1. 1 Session 6 The Mental Lexicon Word association (WA) tests Comparing the L1 and L2 mental lexicons Pedagogic implications

2. 2 Word association and the mental lexicon Cognitive processes -- how words and meanings are organized mentally (unobservable) ◄ = ► Word association (WA) tests (observable)

3. Word Association Test 3 Prompt Word (Word you hear) Associative word (The first word that you think of) Relationship

4. 4 Word associations (English) Prompt WordAssociative wordRelationship green water open hill butterfly truth powerful blanket inclination hockey

5. Word Associations greenGrass (collocation) Red (co-ordination) Color (super-ordination) waterDrink (collocation) Melon (compound noun) Clear (collocation) openClose (antonym) Door (collocation) inclinationInformation (sound – stress pattern) Intonation hockeyJockey (sound - rhyme)

6. 6 How words are stored in the mental lexicon L1 / L2 equivalence (cognates in related languages e.g. cream in English and crème in French) Orthographically (words that have similar spelling) Phonologically (rhyme, alliteration, stress pattern, etc.) Semantically (synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms e.g. color - red) Collocationally (e.g. make – a wish, catch – a bus) Morphologically (e.g. defensive-offensive; television- telescope) Encyclopedic associations (based on our knowledge / experience of the real world)

7. 7 Meanings of words Meanings of words are often understood in relation to other words (like a web) e.g. you understand the meaning of ‘cold’ through your understanding of ‘hot’ e.g. you understand the meaning of ‘roses’ through your understanding of ‘garden’, ‘flowers’ or ‘lilies’

8. Word Associations and Language Proficiency How words are organised / stored in the brain is an indicator of language proficiency level Or how “native-like” you are 8

9. 9 Paradigmatic associations Always belong to the same word class Substitutable in syntactic strings More semantics-oriented (synonyms, antonyms, superordinates, or hyponyms) E.g. I want to get a doggie for my daughter. pet Terrier cat wombat Syntagmatic associations Usually belong to a different word class, but sometimes can belong to the same word class Collocate well with prompt words in a grammatical string More grammar-oriented (in a grammatical string) E.g. Dogs bark. E.g. Walk the dog. E.g. Dog collar Phonological associations / Clangs E.g. dog - fog E.g. hockey - hockey

10. 10 L1 mental lexicon Phonological Syntagmatic Paradigmatic ( developmental process) ( younger learners older learners) Commonness / Homogeneity in the their mental lexicons (native speakers tend to give the same word associates – more stable / consistent associations) e.g. blanket: bed, warm, sheet, electric, cover, warmth, wool, soft, bath, snow

11. 11 Mean proportion of NNS and NS response types for WA (Wolter, 2001)

12. 12 L2 mental lexicon similar to L1 mental lexicon found t Earlier studies found NS had more paradigmatic associations than NNS. But later studies (e.g. Zareva, 2007) found the same shift in L2 learners, as they get more proficient in the language, and as they grow older Phonological Syntagmatic Paradigmatic

13. Looking at your word associates 1. 1. What kinds of associations do you have most (phonological, syntagmatic, paradigmatic) in your WA tests? 13

14. 14 Pedagogical Implications Developmental/ cognitive aspect: Younger learners tend to favor syntagmatic associations: dog-bark Older learners tend to favor/ are capable of handling paradigmatic associations / semantically-related groups e.g. synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms: dog-cat or dog-pet

15. Semantic sets – Synonyms & Antonyms 15

16. 16 Semantic sets – Semantic sets – Superordinates and Hyponyms Sports ??? LionTiger Hors e

17. 17 Semantic sets – Semantic sets – Superordinates and Hyponyms Flat Living room BedroomKitchen FridgeUtensils Saucepan Frying pan Bathroom

18. Thematic sets 18

19. Word retention teach 8-12 vocabulary items in a 60-minute lesson (Gairns & Redman, 1986) The chances of learning and retaining a word from one exposure is only 5-14% (Nagy, 1997) 5 – 16 times for a word to be learned (Zahar, Cobb & Spada, 2001) An important role for recycling (revisiting) of the vocabulary learnt

20. Importance of Revision

21. Spaced / Distributed Repetition

22. Discussion Can you suggest some practical ways of Can you suggest some practical ways of recycling or revising learnt words with students? 22

