Language and Translation Studies (LTS)

Abstract This study was an attempt to compare the neural processes of two proficiency levels through employing a stroop-like multi-word units task. The participants were selected based on purposive sampling through a test of language proficiency. Analysis of the data revealed no significant differences in the reaction times. There was a significant difference between two levels of proficiency and Plausible Target Distractor (PTD) condition in F3, F4, C3, C4, Fz, Fp1 and P3 channels and PDT in Fz, F8 and O2 channels and Implausible Target Distractor (ITD) in F8, Fz, C4 and T4 channels. A greater recruitment of the frontal lobes was observed as the participants needed to make judgments. The findings provide insights for the understanding of processing mechanisms related to multi-word units such as collocations in the brain. They also reveal the different areas of the brain involved in terms of cognitive variances.