The cognitive underpinnings of mental model construction in L1 and L2

This study investigates the ability to create mental models and the role of working memory in mental model ability in the first and second language with English–Spanish bilinguals using L1 and L2 versions of the Spatial Integration Task. Participants showed effects of continuity in accuracy in L1 and L2, but only in L1 did they show effects in the reading times. In L1, working memory capacity predicted identification accuracy for discontinuous descriptions in L1, as well as reading time for the critical discontinuous sentence. In L2, accuracy was predicted by L2 reading ability only and there were no significant predictors of reading times. The findings suggest that the lack of availability of working memory resources in L2 induces participants to rely primarily on verbal abilities to create mental models.