Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Language and Cognition01:27

Language and Cognition

514
Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
514
Encoding01:19

Encoding

331
Information enters the brain through encoding, which is the input of information into the memory system. Once sensory information is received from the environment, the brain labels or codes it. The information is then organized with similar information and connected to existing concepts. Encoding occurs through automatic processing and effortful processing.
Automatic processing involves the encoding of details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words, usually done without conscious...
331
Language Development01:22

Language Development

577
Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
577
Components of Language01:24

Components of Language

530
Language, whether spoken, signed, or written, consists of specific components: lexicon and grammar. The lexicon is the vocabulary of a language, comprising its words. Grammar is the set of rules used to convey meaning through the lexicon. For example, English grammar adds “-ed” to most verbs to indicate past tense. Words are formed by combining phonemes, which are the basic sound units of a language. Different languages have different sets of phonemes (e.g., “ah” vs.
530
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language01:10

Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language

2.1K
Language is a system of communication that allows the expression of thoughts, ideas, and feelings. The brain processes language in both hemispheres.
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
2.1K
Sample Size Calculation01:19

Sample Size Calculation

4.9K
Knowledge of the sample size is the first requirement to conduct random sampling or an experiment. The sample size is the total number of units, observations, or groups (in some cases) used to get the data to estimate a population parameter. As the name suggests, the sample size is that of the sample drawn from the population and differs from the population size.
The sample size for the given experiment or sampling effort is fundamental to any study design. Sample size decides the number of...
4.9K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Individual differences in attention control and the processing of phonological contrasts in a second language.

Phonetica·2023
Same author

The Hoosier Vocal Emotions Corpus: A validated set of North American English pseudo-words for evaluating emotion processing.

Behavior research methods·2019
Same author

Diminished Neural Responses to Emotionally Valenced Facial Stimuli: A Potential Biomarker for Unemotional Traits in Early Childhood.

Child psychiatry and human development·2018
Same author

The Effect of Orthography on the Lexical Encoding of Palatalized Consonants in L2 Russian.

Language and speech·2018
Same author

Reduced neural responses to vocal fear: a potential biomarker for callous-uncaring traits in early childhood.

Developmental science·2017
Same author

Editorial: Phonology in the Bilingual and Bidialectal Lexicon.

Frontiers in psychology·2017

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

9.4K

Vocabulary Size Is a Key Factor in Predicting Second Language Lexical Encoding Accuracy.

Danielle Daidone1, Isabelle Darcy2

  • 1Department of World Languages and Cultures, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, United States.

Frontiers in Psychology
|August 9, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Second language vocabulary size significantly impacts lexical representation accuracy. While phonological short-term memory aids specific sound contrasts, larger vocabularies are key for accurate second language word encoding.

Keywords:
L2 SpanishL2 perceptionattention controlinhibitory controllexical encodingphonological short-term memoryvocabulary size

More Related Videos

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese
08:08

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese

Published on: April 1, 2016

9.5K
Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding
06:33

Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding

Published on: October 11, 2018

7.0K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment
06:48

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Published on: June 25, 2019

9.4K
Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese
08:08

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese

Published on: April 1, 2016

9.5K
Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding
06:33

Decomposing the Variance in Reading Comprehension to Reveal the Unique and Common Effects of Language and Decoding

Published on: October 11, 2018

7.0K

Area of Science:

  • Linguistics
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Second Language Acquisition

Background:

  • Accurate lexical representations are crucial for second language (L2) proficiency.
  • Factors influencing L2 lexical encoding accuracy remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between L2 lexical encoding accuracy and cognitive factors including perception, phonological short-term memory, inhibitory control, attention control, and L2 vocabulary size.
  • To identify key predictors of accurate phonological representation in L2 learners.

Main Methods:

  • English-speaking learners of Spanish completed tasks assessing lexical decision for Spanish sound contrasts (/ɾ-r/, /ɾ-d/, /r-d/, /f-p/).
  • Cognitive abilities were measured using oddity tasks (perception), serial non-word recognition (phonological short-term memory), flanker tasks (attention control), retrieval-induced inhibition tasks (inhibitory control), and the X_Lex test (vocabulary size).

Main Results:

  • Perception, inhibitory control, and attention control did not correlate with lexical encoding accuracy.
  • Phonological short-term memory was significant only for the /r-ɾ/ contrast, suggesting an advantage for learners who can retain novel phonetic details.
  • L2 vocabulary size positively predicted lexical encoding accuracy for three out of four contrasts, indicating that larger vocabularies lead to more precise representations.

Conclusions:

  • L2 vocabulary size is the most critical factor for accurate lexical representations.
  • Phonological short-term memory plays a role when distinguishing sounds not present in the native language.
  • Learners develop more detailed phonological representations as their L2 vocabulary grows to differentiate similar words.