The results of structural equation modeling indicated that gelotophobia was negatively related to both L2 achievement and WTC. Further, communication anxiety showed the expected indirect effect on the gelotophobia-WTC association. Finally, we incorporated teacher-ratings of students’ gelotophobia and found that (a) the accuracy of teachers’ impressions was comparatively low and (b) that higher accuracy was associated with better L2 achievement. We argue that because of fear of anticipated derision in performance situations such as speaking an L2, gelotophobic L2 learners might adopt a withdrawal strategy by avoiding the social situation altogether. Hence, L2 teachers should be aware that not all students enjoy humor and laughter, and they are recommended to use humor judiciously without laughing at students, and to adapt to students’ engagement and perceptions of laughter.

This paper focuses on the multilingualism in teacher education and puts a new education policy in the spotlight: the German \"DaZ-Modul - German for pupils with an immigrant background\", which has been implemented as part of regular teacher training. In light of increasing linguistic diversity and transnational mobility, the potential of such a module is of particular significance. In order to analyse this potential, a qualitative study was conducted with pre-service teachers using a triangulation of pre- and post-group discussions with learning diaries. The findings offer deep insights into participants¿ perceptions of linguistic normality and its reconstruction in course of the training. Drawing on these findings, the paper discusses implications for teacher education in a multilingual society: the need to include multilingual subject-oriented didactics and to combine them with reflective and biographical methods. (DIPF/Orig.) Der Beitrag befasst sich mit Mehrsprachigkeit und rückt eine neue bildungspolitische Maßnahme in den Mittelpunkt: das \"DaZ-Modul - Deutsch für Schüler:innen mit Migrationshintergrund\", das im Rahmen der regulären Lehrkräftebildung eingeführt wurde. Angesichts der zunehmenden sprachlichen Heterogenität und transnationalen Mobilität ist das Potenzial eines solchen Moduls von besonderer Bedeutung. Um dieses Potenzial zu analysieren, wurde eine qualitative Studie mit angehenden Lehrkräften durchgeführt, in der eine Triangulation von Gruppengesprächen im Prä-post-Design mit Lerntagebüchern verwendet wurde. Die Ergebnisse bieten tiefe Einblicke in die sprachlichen Normalitätsvorstellungen der Teilnehmenden und deren Rekonstruktion im Verlauf der Ausbildung. Auf der Grundlage dieser Ergebnisse werden Implikationen für die Lehrkräftebildung in einer mehrsprachigen Gesellschaft diskutiert: der Einbezug fachintegrierter mehrsprachiger Ansätze kombiniert mit reflexiven und biografischen Methoden. (DIPF/Orig.)

The goal of this study is to investigate the interplay of discourse and syntax, as it can be observed in the use of null objects, in the language development of a child who starts to acquire German at the age of nine years in a naturalistic setting. The study shows that children at such an age can profit from the knowledge already acquired in their first language. After nine months of exposure, the child under study uses null objects similarly to monolingual children. The acquisition of null objects in a second language can be impeded at an early stage, however, due to the different syntactic restraints for the use of null objects in the first and second languages.

This study investigates whether and how individual differences modulate the adult second language (L2) processing of syntactic ambiguities. In a linear mixed regression analysis, we test how proficiency, working memory, reading speed, automaticity in lexical access, and grammatical integration ability affect the resolution of temporary object–subject ambiguities in L2 English. The results from 75 first language German advanced learners attest that individual differences in syntactic integration ability modulate the reliance on morphosyntactic and plausibility information. Similar to native speakers, L2 learners are found to adopt two different routes in L2 processing. The findings highlight the role of individual differences and qualify previous generalizations about the relative use of morphosyntactic and other types of information in L2 processing.

