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In:Quantitative Methods in Multilingual Acquisition and Processing
Edited by Gabrielle Klassen and John W. Schwieter
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 16] 2026
► pp. 7–27

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Chapter 2
Bilingualism in context

Principles for designing ecological and transdisciplinary research in language and cognitive science

Published online: 26 March 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/rmal.16.02bea
Abstract
How do individuals adapt to the demands of more than one language? The past decade has brought a burst of insights into the complexity of language experience, suggesting multiple interdependent levels of evolutionary and ecological influence on behavior and cognition. An important part of building this evidence base is the application of ecologically valid scientific practices to effectively characterize the origin and parameters of variation in language use and in participant samples. In this chapter, we propose that the study of bilingualism is essentially a transdisciplinary endeavor, drawing on concepts and methods from sociolinguistics, experimental psychology, and cognitive science. Using electrophysiology, eye-tracking, and pupillometry as illustrative methods, we present and exemplify a socially and linguistically informed research program that capitalizes on the diversity and variability in the language experiences of bilingual speakers to better understand adaptive change in cognition and in behavior.
Article outline
  • 2.1Introduction
  • 2.2Contributions of event-related potentials to understanding complexity in language processing
    • 2.2.1Language control states evoke distinct neural signatures
    • 2.2.2Bridging el gap between variationists and cognitive electrophysiologists
  • 2.3Gaze fixations and pupil dilations:
    Where lab and field work meet the eye
    • 2.3.1Literacy effects are WEIRD
    • 2.3.2Pupillometry as a tool for increasing ecological validity
      in heritage language processing
  • 2.4Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (91)
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