Second language lexical processing: influence of teaching method and word characteristics

Abstract

Word learning was investigated in two experiments: a word translation experiment and a picture naming experiment. Two groups of bilinguals, differing in second language proficiency, were taught 40 Spanish words using one of these two tasks. One group of participants translated a set of words from L1 (English) to L2 (Spanish) Another group of participants named pictures. For each task, the training involved two presentations of the same 40 Spanish words, coupled either with the translation in English or with a picture. In both experiments subjects heard each Spanish words repeated 3 times in each presentation. Subjects' task was to name the Spanish word either given an English word prompt (word translation) or a picture prompt (picture naming). The stimulus materials were manipulated on word frequency and cognate status. The results show that cognate and high frequency words were easier to learn (fewer errors and shorter response times). Proficiency and task hardly affected error rates. Overall, picture naming showed better recall for beginner learners whereas word translation showed better recall for learners with a good proficiency level. This suggests that conceptual memory appeared to operate as much in the translation task as in the picture naming task.