Dynamic brain reorganization and the role of motivation during the first year of foreign language learning: A longitudinal study.

This study aims to investigate whether structure-function coupling changes occur during the first year of foreign language learning and how such neural changes interact with individual differences in proficiency, motivation, and learning strategies. Behavioral results revealed significant improvements in language performance and learning strategies, with notable gains in the use of compensation strategies. Learners' wish for language proficiency and intrinsic motivation remained consistently high throughout the year, accompanied by a significant increase in self-efficacy. Neural results showed an overall decreasing structure-function coupling strength, with descriptively greater reductions in the frontoparietal network (FPN). Further analysis revealed a global increase in functional network modularity and segregation, with relatively greater changes in the FPN, whereas structural network segregation strength increased in lower-order networks and decreased in higher-order networks. Meanwhile, shifts in motivation significantly predicted changes in coupling within higher-order brain networks, including the FPN and the default mode network, which highlights the influence of motivation on brain networks involved in lexical retrieval, articulation, and reading. In addition, we identified a significant association between changes in language performance and functional connectivity between the left STG and the left temporal and parietal regions (i.e., PTR, IPL, ITG, MTG), highlighting the role of the left STG as a central hub supporting phonological representations and their interaction with semantic and control networks. Our findings thus demonstrated a dynamic interplay between brain changes and individual difference alterations during the initial year of foreign language learning from a longitudinal perspective. In particular, our study was among the first to explore how motivation influences the development of brain networks in foreign language learning. Our results indicated that early-stage language learning is accompanied by dynamic neural reorganization, with individual differences especially motivation associated with variability in this process.