23. Recycling of vocabulary (1) Horst & Meara (1999) – far more vocab is learnt if the same text is read several times (the first reading focuses on understanding meaning, while the later readings focus on the forms) Following a piece of news for several days (word repetitions and synonyms); encountering the same words in different contexts Vocabulary quizzes Different parts of speech (e.g. “shoulder” as a noun, and as a verb) Other meanings (polysemy) of a word (e.g. “head as a body part, the school head, the department head, head of a queue) Replacing general words by specific words (e.g. nice – attractive, elegant, terrific)

24. Recycling of vocabulary (2) Look through the words recorded in your vocabulary notebook or cards or mobile devices regularly, and test yourself (e.g. by covering up the word or the meaning) Try to use the words you learnt before, e.g. by writing sentences or paragraphs using these words Use mobile online apps which have the ‘favourite’ and ‘history’ (for recycling) features, e.g. rMerriam-Webster (English to English) Ask a friend to test you / practise using words you learnt before with a friend Using https://quizlet.com/

25. Quizlet.com For example, an architecture Quizlet site created by Louisa and shared with her students: For example, an architecture Quizlet site created by Louisa and shared with her students: https://quizlet.com/join/F7p7UXfPU https://quizlet.com/join/F7p7UXfPU https://quizlet.com/join/F7p7UXfPU Teacher can create a class for students to join and share the same vocab set create sets (grouping vocab according to topic) get auto-definitions + pronunciation + images flashcards, tests & games downloadable as an Apps on smartphones or on computers 25

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27. Reading Read the first 2 pages Read the first 2 pages Nation, P. (2000). Learning vocabulary in lexical sets: Dangers and guidelines. TESOL journal, 9(2), 6-10. What, as Nation explains, are the similarities and the differences in the methodology & results in the three studies he reviews? 27

28. Similarities in Research Methods Use pairs of 2 non-words Use pairs of 2 non-words E.g. “Shamit” means “fast” E.g. “Shamit” means “fast” “Ravos” means “rapid” “Ravos” means “rapid” Some pairs are related words and some pairs are unrelated words Some pairs are related words and some pairs are unrelated words 28

29. Similarities in findings Very closely related words, such as synonyms and antonyms (i.e. words that can substitute for one another in a sentence; in paradigmatic relationships) are more difficult to learn when learnt together than unrelated words. Very closely related words, such as synonyms and antonyms (i.e. words that can substitute for one another in a sentence; in paradigmatic relationships) are more difficult to learn when learnt together than unrelated words. Words that are in syntagmatic relationships (i.e. form a grammatical string) are easier to learn. Words that are in syntagmatic relationships (i.e. form a grammatical string) are easier to learn. 29

30. Differences in findings Higa (1963): Higa (1963): coordinates are easier to learn (e.g. apple, pear) than totally unrelated words coordinates are easier to learn (e.g. apple, pear) than totally unrelated wordsBUT Tinkham (1993, 1997) + Waring (1997): Tinkham (1993, 1997) + Waring (1997): Totally unrelated words are easier to learn than coordinates Totally unrelated words are easier to learn than coordinates Possible reason: Higa (1963) used 2 coordinates only (e.g. apple, pear) Higa (1963) used 2 coordinates only (e.g. apple, pear) Tinkham (1993, 1997) and Waring (1997) used 6 coordinates (e.g. apple, pear, nectarine, peach, apricot, plum) Tinkham (1993, 1997) and Waring (1997) used 6 coordinates (e.g. apple, pear, nectarine, peach, apricot, plum) Other possible reasons? Immediate post test or delayed vocab test? Other possible reasons? Immediate post test or delayed vocab test? Part of speech of the words? Part of speech of the words? 30

31. Pedagogical implications Do not present 2 closely related words together in initial learning e.g. rapid and fast / hot and cold Do not present 2 closely related words together in initial learning e.g. rapid and fast / hot and cold Put them together only when one word is already well learnt by the learner. Put them together only when one word is already well learnt by the learner. Thematic lexical sets work better with younger learners than semantic sets, because a thematic set consists of words of different parts of speech. Thematic lexical sets work better with younger learners than semantic sets, because a thematic set consists of words of different parts of speech. 31

32. Assignment Deadline: March 17 Hard copy to Cecilia; Soft copy via www.turnitin.com (Turnitin instructions from Cecilia by email)www.turnitin.com All students have been given the cover sheet Assignments must be within the word limit: 2500 words excluding the reference list (+/-10% of the prescribed length). Assignments that are too long or too short should not be read and should be assigned a Fail grade. See page 7 of the Student Handbook. Assessment criteria on Course Website Assignments that plagiarize are assigned a zero grade. Please paraphrase cited information in your own words and acknowledge the sources using the APA style. 32