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Word learning and lexicalization in a second language: Evidence from the Prime lexicality effect in masked form
Shusaku Kida1, Joe Barcroft2, Mitchell Sommers2
1Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan. shkida@mail.doshisha.ac.jp.
Memory & Cognition
|February 10, 2022
Summary
The prime lexicality effect (PLE) shows how new words become recognized. Training procedures can lead to partial lexicalization of new second language (L2) words, impacting recognition.
Area of Science:
- Psycholinguistics
- Second Language Acquisition
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- The prime lexicality effect (PLE) distinguishes between lexical competition from real words and facilitation from nonwords.
- PLE has been utilized to assess the lexicalization of newly learned words in the lexicon.
- Understanding how second language (L2) words become lexicalized is crucial for language acquisition research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the occurrence of the PLE in second language (L2) learners.
- To examine the impact of different learning tasks on the lexicalization of new L2 words.
- To determine if training procedures can lead to partial lexicalization of novel L2 words.
Main Methods:
- A masked form priming lexical decision task was employed.
- Experiment 1 compared priming effects in native English speakers and Japanese English learners.
- Experiment 2 involved Japanese English learners studying novel English words under different task conditions (meaning-based, form-based, no task).
Main Results:
- Native English speakers showed inhibitory priming (-46 ms).
- Untrained Japanese English learners exhibited facilitatory priming (52 ms).
- In Experiment 2, none of the learning conditions resulted in significant facilitation or inhibition (null priming effect).
Conclusions:
- The prime lexicality effect (PLE) can manifest in second language (L2) acquisition.
- Learning procedures can contribute to the partial lexicalization of new L2 words.
- The findings contribute to understanding word recognition and lexical development in bilinguals.
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