Number transcoding is the cognitive task of converting between different numerical codes ( i . e . visual “42”, verbal “forty-two”). Visual symbolic to verbal transcoding and vice versa strongly relies on language proficiency. We evaluated transcoding of German-French bilinguals from Luxembourg in 5 th , 8 th , 11 th graders and adults. In the Luxembourgish educational system, children acquire mathematics in German (LM1) until the 7 th grade, and then the language of learning mathematic switches to French (LM2). French `70s `80s `90s are less transparent than `30s `40s `50s numbers, since they have a base-20 structure, which is not the case in German. Transcoding was evaluated with a reading aloud and a verbal-visual number matching task. Results of both tasks show a cognitive cost for transcoding numbers having a base-20 structure ( i . e . `70s, `80s and `90s), such that response times were slower in all age groups. Furthermore, considering only base-10 numbers ( i . e . `30s `40s `50s), it appeared that transcoding in LM2 (French) also entailed a cost. While participants across age groups tended to read numbers slower in LM2, this effect was limited to the youngest age group in the matching task. In addition, participants made more errors when reading LM2 numbers. In conclusion, we observed an age-independent language effect with numbers having a base-20 structure in French, reflecting their reduced transparency with respect to the decimal system. Moreover, we find an effect of language of math acquisition such that transcoding is less well mastered in LM2. This effect tended to persist until adulthood in the reading aloud task, while in the matching task performance both languages become similar in older adolescents and young adults. This study supports the link between numbers and language, especially highlighting the impact of language on reading numbers aloud from childhood to adulthood.

Mastery of a language is bound to place of origin; low language proficiency is thus related to migration and cultural differences, all of which influence access to mental health care, treatment and outcomes. Switzerland, being multilingual, allows the disentangling of language proficiency from migration and, to some extent, culture. This study uses propensity score matching to explore how language proficiency relates to help-seeking behaviour, service use, treatment and outcomes in patients with mental health disorders. We used the first admission of patients admitted to and discharged from an academic psychiatric hospital in Switzerland between January 1st, 2013 and December 31st, 2019, with an observation period of one-year post-discharge (until December 31st, 2020). We paired 2101 patients with low language proficiency to 2101 language proficient patients, balancing baseline sociodemographic and clinical characteristics using propensity score matching. Patients with low language proficiency had a higher probability of compulsory admission (OR: 1.79, 99%CI: 1.60–2.02); which remained after adjustment for confounders (OR: 1.51; 99%CI: 1.21–1.89). Whilst in treatment, they had higher rates of compulsory medication (OR: 1.73, 99%CI: 1.16–2.59) and seclusion/restraint (OR: 1.87, 99%CI: 1.25–2.79). Furthermore, patients initially admitted voluntarily had a higher probability of being compulsorily retained (OR: 1.74, 99%CI: 1.24–2.46). Both groups showed similar clinical improvement rates and service use parameters. Our results demonstrate that low language proficiency constitutes a risk factor for coercive measures throughout hospitalisation. The results demonstrate the need for an increase in language sensitivity in psychiatric care.

Current theories of bilingualism disagree on the extent to which separate brain regions are used to maintain or process one's first and second language. The present study took a novel multivariate approach to address this question. We examined whether bilinguals maintain distinct neural representations of two languages; specifically, we tested whether brain areas that are involved in processing word meaning in either language are reliably representing each language differently, and whether language representation is influenced by individual differences in proficiency level and age of acquisition (AoA) of L2. Thirty‐one English–Mandarin bilingual adults performed a picture–word matching task in both languages. We then used representational similarity analysis to examine which brain regions reliably showed different patterns of activity for each language. We found that both proficiency and AoA predicted dissimilarity between language representations in several brain areas within the language network as well as several regions of the ventral visual pathway, demonstrating that top‐down language knowledge and individual language experience shapes concept representation in this processing stream. The results support the model of an integrated language system in bilinguals, along with a novel description of how representations for each language change with proficiency level and L2 AoA. We examined whether bilinguals maintain distinct neural representations of two languages; specifically, we tested whether brain areas that are involved in processing word meaning in either language are reliably representing each language differently, and whether language representation is influenced by individual differences in proficiency level and age of acquisition (AoA) of L2. We found that both proficiency and AoA predicted dissimilarity between language representations in several brain areas within the language network as well as several regions of the ventral visual pathway, demonstrating that top‐down language knowledge and individual language experience shapes concept representation in this processing stream.

