L2 Lexical Inferencing Research Articles

Analyzing morphology-related strategies in Spanish L2 lexical inferencing: how do suffixes matter?

AbstractIntraword awareness, i. e., of affixes and stems, helps L2 learners in inferring the meaning of unknown words. Learners draw inferences relying on suffixes, prefixes and stems since each element can independently contribute to comprehension. This study analyzes morphology-related strategies in inferencing and focuses on the contribution of suffixes for adult L1 English-speaking learners of Spanish. Differences among suffixes (i. e., transparency, biuniqueness, explicitness of instruction, and cognateness) are taken into account. In a cross-sectional design with learners (n=209) of different proficiency levels (from 2 to 7 semesters of university study), intraword awareness was analyzed by means of two metalinguistic tasks. Participants of all proficiency levels relied on morphology-related strategies, with an increase of proficiency accompanied by an increase in strategy use. As for suffixes, instruction and cognateness mattered more than frequency in guiding students to successful inferencing. Nevertheless, knowledge of suffixes was still limited for the most advanced learners.

The contribution of morphological awareness to lexical inferencing in L2 Chinese: Comparing more‐skilled and less‐skilled learners

Learners’ ability to infer unknown words’ meanings (lexical inferencing) plays a key role in word knowledge development for second language (L2) learners. It has recently been acknowledged that learners’ sensitivity to word‐internal structures (morphological awareness) makes an important contribution to L2 lexical inferencing. However, it remains unclear whether the contribution of morphological awareness to lexical inferencing is affected by L2 learner‐related factors (e.g., language skills). Data obtained from five paper‐pencil tasks in Chinese for 73 L2 learners who studied Chinese for two semesters in China showed that (1) for more‐skilled learners, morphological awareness significantly contributed to lexical inferencing with and without contextual cues, whereas no significant relationships existed between morphological awareness and lexical inferencing for less‐skilled learners; and (2) L2 learners’ morphological awareness does not equally facilitate lexical inferencing due to a possible threshold of linguistic knowledge. The findings have implications for learners’ success in inferring the meanings of unknown words

Individual Differences in Strategy Use for L2 Lexical Inferencing: The Case of Learning Styles

This study aimed to examine the effect of the second language (L2) learners’ perceptual learning style preferences on their strategy use for lexical inferencing and the treatment effect from an explicit instructional program. Joy Reid’s (1995) Perceptual Learning Style Preferences (PLSP) Inventory, a lexical inferencing test, and a vocabulary strategy questionnaire were administered to 145 university students during a 15-week reading course. The results of a simple regression analysis showed that the tactilc students tended to use more lexical inferencing strategies than the others with different learning styles; and that the visual learners tended to use strategies less frequently, compared to the other counterparts. Further analysis of simple regression indicated that the individual learners benefited most from the treatment effect, followed by the visual learners. The findings can be of significance for teachers and the L2 learners to concern individual differences in L2 inferential strategy use.

The role of text type and strategy use in L2 lexical inferencing

Abstract This study aimed to determine as to whether or not the text type and strategy usage affect the EFL learners’ lexical inferencing performance. The participants were comprised of 87 first-year English majors at a technical university. Data were collected from (1) a lexical inferencing test with excerpts of narrative and expository texts, for which both multiple-choice and definition tasks were designed, respectively, and then (2) the responses from the learners’ self-reported strategy usage. The quantitative analyses demonstrated that the text types significantly affected the EFL learners’ lexical inferencing performance, in which the EFL learners performed better for the narrative excerpt than for the expository texts. However, significant coefficients between the strategy use and the lexical inferencing performance were not found in this study. The results further implied that the text structure and the lexical inferencing strategies should be explicitly taught to the EFL learners.

