Tamar H Gollan
Biographic Data
| ID | 3530314 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Tamar H Gollan |
| GIVEN NAMES | Tamar H |
| FAMILY NAME | Gollan |
| SIGNATURE | GOLLAN T H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of California San Diego |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4933-2594 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 31 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Predicting proficiency
We investigated which objective language proficiency tests best predict the language dominance, balance, English and Spanish proficiency scores relative to Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) scores (averaged across 5–6 raters). Eighty Spanish–English bilinguals completed OPIs, picture naming, semantic and letter fluency, lexical decision tests and a language history questionnaire. Except for letter fluency, objective measures explained more varianc…
Language switches can be monitored but not fully controlled
When reading aloud mixed-language paragraphs, bilinguals occasionally produce language intrusions , that is, they translate written switch words to avoid producing them overtly. Intrusions provide evidence about the nature of language control , which refers to how bilinguals maintain control over which language they speak. The present study compared eye movements for successful versus unsuccessful switches during reading aloud of mixed-language p…
Switching-back versus switching-out
What is proficiency? Characterizing spoken language proficiency in older Spanish-English bilinguals
We conducted a detailed linguistic analysis of Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) from older Spanish-English bilinguals ( n = 28) to determine which cognitive, linguistic, and demographic factors predict proficiency. In the dominant language, older age was associated with lower proficiency scores, but aging effects were not significant after accounting for cognitive functioning scores. In the nondominant language, bilinguals with larger vocabular…
Overcoming Barriers to Latino Participation in Alzheimer's Disease Research
There is a critical need to increase Latino participation in research on Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD). Applying principles of community-based participatory research, we convened a community advisory board (CAB) to identify barriers and recommend strategies to increase participation of older Latinos in a longitudinal observational research study of ADRD at the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Six major barrier…
Competition for selection drives the nature of bilingual language control
The current study tested the hypothesis that bilingual language control mechanisms vary depending on the extent of competition for selection. Forty-eight English-dominant Spanish-English bilinguals switched languages in production of single words, which was elicited with picture naming versus reading aloud in counterbalanced order. Results revealed some key similarities across tasks including: a) significant switch costs, b) larger switch costs i…
Structural representation in the native language after extended second-language immersion
Knowing the sentence structures (i.e., information that guides the assembly of words into sentences) is crucial in language knowledge. This knowledge must be stable for successful communication, but when learning another language that uses different structures, speakers must adjust their structural knowledge. Here, we examine how newly acquired second language (L2) knowledge influences first language (L1) structure knowledge. We compared two grou…
Predicting naming scores from language history
Language proficiency is a critically important factor in research on bilingualism, but researchers disagree on its measurement. Validated objective measures exist, but investigators often rely exclusively on subjective measures. We investigated if combining multiple self-report measures improves prediction of objective naming test scores in 36 English-dominant versus 32 Spanish-dominant older bilinguals (Experiment 1), and in 41 older Spanish–Eng…
Different language control mechanisms in comprehension and production
Inhibitory control of the dominant language
Language-switch costs from comprehension to production might just be task-switch costs
Spanish–English bilinguals switched between naming pictures in one language and either reading-aloud or semantically classifying written words in both languages. When switching between reading-aloud and picture-naming, bilinguals exhibited no language switch costs in picture-naming even though they produced overt language switches in speech. However, when switching between semantic classification and picture-naming, bilinguals, especially unbalan…
Language control after phrasal planning
Language of instruction affects language interference in the third language
Applied linguistic work claims that multilinguals’ non-native languages interfere with one another based on similarities in cognitive factors like proficiency or age of acquisition. Two experiments explored how trilinguals regulate control of native- and non-native-language words. Experiment 1 tested 46 Dutch–English–French trilinguals in a monitoring task. Participants decided if phonemes were present in the target language name of a picture, ph…
Order effects in bilingual recognition memory partially confirm predictions of the frequency-lag hypothesis
The present study examined task order, language, and frequency effects on list memory to investigate how bilingualism affects recognition memory. In Experiment 1, 64 bilinguals completed a recognition memory task including intermixed high and medium frequency words in English and another list in Spanish. In Experiment 2, 64 bilinguals and 64 monolinguals studied lists with only high frequency English words and a separate list with only low freque…
Selective activation of language specific structural representations
What cognates reveal about default language selection in bilingual sentence production
Effects of cumulative language exposure on heritage and majority language skills