Immigrant adaptation research views identification with the mainstream context as particularly beneficial for sociocultural adaptation, including academic achievement, and identification with the ethnic context as particularly beneficial for psychological adaptation. A strong identification with both contexts is considered most beneficial for both outcomes (integration hypothesis). However, it is unclear whether the integration hypothesis applies in assimilative contexts, across different outcomes, and across different immigrant groups. This study investigates the association of cultural identity with several indicators of academic achievement and psychological adaptation in immigrant adolescents (N = 3894, 51% female, Mage= 16.24, SDage = 0.71) in Germany. Analyses support the integration hypothesis for aspects of psychological adaptation but not for academic achievement. Moreover, for some outcomes, findings vary across immigrant groups from Turkey (n = 809), the former Soviet Union (n = 712), and heterogeneous other countries (n = 2373). The results indicate that the adaptive potential of identity integration is limited in assimilative contexts, such as Germany, and that it may vary across different outcomes and groups. As each identification is positively associated with at least one outcome, however, both identification dimensions seem to be important for the adaptation of immigrant adolescents.

Research in bilingualism often involves quantifying constructs of interest by the use of rating scales: for example, to measure language proficiency, dominance, or sentence acceptability. However, ratings are a type of ordinal data, which violates the assumptions of the statistical methods that are commonly used to analyse them. As a result, the validity of ratings is compromised and the ensuing statistical inferences can be seriously distorted. In this article, we describe the problem in detail and demonstrate its pervasiveness in bilingualism research. We then provide examples of how bilingualism researchers can employ an appropriate solution using Bayesian ordinal models. These models respect the inherent discreteness of ratings, easily accommodate non-normality, and allow modelling unequal psychological distances between response categories. As a result, they can provide more valid, accurate, and informative inferences about graded constructs such as language proficiency. Data and code are publicly available in an OSF repository at https://osf.io/grs8x.

Investigate the protective effect of multilingualism on cognition in seniors. As part of the MemoVie study conducted on 232 non-demented volunteers aged 65 and more, neurogeriatric and neuropsychological evaluations were performed. Participants were classified as presenting either cognitive impairment without dementia (CIND) or being free of any cognitive impairment (CIND-free). Language practices, socio-demographic data and lifestyle habits were recorded. In this retrospective nested case-control design, we used as proxies of multilingualism: number of languages practiced, age of acquisition and duration of practice, emphasizing the temporal pattern of acquisition, and the resulting practice of several languages sequentially or concomitantly during various periods of life. This special angle on the matter offered to our work a dimension particularly original and innovative. 44 subjects (19%) had CIND, the others were cognitively normal. All practiced from 2 to 7 languages. When compared with bilinguals, participants who practiced more than 2 languages presented a lower risk of CIND, after adjustment for education and age (odds ratio (OR) = 0.30, 95% confidence limits (95%CL) = [0.10-0.92]). Progressing from 2 to 3 languages, instead of staying bilingual, was associated with a 7-fold protection against CIND (OR = 0.14, 95%CL = [0.04-0.45], p = 0.0010). A one year delay to reach multilingualism (3 languages practiced being the threshold) multiplied the risk of CIND by 1.022 (OR = 1.022, 95%CL = [1.01-1.04], p = 0.0044). Also noteworthy, just as for multilingualism, an impact of cognitively stimulating activities on the occurrence of CIND was found as well (OR = 0.979, 95%CL = [0.961-0.998], p = 0.033). The study did not show independence of multilingualism and CIND. Rather it seems to show a strong association toward a protection against CIND. Practicing multilingualism from early life on, and/or learning it at a fast pace is even more efficient. This protection might be related to the enhancement of cognitive reserve and brain plasticity, thereby preserving brain functions from alterations during aging.