Abstract
Do Moroccan EFL learners depend on the context to infer the meaning of unknown words occurring in sentences? This study investigates the way intermediate and advanced learners infer the meaning of fake words. To this end, the subjects took a test consisting of 60 items with three multiple choices. Subjects were asked to provide appropriate, inappropriate meanings of the unknown word or none of the choices without using dictionaries. The Chi-2 tests were adopted to determine whether there is a) a statistically significant difference between the three categories and b) a statistically significant difference between intermediate and advanced learners’ inferencing results. The findings demonstrate that the context along with the lexical knowledge of the L2 learners play the most important role in understanding vocabulary.
Highlights
Vocabulary knowledge and development are central to language comprehension
When learners are exposed to new words, they usually make guesses or inferences about their contextual meaning
The mental lexicon is a complex structure organized in terms of phonology, semantics, syntax, among other levels
Summary
Vocabulary knowledge and development are central to language comprehension. Children acquire vocabulary words and their meanings in L1 through oral and daily exposure to words in language context. In L2 the process of vocabulary acquisition knows a more formal method as it is usually encouraged through reading and written texts become a major form of exposure to new words. When learners are exposed to new words, they usually make guesses or inferences about their contextual meaning. The process of identifying a new word in a context is related to the useful cues of the word and surrounding text that taps on the reader’s previous knowledge to generate an informed guess. Readers go through trials of accepting and rejecting possible meanings to arrive at the appropriate meaning
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: The International Journal of Applied Language Studies and Culture
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
