Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.1515/exell-2017-0003
Exploration of the relationship between word-association and learners’ lexical development with a focus on American L1 and Croatian L2 speakers
Maja Seguin
orcid.org/0000-0003-0990-9977
; Evangelical Theological Seminary, Osijek
Abstract
Vocabulary acquisition is a dynamic process and there is a constant change in the way words are stored in the mental lexicon. Word association tests are used in linguistic research to observe to which extent mental mapping can be understood. This paper presents the results of a word association game consist-ing of seven words administered to second language speakers, and native speakers for comparative purposes. The results indicate the possibility of a link between experiences and associations, which leads to the recommendation for teachers to create activities and new experiences that demand the learner’s personal involvement in expanding their vocabulary.
Keywords
word association test; vocabulary; lexical development; mental and lexical connections; language acquisition
Hrčak ID:
175758
URI
Publication date:
14.2.2017.
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