This study investigated the effects of the amount of cumulative heritage language (HL) exposure during three time periods, on heritage and majority language performance in young adulthood, among two distinct groups of immigrant populations in the USA. Within each time period, exposure from three different sources were examined, and amount of cumulative exposure was calculated encompassing exposure from preceding periods. Factors that may modulate…
Cognitive control regions are recruited in bilinguals' silent reading of mixed-language paragraphs
Which bilinguals reverse language dominance and why
When a seven is not a seven
Self-ratings of language proficiency are ubiquitous in research on bilingualism, but little is known about their validity, especially when the same scale is used across different types of bilinguals. Self-ratings and picture naming data from 1044 Spanish–English and 519 Chinese–English bilinguals were analyzed in five between- and within-population comparisons. Chinese–English bilinguals scored more extremely than Spanish–English bilinguals, and …
Does bilingual language control decline in older age
We investigated age-related decline of bilingual language control. Thirteen older and 13 younger bilinguals performed a verbal fluency task (completing the same letter and semantic categories in each language and switching languages after every category), and a non-linguistic flanker task. In letter fluency, bilinguals produced fewer correct responses after switching languages, suggesting inhibition of the previously-used language. However, this …
Bimodal Bilingualism and the Frequency-Lag Hypothesis
The frequency-lag hypothesis proposes that bilinguals have slowed lexical retrieval relative to monolinguals and in their nondominant language relative to their dominant language, particularly for low-frequency words. These effects arise because bilinguals divide their language use between 2 languages and use their nondominant language less frequently. We conducted a picture-naming study with hearing American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilingual…
Self-ratings of spoken language dominance
This study investigated correspondence between different measures of bilingual language proficiency contrasting self-report, proficiency interview, and picture naming skills. Fifty-two young (Experiment 1) and 20 aging (Experiment 2) Spanish–English bilinguals provided self-ratings of proficiency level, were interviewed for spoken proficiency, and named pictures in a Multilingual Naming Test (MINT); in Experiment 1, the Boston Naming Test (BNT) w…
Frequency drives lexical access in reading but not in speaking
To contrast mechanisms of lexical access in production versus comprehension we compared the effects of word frequency (high, low), context (none, low constraint, high constraint), and level of English proficiency (monolingual, Spanish-English bilingual, Dutch-English bilingual) on picture naming, lexical decision, and eye fixation times. Semantic constraint effects were larger in production than in reading. Frequency effects were larger in produc…
Good Language-Switchers are Good Task-Switchers
Bilingual advantages in executive control tasks are well documented, but it is not yet clear what degree or type of bilingualism leads to these advantages. To investigate this issue, we compared the performance of two bilingual groups and monolingual speakers in task-switching and language-switching paradigms. Spanish–English bilinguals, who reported switching between languages frequently in daily life, exhibited smaller task-switching costs than…
Two Routes to Grammatical Gender
Semantic and letter fluency in Spanish-English bilinguals.
Spanish-English bilinguals and English monolinguals completed 12 semantic, 10 letter, and 2 proper name fluency categories. Bilinguals produced fewer exemplars than monolinguals on all category types, but the difference between groups was larger (and more consistent) on semantic categories. Bilinguals and monolinguals produced the same number of errors across all category types. The authors discuss 2 accounts of the similarities and differences b…
More use almost always means a smaller frequency effect
Bimodal bilingualism
Speech–sign or “bimodal” bilingualism is exceptional because distinct modalities allow for simultaneous production of two languages. We investigated the ramifications of this phenomenon for models of language production by eliciting language mixing from eleven hearing native users of American Sign Language (ASL) and English. Instead of switching between languages, bilinguals frequently produced code-blends (simultaneously produced English words a…
Bilingual Minds
What causes the bilingual disadvantage in verbal fluency? The dual-task analogy
We investigated the consequences of bilingualism for verbal fluency by comparing bilinguals to monolinguals, and dominant versus non-dominant-language fluency. In Experiment 1, bilinguals produced fewer correct responses, slower first response times and proportionally delayed retrieval, relative to monolinguals. In Experiment 2, similar results were obtained comparing the dominant to the non-dominant languages within bilinguals. Additionally, bil…
Frequency drives lexical access in reading but not in speaking
To contrast mechanisms of lexical access in production versus comprehension we compared the effects of word frequency (high, low), context (none, low constraint, high constraint), and level of English proficiency (monolingual, Spanish-English bilingual, Dutch-English bilingual) on picture naming, lexical decision, and eye fixation times. Semantic constraint effects were larger in production than in reading. Frequency effects were larger in produc…
Good Language-Switchers are Good Task-Switchers
Bilingual advantages in executive control tasks are well documented, but it is not yet clear what degree or type of bilingualism leads to these advantages. To investigate this issue, we compared the performance of two bilingual groups and monolingual speakers in task-switching and language-switching paradigms. Spanish–English bilinguals, who reported switching between languages frequently in daily life, exhibited smaller task-switching costs than…
