Contrasting similar words facilitates second language vocabulary learning in children by sharpening lexical representations
Publication year
2021Number of pages
14 p.
Source
Frontiers in Psychology, 12, (2021), article 688160ISSN
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
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Organization
SW OZ DCC CO
SW OZ BSI OLO
SW OW PWO [owi]
Toegepaste Taalwetenschap
SW OZ DCC PL
Journal title
Frontiers in Psychology
Volume
vol. 12
Languages used
English (eng)
Subject
Action, intention, and motor control; Cognitive and developmental aspects of Multilingualism; Language & Communication; Learning and Plasticity; PsycholinguisticsAbstract
This study considers one of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the development of second language (L2) vocabulary in children: The differentiation and sharpening of lexical representations. We propose that sharpening is triggered by an implicit comparison of similar representations, a process we call contrasting. We investigate whether integrating contrasting in a learning method in which children contrast orthographically and semantically similar L2 words facilitates learning of those words by sharpening their new lexical representations. In our study, 48 Dutch-speaking children learned unfamiliar orthographically and semantically similar English words in a multiple-choice learning task. One half of the group learned the similar words by contrasting them, while the other half did not contrast them. Their word knowledge was measured immediately after learning as well as one week later. Contrasting was found to facilitate learning by leading to more precise lexical representations. However, only highly skilled readers benefitted from contrasting. Our findings offer novel insights into the development of L2 lexical representations from fuzzy to more precise, and have potential implications for education.
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- Academic publications [204994]
- Electronic publications [103280]
- Faculty of Arts [23969]
- Faculty of Social Sciences [27347]
- Open Access publications [71809]
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