The Effect of Contextual Clues and Topic Familiarity on L2 Lexical Inferencing and Retention

espanolEl presente estudio tiene como el objetivo estudiar el efecto de las pruebas contextualizadas asi como los topicos familiarizados en la inferencia del lexico de L2 y tambien su retencion. Para este fin, fueron estudiados 67 estudiantes iranies de Ingles, L2 (muestras adaptadas al contexto variando el grado de familiarizacion) y oraciones simples (muestras no adaptadas al contexto) incluyendo los lexicos desconocidos, deduciendo el significado de las palabras desconocidas. El resultado revelaba: a) una taza de inferencia de 55.76%, b) el efecto de la cantidad del contexto asi como los topicos familiarizados en la inferencia lexical, c) el efecto de tiempo en el conocimiento de las palabras inferidas. d) factores principales que terminan en la inferencia incorrecta de las palabras objeto de estudio. EnglishThe present study examined the effect of contextual clues and topic familiarity on L2 lexical inferencing success and retention. To this end, 67 Iranian EFL learners read stories (cue-adequate contexts varying in degree of familiarity) and single sentences (cue-adequate contexts) including unknown lexical items and inferred the meaning of unknown words. Subsequently, they were tested on those words once immediately and once after two weeks. Results revealed an inferencing success rate of 55.76%, with success being significantly affected by the amount of contextual clues and topic familiarity. Moreover, it was found that although the effect of context on word meaning retention lasted for two weeks, the effect of topic familiarity decreased over time. Also, think-aloud protocols were used to identify main reasons leading participants to make incorrect inferences. The findings imply that lexical inferencing should be practiced in texts with adequate cues.

The Use of Morphemic and Contextual Information in L2 Lexical Inferencing

The Use of Morphemic and Contextual Information in L2 Lexical Inferencing

Difficulty/Ease in L2 Lexical Inferencing and the Retention of Inferred Word Meanings

Difficulty/Ease in L2 Lexical Inferencing and the Retention of Inferred Word Meanings

The relationship between learning styles of university preparatory class EFL learners and their success in L2 lexical inferencing

The relationship between learning styles of university preparatory class EFL learners and their success in L2 lexical inferencing

The Role of Depth versus Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge in Success and Ease in L2 Lexical Inferencing

This study determines whether breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge are related to L2 ease and success in lexical inferencing. To this end, two tests meas- uring vocabulary breadth and depth were administered to 50 participants. Two weeks later, all participants received an inferencing task and rated the degree of perceived ease in inferencing on a 6-point Likert-scale questionnaire. The findings indicated that although both vocabulary breadth and depth played an important role in lexical inferencing success, vocabulary breadth made a more important contribution. The results further revealed that neither vocabulary breadth nor depth had a significant effect on perceived ease of inferencing.Cette étude détermine dans quelle mesure l’étendue et la profondeur des connais- sances lexicales sont liées à la facilité en L2 et à la réussite en inférence linguis- tique. À cette fin, nous avons fait passer à cinquante participants deux examens pour évaluer l’étendue et la profondeur de leurs connaissances lexicales. Deux semaines plus tard, nous avons donné à tous les participants une tâche d’inférence et en avons évalué le degré de facilité perçue avec un questionnaire en 6 points sur l’échelle Likert. Les résultats indiquent que si l’étendue et la profondeur des connaissances lexicales jouent tous les deux un rôle important dans la réussite en inférence lexicale, l’étendue du vocabulaire y contribuent davantage. L’étude a également démontré que ni l’étendue ni la profondeur des connaissances lexi- cales n’ont un effet significatif sur la facilité d’inférence perçue.

Topic familiarity, passage sight vocabulary, and L2 lexical inferencing: An investigation in the Iranian EFL context

This study investigates the effects of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on L2 lexical inferencing in the EFL (English as a foreign language) learning context of Iran. 114 undergraduate university students read four narratives (2 more and 2 less familiar) constructed by Pulido (2000) containing 32 nonsense words. The meanings of the target words were inferred and difficulty in guessing was rated. Analyses of the repeated-measures design reveal (1) a strong impact of topic familiarity and an independent effect of passage sight vocabulary on L2 lexical inferencing, (2) significant impact of passage sight vocabulary and no significant effect of topic familiarity on the perceived difficulty/ease in L2 lexical inferencing, and (3) no significant interaction between topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on L2 lexical inferencing and difficulty/ease in L2 lexical inferencing. The significance of the findings pertaining to lexical inferencing is discussed, and practical pedagogical implications and applications are presented.

