Success in learning similar-sounding words predicts vocabulary depth above and beyond vocabulary breadth

The Contribution of Willingness to Communicate to L2 Learners' Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge: An Empirical Study

The issues of depth vocabulary knowledge and Willingness to Communicate (henceforth, WTC) are among the most important issues in second language learning. The present study set out to empirically look into the contribution of WTC to depth of vocabulary knowledge in L2 learning. To this end, 88 English L2 learners, divided into two groups in terms of their WTC, were given two depth vocabulary tests. The Word Association Test (WAT) was first administered to make a comparison between the depth vocabulary knowledge of the two WTC groups. Then, to triangulate the results, the Word Part Levels Test (WPLT) was administered to check whether the obtained results confirmed those of WAT. Analyzing data through independent t-test and MANOVA indicated that learners with higher levels of WTC had deeper vocabulary knowledge than those with lower levels of WTC on the WAT. Further, the triangulation results evinced that although the two groups did not differ significantly on the form-section and meaning-section of the WPLT, they significantly differed on the use-section of the test. The relevant pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

Estimating the Lexical Breadth and Depth in Bilingual Indian Children Aged between 5 and 11 Years of Age

Objectives Lexical breadth of knowledge is the quantity of words that the individual knows with regard to vocabulary size of the learner; while lexical depth is the learner's knowledge and mastery level of various semantic relations of a given word. Both measures have been used in the assessment of speaking/writing skills of first (L1) and second (L2) language users. The current study aims to explore the lexical knowledge of typically developing school going bilingual Indian children.

Methods Seventy-two Konkani (L1) and English (L2) speaking children (between 5 and 11 years of age) were recruited in the study. The study was performed in three phases. Phase 1 comprised of developing the experimental tasks (lexical breadth and lexical depth); phase 2 included the data collection; and phase 3 focused on data and statistical analysis. Mean and standard deviation of the total number of words and total number of different words were analyzed. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance test was done to assess the level of significance (p < 0.05) across the groups for both tasks. Paired t-test was done to assess the interaction effect between age and language.

Results The results indicated an overall increase in lexical breadth and depth across age for L1 and L2. The interaction between the two languages has been discussed in detail.

Conclusion The findings of this study may help pave way toward future explorations to address issues pertaining to the complex interaction of L1 and L2 languages in bilinguals.

Word Form Processing in Primary School Children: A Psycholinguistic Perspective

Purpose From a psycholinguistic perspective, the quality of the stored word form in the phonological input lexicon, as well as its effective retrieval from the phonological output lexicon, is of great importance in lexical processing. This study aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of (a)typical word form processing in primary school children. In particular, age-related development and profiles of word form processing including children's response behavior were investigated. Method A sample of 164 monolingual primary school children (6-9 years of age) was tested in a cross-sectional design using two word form-related tasks (auditory lexical decision and rapid naming) with carefully controlled stimuli in combination with traditional vocabulary tests and a nonword repetition task. Results First, an age-related improvement (better performance and acceleration of reaction times) was found for both word form-related tasks. Second, a cluster analysis revealed five clusters with different profiles of word processing. Beside a cluster with overall results of above average, we found two clusters including children with typical lexical abilities who applied specific strategies to deal with the tasks (speed-accuracy trade-offs). Two other clusters represented weak lexical abilities at different levels of word processing. Conclusions Children's abilities in word form processing develop over time and are characterized by developmental boosts that occur at different times in development. The uncovered profiles document patterns of (a)typical lexical processing. Since difficulties with word form processing are easily overlooked in clinical assessment, lexical decision and rapid naming tasks offer valuable tools for an in-depth evaluation of lexical skills. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12986036.

The Factor Structure of Vocabulary: An Investigation of Breadth and Depth of Adults with Low Literacy Skills

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of vocabulary. We believe that not only is vocabulary multidimensional, but depth of vocabulary knowledge should also be assessed with multiple measures since it too, is composed of multiple aspects. Furthermore, to explore the predictive validity of the different aspects of vocabulary knowledge, we assessed the relationship between vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension in adults with low literacy skills. The participants were 103 adults. They completed 12 tasks that have been used in past studies to measure vocabulary breadth, depth, and reading comprehension. We had several important findings. First, we confirmed that all of the assessments were highly reliable for adults with low literacy skills. Second, the results of the factor analysis indicated two distinct vocabulary factors. Finally, both breadth and depth contribute independently to explaining variance in reading comprehension. Implications for vocabulary measurement are suggested.