Electrophysiological evidence of lexical processing impacted by foreign language reading anxiety

Lina Li; Qianqian Yu; Yuru Wang; Zhihao Wang; Xinyi Zhou; Qing Guan; Yue-Jia Luo; Hehui Li

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30061

Electrophysiological evidence of lexical processing impacted by foreign language reading anxiety

Heliyon. 2024 Apr 25;10(9):e30061. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30061. eCollection 2024 May 15.

Authors

Lina Li^{1

2}, Qianqian Yu³, Yuru Wang³, Zhihao Wang³, Xinyi Zhou⁴, Qing Guan³, Yue-Jia Luo^{3

4}, Hehui Li³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, PR China.
² English Department, Jilin Medical College, Jilin, PR China.
³ School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, PR China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, PR China.

Abstract

Extensive studies have been conducted on the impact of foreign language reading anxiety on reading, primarily focusing on pedagogy and behavior but lacking electrophysiological evidence. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of foreign language reading anxiety on reading and its underlying mechanisms. The results revealed a negative correlation between foreign language reading anxiety and foreign language reading performance, irrespective of the native language. Adults with low levels of foreign language reading anxiety (LFLRA) demonstrated a significant difference in early lexical component N170 amplitude between foreign and native languages. However, this effect was not observed in adults with high levels of foreign language reading anxiety (HFLRA). In terms of N170 latency, HFLRA showed a longer N170 for the foreign language compared to the native language. Furthermore, the N170 effects were predominantly localized over the left occipitotemporal electrodes. Regarding N400 latency, a significant difference was found in LFLRA individuals between foreign and native language processing, while HFLRA individuals did not exhibit this difference. These findings suggest that HFLRA individuals experience inefficient lexical processing (such as orthography or semantics) during reading in foreign language.

Keywords: ERP; Foreign language reading anxiety; Lexical processing; N170; N400; Reading.