Abstract
One of the key issues in current cognitive neuroscience is how language acquisition and brain development co-occur in early childhood. In this sense, a systematic observation of functional brain development in both first (L1) and second/foreign (FL) language is crucial. Using ERPs and NIRS in the cohort study of Japanese school-aged children, the process of word learning has been clarified. The results include similarities of the brain responses between L1 and FL, the important role of the right hemisphere in the initial stage of learning, and cortical sex differences emerged with proficiency. The necessity to investigate genetic factors combined with language and brain is also pointed out to elucidate more fine-grained characteristics of language learning in each individual.
