Does Advanced Skill in a Second Language Reduce Automaticity in the First Language?

This paper discusses whether high levels of skill in one's second language (L2) leads to loss of performance in one's first language (L1). Data are reviewed which indicate that a high level of reading skill in L2 may indeed be associated with slower reading in L1. The data presented here indicate, however, that this reduction in L1 reading speed does not reflect a loss or reduction of automatic processing in L1 word recognition; if anything, the highly skilled bilinguals (slower readers of L1) showed more, not less, automaticity in L1 word recognition than did a group of less skilled bilinguals. The data also indicated that these highly skilled bilinguals are slower at controlled (strategic) processing in their L1. Thus, automatic L1 word recognition appears to be unaffected by advanced skill in L2 whereas controlled processing of words may be.