Mariana Vega‐mendoza
Biographic Data
| ID | 3592405 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mariana Vega‐mendoza |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mariana |
| FAMILY NAME | Vega‐mendoza |
| SIGNATURE | MENDOZA M V |
| AFFILIATIONS | Luleå University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2511-1631 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Cognitive performance differences between Chinese and European students in the UK
This study examines how linguistic differences between Chinese and European languages influence cognitive functions. Two experiments compared cognitive performance between Chinese and European undergraduates. Experiment 1 compared Chinese and European bilinguals (e.g., Chinese-English versus French-English) studying at an English university. Chinese bilinguals exhibited stronger executive control, inhibitory control and mental rotation, suggestin…
The effect of language proficiency, usage, and exposure on cognitive control
Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study investigated the effect of the specific L2 learning experience (i.e., usage, proficiency, and exposure) on cognitive performance in 121 Chinese learners of English. Design/Methodology/Approach: The participants were divided into three groups: beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners. They are homogeneous in background variables (e.g., cultural and educational environment) but hetero…
How language proficiency and age of acquisition affect executive control in bilinguals
Researchers have argued that grouping heterogeneous linguistic profiles under a dichotomous condition might mask the cognitive effects of bilingualism. The current study used two different analysis approaches (i.e., continuous versus dichotomous) to examine inhibitory control in a sample of 239 young adult bilinguals. Dividing the sample into dichotomous groups based on L2 proficiency (i.e., high-proficient versus low-proficient) and L2 AoA (i.e.…
Lexically-specific syntactic restrictions in second-language speakers
In two structural priming experiments, we investigated the representations of lexically-specific syntactic restrictions of English verbs for highly proficient and immersed second language (L2) speakers of English. We considered the interplay of two possible mechanisms: generalization from the first language (L1) and statistical learning within the L2 (both of abstract structure and of lexically-specific information). In both experiments, L2 speak…
A longitudinal study of episodic memory recall in multilinguals
Aim: This study investigates the effects of degree of multilingualism on cognitive functions in adulthood, with focus on episodic memory recall and including measures of verbal fluency as well as global cognition. Design: We studied a large population-based cohort cross-sectionally, and we also assessed changes over time through longitudinal measurements on four time-points over a 15 year period. Participants were drawn from the Betula prospectiv…
A longitudinal investigation of the effects of language instruction versus immersion on cognitive functions in young adult Chinese speakers learning English
The current study examined cognitive effects of two pathways of second language (L2) acquisition longitudinally in Chinese speakers learning English in an L2-dominant environment. Thirty-nine participants who attended an intensive 10-week English course (L2-instruction group) were compared to 38 participants who attended regular university courses taught in English (L2-immersion group). Four repeated assessments were conducted over 10 weeks: prec…
Interference suppression in bilingualism
Studies examining the potential effects of bilingualism on interference suppression show inconsistent results. Our study approaches this topic by distinguishing two potential subcomponents within interference suppression (i.e., Stimulus-Stimulus and Stimulus-Response conflict). We investigated the two subcomponents through their operationalisation in different tasks and examined the role of language proficiency in modulating it. A sample of 111 y…
Cognitive effects of Gaelic medium education on primary school children in Scotland
Research has shown that learning more than one language may have beneficial effects on executive functions, such as focused attention, inhibitory control, and switching between tasks. Evidence demonstrating these effects comes from studies with infants, children and adults from a range of language combinations. Much less direct evidence of such effects exists with regard to the bilingual experience of children acquiring regional minority language…
Inversion and finiteness in Spanish and English
There is evidence to suggest that finiteness marking on verbs and subject-auxiliary inversion are related phenomena in English. In contrast, in Spanish there is evidence consistent with finiteness marking on verbs and the apparently similar phenomenon of subject-verb inversion being unrelated. In both cases, most of the evidence adduced comes from adult acceptability judgments and other adult psycholinguistic work. In the present article, we pres…
Null Subject Occurrence in Monolingual Spanish SLI
Background: Child Spanish-speakers appear to use more null subjects than do adults. Null subject use, like the use of tense marking, is sensitive to discourse-pragmatics. Because tense marking has been used to identify child Spanish-speakers with specific language impairment (SLI) with near good sensitivity and specificity (89%), null subject use may as well, following the predictions of the Interface Deficit Hypothesis. We investigate the possib…
Social and linguistic cues facilitate children’s register comprehension
Speakers must command different linguistic registers to index various social-discourse elements, including the identity of the addressee. Previous work found that English-learning children could link registers to appropriate addressees by 5 years. Two experiments found that better cues to the linguistic form or to the social meaning of register could improve 3-year-old children’s ability to access their knowledge of register. Experiment 1 contras…
Evidence of optional infinitive verbs in the spontaneous speech of Spanish-speaking children with SLI
