Can LLMs simulate L2-English dialogue? An information-theoretic analysis of L1-dependent biases

This study evaluates Large Language Models' (LLMs) ability to simulate non-native English use as observed in human second language (L2) learners interfered with by their native first language (L1). In dialogue-based interviews, we prompt LLMs to mimic L2 English learners with specific L1s (e.g., Japanese, Thai, Urdu) across seven languages, comparing their outputs to real L2 learner data. Our analysis examines L1-driven linguistic biases, such as reference word usage and avoidance behaviors, using information-theoretic and distributional density measures. Results show that modern LLMs (e.g., Qwen2.5, LLAMA3, DeepseekV3, GPT-4o) replicate L1-dependent patterns observed in human L2 data, with distinct influences from various languages (e.g., Japanese, Korean, and Mandarin significantly affect tense agreement, while Urdu influences noun-verb collocations). Our results reveal LLMs' potential for L2 dialogue simulation and evaluation for future educational applications.