Depth versus Breadth of Lexical Repertoire: Assessing Their Roles in EFL Students’ Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

This study explores the roles of depth and breadth of lexical repertoire in L2 lexical inferencing success and incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. Students read a graded reader containing 13 pseudo-words and attempted to infer the meanings of underlined target words. The Word Associates Test (WAT, Read, 2004) and the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham, 2001) were administered to measure depth and breadth of lexical repertoire respectively. To rate retention of inferred meanings, I administered the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS, Paribakht & Wesche, 1996, 1997) with a repeated measure design. The results indicated that (a) both breadth and depth of lexical knowledge correlated positively with long-term retention of inferred word meanings. However,depth of vocabulary knowledge indicated a higher correlation; and (b) scores on both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge had a significant positive correlation with success of lexical inferencing through reading, but depth of vocabularyknowledge was a stronger predictor of inferencing success.

Depth Versus Breadth of Vocabulary Knowledge: Assessing their Roles in Iranian Intermediate EFL Students' Lexical Inferencing Success Through Reading

This study was an attempt to investigate the impact of depth versus breadth of vocabulary knowledge on lexical inferencing success through reading of Iranian Intermediate EFL learners. In the first step, a CELT test was administered and 40 participants were selected for the study. In the second step, subjects were tested on two tests of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and were required to infer the meanings of 10 non-sense words. The results indicated that L2 lexical inferencing success on one hand, and depth and breadth of word knowledge on the other hand, were positively correlated (r = 0.91). The results of a multiple regression analysis also revealed that depth of word knowledge was a stronger predictor of lexical inferencing success through reading.

Thinking‐Aloud as Talking‐in‐Interaction: Reinterpreting How L2 Lexical Inferencing Gets Done

There is a general consensus among second‐language (L2) researchers today that lexical inferencing (LIF) is among the most common techniques that L2 learners use to generate meaning for unknown words they encounter in context. Indeed, claims about the salience and pervasiveness of LIF for L2 learners rely heavily upon data obtained via concurrent think‐aloud (TA) research methods. However, despite the consensus that L2 LIF involves a combination of cues, knowledge, and contextual awareness, a crucial aspect of that “context”— namely, the in situ context of TA data collection procedures themselves—is rarely, if ever, included in analyses presented in L2 LIF research studies. I argue in this article that acknowledging this reality and incorporating aspects of this in situ context into analysis is both important and desirable, as it would contribute vital elements of research transparency and legitimacy as well as a much needed reflexivity about claims regarding L2 LIF that are made based on TA data.

From “analytic nuisance” to interactional resource: Re-viewing small stories within interviews in a mixed methods study

Discussions about the use of interviews in applied linguistics research have been ongoing in methods-oriented literature for some time. The focus of much of this discussion has concerned studies employing qualitative frameworks in which interviews are the primary method for generating data. However, there has been relatively little discussion of studies employing mixed methods – in which qualitative interviews are adopted as secondary or tertiary methods of data generation and are used in conjunction with conventionally quantitative measures. In this article I reconsider the assumptions informing my own analytic and representational practices as they relate to my use of interviews in a descriptive, mixed methods study of L2 lexical inferencing. Drawing on Talmy's (2010) notion of interview as social practice, the notion of entextualization ( Bauman and Briggs, 1990), and what Bamberg (2006) has referred to as small stories, I trace the process by which three instances of multiple and conflicting responses to questions concerning one participant's ‘self-reported background information’ went unreported in that study. The reanalysis presents an opportunity to discuss compatibility between representational formats and data generation methods, important differences between theorization of interviews and participation in them, and the role of qualitative interviews in mixed methods research more generally.

Effects of Perceptual Learning Style Preferences on L2 Lexical Inferencing

The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the effects of perceptual learning style preferences on L2 lexical inferencing and whether learners with certain perceptual learning styles benefited more from an explicitly instructional program. Joy Reid's (1995) Perceptual Learning Style Preferences (PLSP) Inventory and a lexical inferencing test were administered to 145 EFL university students learning English as a foreign language during a 15-week reading course. The results of the study showed that (1) learners with different perceptual learning style preferences demonstrated different lexical inferencing ability, and (2) learners with certain perceptual learning style preference benefited more from the explicit instruction. The findings shed a new light on SLA research concerned with individual differences in learning lexical inferencing. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed, as are the suggestions for future research.