Social and linguistic cues facilitate children’s register comprehension
Speakers must command different linguistic registers to index various social-discourse elements, including the identity of the addressee. Previous work found that English-learning children could link registers to appropriate addressees by 5 years. Two experiments found that better cues to the linguistic form or to the social meaning of register could improve 3-year-old children’s ability to access their knowledge of register. Experiment 1 contras…
Evidence of optional infinitive verbs in the spontaneous speech of Spanish-speaking children with SLI
Inversion and finiteness in Spanish and English
There is evidence to suggest that finiteness marking on verbs and subject-auxiliary inversion are related phenomena in English. In contrast, in Spanish there is evidence consistent with finiteness marking on verbs and the apparently similar phenomenon of subject-verb inversion being unrelated. In both cases, most of the evidence adduced comes from adult acceptability judgments and other adult psycholinguistic work. In the present article, we pres…
Null Subject Occurrence in Monolingual Spanish SLI
Background: Child Spanish-speakers appear to use more null subjects than do adults. Null subject use, like the use of tense marking, is sensitive to discourse-pragmatics. Because tense marking has been used to identify child Spanish-speakers with specific language impairment (SLI) with near good sensitivity and specificity (89%), null subject use may as well, following the predictions of the Interface Deficit Hypothesis. We investigate the possib…
Cognitive effects of Gaelic medium education on primary school children in Scotland
Research has shown that learning more than one language may have beneficial effects on executive functions, such as focused attention, inhibitory control, and switching between tasks. Evidence demonstrating these effects comes from studies with infants, children and adults from a range of language combinations. Much less direct evidence of such effects exists with regard to the bilingual experience of children acquiring regional minority language…
Interference suppression in bilingualism
Studies examining the potential effects of bilingualism on interference suppression show inconsistent results. Our study approaches this topic by distinguishing two potential subcomponents within interference suppression (i.e., Stimulus-Stimulus and Stimulus-Response conflict). We investigated the two subcomponents through their operationalisation in different tasks and examined the role of language proficiency in modulating it. A sample of 111 y…
A longitudinal investigation of the effects of language instruction versus immersion on cognitive functions in young adult Chinese speakers learning English
The current study examined cognitive effects of two pathways of second language (L2) acquisition longitudinally in Chinese speakers learning English in an L2-dominant environment. Thirty-nine participants who attended an intensive 10-week English course (L2-instruction group) were compared to 38 participants who attended regular university courses taught in English (L2-immersion group). Four repeated assessments were conducted over 10 weeks: prec…
Lexically-specific syntactic restrictions in second-language speakers
In two structural priming experiments, we investigated the representations of lexically-specific syntactic restrictions of English verbs for highly proficient and immersed second language (L2) speakers of English. We considered the interplay of two possible mechanisms: generalization from the first language (L1) and statistical learning within the L2 (both of abstract structure and of lexically-specific information). In both experiments, L2 speak…
A longitudinal study of episodic memory recall in multilinguals
Aim: This study investigates the effects of degree of multilingualism on cognitive functions in adulthood, with focus on episodic memory recall and including measures of verbal fluency as well as global cognition. Design: We studied a large population-based cohort cross-sectionally, and we also assessed changes over time through longitudinal measurements on four time-points over a 15 year period. Participants were drawn from the Betula prospectiv…
How language proficiency and age of acquisition affect executive control in bilinguals
Researchers have argued that grouping heterogeneous linguistic profiles under a dichotomous condition might mask the cognitive effects of bilingualism. The current study used two different analysis approaches (i.e., continuous versus dichotomous) to examine inhibitory control in a sample of 239 young adult bilinguals. Dividing the sample into dichotomous groups based on L2 proficiency (i.e., high-proficient versus low-proficient) and L2 AoA (i.e.…
Cognitive performance differences between Chinese and European students in the UK
This study examines how linguistic differences between Chinese and European languages influence cognitive functions. Two experiments compared cognitive performance between Chinese and European undergraduates. Experiment 1 compared Chinese and European bilinguals (e.g., Chinese-English versus French-English) studying at an English university. Chinese bilinguals exhibited stronger executive control, inhibitory control and mental rotation, suggestin…
The effect of language proficiency, usage, and exposure on cognitive control
Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study investigated the effect of the specific L2 learning experience (i.e., usage, proficiency, and exposure) on cognitive performance in 121 Chinese learners of English. Design/Methodology/Approach: The participants were divided into three groups: beginning, intermediate, and advanced learners. They are homogeneous in background variables (e.g., cultural and educational environment) but hetero…
Psychology (11 works) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (9 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Cognition (7 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (7 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Developmental psychology (6 works) · Language Development and Disorders (5 works) · Language proficiency (4 works) · Neuroscience of multilingualism (4 works)