The effects of English exposure on the semantic processing of native language in preschool children

Abstract

We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the effects of non-native language (English) exposure on four- to seven-year-old Japanese native children while they listened to semantically congruent and incongruent Japanese sentences. The children were divided into three groups on the basis of their exposure to English in kindergarten: High (a high degree of English exposure in a immersion program), Med (a medium degree of English exposure), and Low (a low degree of English exposure). Results showed that N400 was observed in all preschoolers, but with different latencies in the three groups. Late positive components (LPCs) were only observed in Med and Low groups. These results indicate that the ERP waveforms of semantic processing for native language sentences in preschool children varied depending on the development and degree of exposure to the non-native language.