Abstracts: Reading & writing

Abstracts: Reading & writing

The Effects of Topic Familiarity and Passage Sight Vocabulary on L2 Lexical Inferencing and Retention through Reading

The study examines the impact of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on lexical inferencing and retention. Independent variables include (a) a topic familiarity questionnaire, and (b) a passage sight vocabulary test. A repeated-measures design was used with a cross-sectional sample of 35 adult L2 learners of Spanish. Ss read narratives (1 more and 1 less familiar) containing nonsense words. They guessed meanings of target words and rated degree of difficulty in guessing. After reading all stories, all participants completed an inference verification task to confirm or correct guesses, and to encourage deeper processing of target words. This was followed by two measures of retention: (a) translation production, and (b) translation recognition. Analyses reveal (a) robust effects of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on lexical inferencing, (b) a significant interaction between topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on difficulty in lexical inferencing, and (c) robust effects of passage sight vocabulary on lexical retention and a significant effect of topic familiarity on lexical retention-translation recognition measure. The discusThe study examines the impact of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on lexical inferencing and retention. Independent variables include (a) a topic familiarity questionnaire, and (b) a passage sight vocabulary test. A repeated-measures design was used with a cross-sectional sample of 35 adult L2 learners of Spanish. Ss read narratives (1 more and 1 less familiar) containing nonsense words. They guessed meanings of target words and rated degree of difficulty in guessing. After reading all stories, all participants completed an inference verification task to confirm or correct guesses, and to encourage deeper processing of target words. This was followed by two measures of retention: (a) translation production, and (b) translation recognition. Analyses reveal (a) robust effects of topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on lexical inferencing, (b) a significant interaction between topic familiarity and passage sight vocabulary on difficulty in lexical inferencing, and (c) robust effects of passage sight vocabulary on lexical retention and a significant effect of topic familiarity on lexical retention-translation recognition measure. The discussion concerns the significance of findings for lexical inferencing, processing, and retention through strategic reading tasks.

L2 Reading Proficiency and Lexical Inferencing by University EFL Learners

This article reports on an introspective study that examined the effect of EFL learners' L2 reading proficiency on their L2 lexical inferencing while reading an English expository text. The knowledge sources and contextual cues they used in the process, the level of success they achieved, and their rate of learning and retention of the inferred target words are examined. A taxonomy of the knowledge sources used by the participants of the study and illustrative examples are presented. The findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research, and some pedagogical implications are suggested.

L2 Reading Proficiency and Lexical Inferencing by University EFL Learners

This article reports on an introspective study that examined the effect of EFL learners' L2 reading proficiency on their L2 lexical inferencing while reading an English expository text. The knowledge sources and contextual cues they used in the process, the level of success they achieved, and their rate of learning and retention of the inferred target words are examined. A taxonomy of the knowledge sources used by the participants of the study and illustrative examples are presented. The findings of the study are discussed in light of previous research, and some pedagogical implications are suggested.

L2 Vocabulary Learning from Context: Strategies, Knowledge Sources, and Their Relationship with Success in L2 Lexical Inferencing

This study examines the use of strategies and knowledge sources in L2 lexical inferencing and their relationship with inferential success. Data consist of introspective and retrospective think-aloud protocols of 21 intermediate ESL learners who attempted to infer new word meanings from context. Analysis reveals that (a) overall, the rate of success was low even when learners used the strategies and knowledge sources they had at their disposal, (b) different strategies contributed differentially to inferencing success, and (c) success was related more to the quality rather than the quantity of the strategies used. Findings challenge a unidimensional conception of the role of strategies in L2 lexical inferencing and instead support an inferencing model that distinguishes between strategies and the ability to use them appropriately and effectively in conjunction with various sources of knowledge in lexical inferencing. This article discusses the pedagogical as well as theoretical implications of the findings for an integrated model of lexical inferencing.