- Dutch-English bilinguals translated from one language to another with words.
- The researchers found a shorter delay for bilinguals to translate their second language (L2) to their first language (L1).
   - L2 to L1 → not influenced by the meaning of the words.
- When not translating, the bilinguals were slower in naming words in L2 than L1.
   - L1 to L2 was slower due to semantic blocking, while L2 to L1 was faster due to interleaving.
- At the end of the experiment, there was a recall task, and the researchers found significance in L1 to L2 (effects of semantic blocking).
- Results show that the more difficult processing was beneficial later on.

Rutgers University

- Both results show that more difficult processes are beneficial later on.
   - Schneider et al. (2002)
   - Kroll and Stewart (1994)

Two Experiments on Contextual Inference for Desirable Difficulties

Bjork RA, Kroll JF. Desirable Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning. Am J Psychol. 2015 Summer;128(2):241-52.

Desirable Difficulties in Vocabulary Learning

- Native English speakers studying translation pairs: English to French or French to English.
- Day 1: If given French cues, the participants must give the English translation (French to English). The opposite for English to French.
- Results: French to English did better on the test given right after Day 1 trials.
   - It is easier to encode new information (French) and apply it to existing knowledge (English) than producing a new word (French) with a known word (English).
- Week Later: Found benefits in English to French (more difficult) as participants performed better on the delayed test.

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