Mental simulation in bilingual and second language processing: New directions in the Competition Model

• Mental models are a central feature in gaining full automaticity in a second language. • Understanding cue competition is crucial to examining how learners develop mental models to process their second language. • L2 processing heavily relies on embodied representations, and L1 typically exhibits stronger perceptual grounding than L2. • Learners go through a dynamic process of functional restructuring to achieve decoupling from entrenched L1 mental models. • L2 simulation restructuring is a gradual process influenced by learner factors and contextual factors.