Abstract:  In the domain of second language acquisition, one of the key questions relates to the representation of emotions in different languages of the bilingual’s. Although it has been proposed that the first language (L1) contains more richly interconnected semantic associations than the second language (L2), the emotional representation difference between L1 and L2 has been debated. Because the proficiency of L2 may influence the bilingual’s emotion automatic access, we thus investigated the emotional access in different proficiency type of bilinguals in this regard. According to their proficiency levels of L2, three types of bilinguals were selected in our study. That is, comprehensive proficient bilinguals, reading-proficient bilinguals, and listening and spoken-proficient bilinguals. Comprehensive proficient bilinguals are proficient in L2 input and output. Reading-proficient bilinguals are able to read and write in L2 without being able to listen and speak it, whereas listening and spoken-proficient bilinguals are the opposite. The present study investigated the modulation effect of bilingual’s types on the emotional access in L1 and L2 through the Emotional Stroop paradigm. The experiment was a 3-factor mixed design with 2 (Languages: L1 vs. L2) × 3 (Type of bilinguals: Comprehensive proficient bilinguals vs. Reading-proficient bilinguals vs. Listening and Spoken-proficient bilinguals) × 3 (Emotional valence: Positive vs. Negative vs. Neutral). The stimulus were delivered using E-prime software, which also automatically recorded reaction times and error rates. The results of reaction times showed that: (1) For Comprehensive proficient bilinguals: under the condition of L1, there was significant difference between positive and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 4.75, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.81), also negative and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 4.80, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.81). Under the condition of L2, there was significant difference between positive and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 6.98, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.69), also negative and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 6.65, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.68). That is, comprehensive proficient bilinguals showed Emotional Stroop effect under the condition of L1 and L2. (2) For Reading-proficient bilinguals: Under the condition of L1, there was significant difference between positive and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 5.96, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.73), also negative and neutral words (F(19) = 6.60, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.74). Under the condition of L2, there was significant difference between positive and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 5.56, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.86), also negative and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 3.86, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.85). That is, Reading-proficient bilinguals also showed Emotional Stroop effect under the condition of L1 and L2. (3) For Listening and Spoken-proficient bilinguals: Under the condition of L1, there was significant difference between positive and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 5.33, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.86), also negative and neutral words (F(1, 19) = 4.92, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.85). Under the condition of L2 there were no significant difference between these three type of words. That is, Listening and spoken-proficient bilinguals showed Emotional Stroop effect only under the condition of L1 but not L2.There were no significant differences in error rates. In summary, the results suggested that Comprehensive proficient bilinguals and Reading-proficient bilinguals had automatic emotional access in L1 and L2, and Listening and Spoken-proficient bilinguals have weaker emotional access in L1 but not in L2.

Key words:  comprehensive proficient bilinguals, reading-proficient bilinguals, listening and spoken-proficient bilinguals, emotional stroop