Second language (L2) speakers frequently report experience of struggling in search of proper words; they also tend to report weaker emotional activation when communicating in L2 compared to their first language (L1). From neurological perspective, this phenomenon has attracted researchers’ attention. A question that has been explored for more than a decade is whether L1 and L2 preserve information with equivalent efficiency and integrity as intended by the speakers. Neural scientists have probed this question by looking at how the bilingual brain processes emotional words, such as taboo and curse words, due to their more easily observable behavioral impact. With broader use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technology, researchers have come to a better understanding. Recent studies on bilingual experience have provided evidence that L1 and L2 engagements recruit different brain functions for lexical items despite their semantic equivalence. In particular, research suggests that discrepancies in neural activation tend to correlate with processing advantage of L1 over L2 speakers due to the latter’s lack of control of socio-pragmatic knowledge and contextual use of the language. This presentation will review selected fMRI studies with emphasis on most recent work and discuss their implication with respect to the relationship between language interface and contextual knowledge. Pedagogically, the presentation will serve to highlight the value of socio-pragmatic knowledge in the development of L2 proficiency, particularly in the case where learner’s L1 and L2 are “distant” languages, such as English and Chinese.

neural linguistics, fMRI, mental impact, L1, L2