L2 Vocabulary learning : Lexical Route of L1 Translation & Conceptual Route of Visuals

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of providing definitions by Korean translation or by visuals in terms of comprehension and retention, based on the Hierarchical Bilingual Model (Kroll & Stewart, 1994). Korean translation was employed to represent the lexical route, whereas pictures were used to mediate the conceptual route in this model. Experiments were conducted with two groups at a high school in Korea. Each group received one of the two treatments in this two-phase crossover experiment New English words were defined in accordance with one of the two methods: by Korean translation, or by picture with a brief description in Korean. Regarding comprehension, the results of the tests showed that the lexical route of Korean translation was more effective than the conceptual route of pictures. When asked their preference for the way in which definitions were provided for comprehending new words, the participants indicated that they preferred Korean translation to pictures. In contrast, with respect to retention, the tests indicated that the conceptual route of pictures was more effective than the lexical route of Korean translation. When further asked about the preferable way of defining words to allow remembrance, the participants preferred pictures to Korean translation, though the difference was not significant. This study implies that new English words should be defined considering both comprehension and retention, because only providing one type of definition does not satisfy the requirements for both comprehension and retention. In other words, the lexical route should be accompanied with the conceptual route when defining new English words in an EFL context.