The Effects of Sentence Writing as Semantic Elaboration on the Allocation of Processing Resources and Second Language Lexical Acquisition

Research suggests that semantic elaboration facilitates learning for lists of known words (e.g., Craik & Lockhart, 1972) and for unknown words recoded as known words (e.g., Atkinson & Raugh, 1975). Other studies have found no positive effect for semantic elaboration on new word definition recall (e.g., Pressley, Levin, Kuiper, Bryant, & Michener, 1982). In view of these findings and the inverse relationship found between processing second language (L2) input for meaning and for form (VanPatten, 1990), it is hypothesized that semantic elaboration may negatively affect word form learning. To test this hypothesis, a study was conducted operationalizing semantic elaboration as writing new words in sentences. In this study, L2 Spanish learners ( N = 60) attempted to learn 24 new Spanish concrete nouns while viewing each word along with its picture on a television screen. The study compared two learning conditions, one in which participants were shown four repetitions of each word for 6 seconds each (no sentence writing) and one in which they were shown one repetition of each word for 48 seconds each and asked to write each word in a Spanish sentence (sentence writing). After the exposure phase, the participants completed three posttests (immediately after exposure, 2 days later, 1 week later) on which they wrote Spanish words when presented with pictures only. The data were submitted to two analyses of covariance for actual scores and for scores in words per minute. Condition, time, gender, and experience were independent variables. Class and presentation order were blocking variables. Number of lexical items produced (score) was the dependent variable. Results indicated a negative effect for sentence writing on lexical items produced, suggesting that semantic processing can inhibit form learning by exhausting processing resources that could otherwise be directed at new forms.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Spanish

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Barcroft, Joe

Contributors dc:contributor

• Bill VanPattten

• Literature, Romance

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9971022

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/86185