Write down the name of this picture!

You’ll need something to write on. No collaboration, please.

Write down the name of this picture!

Write down the name of this picture!

Write down the name of this picture!

Write down the name of this picture!

Results for “raccoon” with responses of 97 ppts

response \(\mathit{N}_{resp}\) \(\mathit{N}_{name}\) \(\mathit{Pr}_{name}\) \(\mathit{H}_{name}\) \(\mathit{Pr}_{spell}\) \(\mathit{H}_{spell}\)
raccoon 41 75 0.77 2.48 0.55 1.31
racoon 30 75 0.77 2.48 0.4 1.31
raccon 2 75 0.77 2.48 0.03 1.31
raccoo 1 75 0.77 2.48 0.01 1.31
racoo 1 75 0.77 2.48 0.01 1.31
skunk 8 8 0.08 2.48 1
badger 6 6 0.06 2.48 1
lemur 2 2 0.02 2.48 1
animal 2 2 0.02 2.48 1
red panda 1 1 0.01 2.48 1
possum 1 1 0.01 2.48 1
cougar 1 1 0.01 2.48 1
meer kat 1 1 0.01 2.48 1

Experimental Tasks in Bilingual/Biscriptual Word and Sentence Production

Overall Goal

These tasks help us understand how bilinguals and biscriptuals access, process, and produce language—especially when switching between languages or scripts, or when dealing with words that are similar across languages (cognates).

Each task taps into different aspects of language production, such as:

  • Lexical access (finding the right word)
  • Syntactic processing (building sentences)
  • Cross-language interaction (how languages influence each other)
  • Script effects (how writing systems shape processing)

What does naming involve?

What do you have to do mentally to be able to type the name of the object below?




Bring these in the right order:

  1. Find the language sounds for the word, i.e. /b/, /a/, /g/, /p/, \(\dots\)
  2. Find the letters matching the language sounds <b>, <a>, <g>, <p>, \(\dots\)
  3. Move finger towards the <b> key and press it.
  4. Find the name of the depicted object: “bagpipes”
  5. Identify what the picture shows: squeaky musical instrument, has to do with Scotland
  6. Decide for a language you’re going to use: e.g. English
  7. Move eyes to picture: gaze moves away from text and towards the picture

Experimental Tasks

Lexical Access Tasks (Word-Level Production): how do we retrieve words from memory.

  • Picture Naming Task
  • Picture-Word Interference Task
  • Priming in Object Naming

Sentence-Level Production Tasks: how do we construct sentences and manage syntax.

  • Priming of Sentence Structure
  • Sentence Completion Task

Comprehension and production:

  • Translation task
  • Copy task

Lexical Access Tasks (Word-Level Production)

Picture Naming Task

  • How it works: Name a picture.
  • DVs: response latency / duration, response
  • Shows how bilinguals access words in different languages.

Priming in Object Naming

  • Name an object (and / or see / hear its name), then name another related one.
  • Does previous name influences naming.
  • DVs: response latency, response, facilitation
  • Shows how bilinguals’ lexicons are organised and interconnected.




Lexical Access Tasks (Word-Level Production)

Lexical Access Tasks (Word-Level Production)

Picture-Word Interference Task

  • Name picture, ignore distractor word (same / different language, related / unrelated).
  • Tests competition between languages.
  • DVs: response latency, response, inhibition
  • Reveals how bilinguals manage cross-language activation.

Sentence-Level Production Tasks

Priming of Sentence Structure

  • How: Hear or read a sentence, then describe a picture.
  • Tests whether syntactic structures are reused.
  • Outcome variables: sentence structure (word order), response time.
  • Shows whether syntax is shared across languages.

Sentence-Level Production Tasks

Sentence-Level Production Tasks

Sentence Completion Task

  • How: Provide a sentence stem, participant completes it.
  • Tests syntactic preferences and lexical access.
  • DVs: Completion type, structure, errors, response time.
  • Reveals how bilinguals plan and produce sentences.

  1. The artist gives ….
  2. The artist shows ….
  3. The artist hands ….
  4. The swimmer receives ….

Translation and Copying Tasks

These tasks test how bilinguals switch between languages and scripts.

Utterance Translation Task (see introduction slides)

  • How it works:
    • Translate a sentence from one language to another.
    • Translate a word from one script / language into another (see introduction slides).
  • DVs: Translation, response time, spelling diversity, structural shifts.
  • Shows how bilinguals manage syntax and meaning across languages.

Utterance Copy Task

  • How it works: Copy a list of words, sentence (from memory) in the same or different script.
  • DVs: Copying speed, errors, response time.
  • Reveals how people how are utterances ared chunked during reading; how is syntax reassembled.

Tools

  • Don’t reinvent the wheel!
  • Images can be created using Adobe FireFly
  • Use images from existing studies: e.g. Garcia et al. (2025), Torrance et al. (2018)
  • Also linguistic stimuli can be created using ChatGPT.
  • Gorilla templates

Designing your study

Formulate a research question: Think of a specific question related to bilingualism or biscriptuality and language production.

Examples:

  • Do bilinguals access cognates faster than non-cognates in picture naming?
  • Does sentence structure in L1 influence sentence production in L2?
  • How does script familiarity affect written sentence copying in bilinguals?

Choose a suitable experimental paradigm:

Select one or two tasks that best suit your research question (summary on next slide).

Justify your choice:

For each task you choose, answer the following:

  • How does it work? (Briefly describe the task)
  • Why is it suitable for your question?
  • What does it measure in your context?
  • What outcome variables would you analyse?
  • What do you expect to find, and why?

Sketch a basic version of your experimental design

  • Number of participants
  • Language background
  • Materials (e.g., pictures, words, sentences)
  • Procedure (e.g., number of trials, language order)

Summary of Experimental Paradigms

Task Level How it Works When to Use It Outcome Variables
Picture Naming Word Show a picture To test people’s lexical retrieval, lexical access, naming speed, cognate effects. Speed and accuracy of word retrieval.
Picture-Word Interference Word Picture shown with a distractor word (same or different language). To test cross-language interference or facilitation. Reaction time, error patterns
Priming in Object Naming Word Name a series of related or unrelated pictures. To test lexical priming or semantic activation. Naming latency differences, priming effects
Sentence Priming Sentence Read/hear a sentence, then describe a picture. To test syntactic priming across or within languages. Structural repetition, response type
Sentence Completion Sentence Complete a sentence stem with a continuation. To study syntactic preferences and lexical access. Completion type, structure, fluency, errors
Utterance Translation Word or sentence Translate a sentence from one language to another. To study cross-linguistic influence and syntax transfer, syntax mapping between languages. Translation accuracy, structural shifts
Utterance Copy Word or sentence Copy a sentence (same or different script). To study information chunking in comprehension, motor planning Copying time, errors, script-switching

References

Garcia, Rowena, Jens Roeser, Janina Camille Vargas, Saffanah Fathin, and Evan Kidd. 2025. “Teasing Apart the Impact of Different Forms of Overlap on Crosslinguistic Structural Priming.” Language, Cognition and Neuroscience XX (XX): XX–. https://doi.org/10.1080/23273798.2025.2558640.

Torrance, Mark, Guido Nottbusch, Rui A Alves, Barbara Arfé, Lucile Chanquoy, Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen, Ioannis Dimakos, et al. 2018. “Timed Written Picture Naming in 14 European Languages.” Behavior Research Methods 50 (2): 744–58. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-017-0902-x.