Edited by Hye K. Pae
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 7] 2018
► pp. 137–162
Research on Chinese reading provides important insights into the understanding of language-universal and script-specific mechanisms of reading, because Chinese is contrastively different from alphabetic languages. In this chapter, I will first summarize neuroimaging findings of Chinese word reading in adults in comparison to English word reading. Then, I will discuss how the brain adapts to one’s language with learning and development. Then, I will focus on the topic of second language learning, including how one brain processes Chinese and English in bilinguals, how first language influences second language learning, and whether there are different optimal learning methods for different second languages. This chapter will address these important questions based on neuroimaging studies.