Self-ratings of spoken language dominance
This study investigated correspondence between different measures of bilingual language proficiency contrasting self-report, proficiency interview, and picture naming skills. Fifty-two young (Experiment 1) and 20 aging (Experiment 2) Spanish–English bilinguals provided self-ratings of proficiency level, were interviewed for spoken proficiency, and named pictures in a Multilingual Naming Test (MINT); in Experiment 1, the Boston Naming Test (BNT) w…
Bimodal Bilingualism and the Frequency-Lag Hypothesis
The frequency-lag hypothesis proposes that bilinguals have slowed lexical retrieval relative to monolinguals and in their nondominant language relative to their dominant language, particularly for low-frequency words. These effects arise because bilinguals divide their language use between 2 languages and use their nondominant language less frequently. We conducted a picture-naming study with hearing American Sign Language (ASL)-English bilingual…
Does bilingual language control decline in older age
We investigated age-related decline of bilingual language control. Thirteen older and 13 younger bilinguals performed a verbal fluency task (completing the same letter and semantic categories in each language and switching languages after every category), and a non-linguistic flanker task. In letter fluency, bilinguals produced fewer correct responses after switching languages, suggesting inhibition of the previously-used language. However, this …
When a seven is not a seven
Self-ratings of language proficiency are ubiquitous in research on bilingualism, but little is known about their validity, especially when the same scale is used across different types of bilinguals. Self-ratings and picture naming data from 1044 Spanish–English and 519 Chinese–English bilinguals were analyzed in five between- and within-population comparisons. Chinese–English bilinguals scored more extremely than Spanish–English bilinguals, and …
Cognitive control regions are recruited in bilinguals' silent reading of mixed-language paragraphs
Which bilinguals reverse language dominance and why
Language of instruction affects language interference in the third language
Applied linguistic work claims that multilinguals’ non-native languages interfere with one another based on similarities in cognitive factors like proficiency or age of acquisition. Two experiments explored how trilinguals regulate control of native- and non-native-language words. Experiment 1 tested 46 Dutch–English–French trilinguals in a monitoring task. Participants decided if phonemes were present in the target language name of a picture, ph…
Order effects in bilingual recognition memory partially confirm predictions of the frequency-lag hypothesis
The present study examined task order, language, and frequency effects on list memory to investigate how bilingualism affects recognition memory. In Experiment 1, 64 bilinguals completed a recognition memory task including intermixed high and medium frequency words in English and another list in Spanish. In Experiment 2, 64 bilinguals and 64 monolinguals studied lists with only high frequency English words and a separate list with only low freque…
Selective activation of language specific structural representations
What cognates reveal about default language selection in bilingual sentence production
Effects of cumulative language exposure on heritage and majority language skills
This study investigated the effects of the amount of cumulative heritage language (HL) exposure during three time periods, on heritage and majority language performance in young adulthood, among two distinct groups of immigrant populations in the USA. Within each time period, exposure from three different sources were examined, and amount of cumulative exposure was calculated encompassing exposure from preceding periods. Factors that may modulate…
Language-switch costs from comprehension to production might just be task-switch costs
Spanish–English bilinguals switched between naming pictures in one language and either reading-aloud or semantically classifying written words in both languages. When switching between reading-aloud and picture-naming, bilinguals exhibited no language switch costs in picture-naming even though they produced overt language switches in speech. However, when switching between semantic classification and picture-naming, bilinguals, especially unbalan…
Language control after phrasal planning
Inhibitory control of the dominant language
Structural representation in the native language after extended second-language immersion
Knowing the sentence structures (i.e., information that guides the assembly of words into sentences) is crucial in language knowledge. This knowledge must be stable for successful communication, but when learning another language that uses different structures, speakers must adjust their structural knowledge. Here, we examine how newly acquired second language (L2) knowledge influences first language (L1) structure knowledge. We compared two grou…
Predicting naming scores from language history
Language proficiency is a critically important factor in research on bilingualism, but researchers disagree on its measurement. Validated objective measures exist, but investigators often rely exclusively on subjective measures. We investigated if combining multiple self-report measures improves prediction of objective naming test scores in 36 English-dominant versus 32 Spanish-dominant older bilinguals (Experiment 1), and in 41 older Spanish–Eng…
Different language control mechanisms in comprehension and production
Psychology (27 works) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (26 works) · Linguistics (23 works) · Neuroscience of multilingualism (19 works) · Language Development and Disorders (18 works) · Cognition (17 works) · Cognitive psychology (17 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (16 works) · Computer Science (14 works) · Language production (8 works)