Final answer:
Lisa's difficulty in learning new Chinese vocabulary due to interference from previously learned Japanese exemplifies the challenges in bilingual education. However, bilingualism can enhance cognitive flexibility and long-term language proficiency.
Step-by-step explanation:
In elementary school, Lisa learned to speak some Japanese in addition to English. As a sophomore in high school, Lisa took a class in Chinese. She found that some of the new vocabulary was difficult to learn because her earlier Japanese vocabulary was competing with the new Chinese words.
This situation best illustrates the phenomenon known as interference or negative transfer, which occurs when knowledge of a previously learned language affects the learning of a new language. It highlights the challenges of bilingual education and the cognitive processes involved in language acquisition.
Studies by Johns Hopkins University suggest that students taught in both their native tongue and a new language make better progress than those taught only in the new language. In Lisa's case, while learning Japanese might initially interfere with her acquisition of Chinese, the overall cognitive flexibility gained from being bilingual can be beneficial in the long term. The experience in code-switching and adjusting to varying linguistic structures when learning a foreign language often results in greater linguistic sensitivity and proficiency across multiple languages.