Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English

Vocabulary plays a major role in concept formation, acculturation, articulation, and all aspects of learning. Unfortunately, although learners may have internalized complex vocabulary through formal learning, they may not have the ability to retrieve known words and concepts or have access to the...

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Main Authors: Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli, Khazriyati Salehuddin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2019
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/1/34859-114041-1-PB.pdf
id ukm-14097
recordtype eprints
spelling ukm-140972020-01-31T23:06:09Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/ Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli, Khazriyati Salehuddin, Vocabulary plays a major role in concept formation, acculturation, articulation, and all aspects of learning. Unfortunately, although learners may have internalized complex vocabulary through formal learning, they may not have the ability to retrieve known words and concepts or have access to the right words, or lexical access, effectively. This study explores the lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English (ESL). Fifty students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, participated in this research. Twenty-five represented the more proficient ESL speakers whereas the other 25 represented the less proficient ESL speakers. Four pieces of paper, each with a high-frequency word (i.e., “man”, “people”, “time”, “day”) printed at the centre of the paper, were distributed to the participants as stimuli for them to create four sets of semantic maps. This paper thus presents a qualitative analysis of the semantic mapping of the word “man” and results show that English language proficiency does affect the way participants activate the words from their mental lexicon. The frequency of the words that were activated from the word “man” in the participants’ environment also affects the mapping. The semantic maps produced by the participants reflect ESL speakers’ pattern of lexical access, particularly in the manner the words are categorised in their mental lexicon. This study proposes that semantic mapping activity can be used to reflect and analyse ESL speakers’ vocabulary development, as well as to reflect ESL speakers’ weaknesses in accessing words and their thought patterns in the English language. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2019-11 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/1/34859-114041-1-PB.pdf Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli, and Khazriyati Salehuddin, (2019) Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 19 (4). pp. 48-65. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/1227
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Local University
institution Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
language English
description Vocabulary plays a major role in concept formation, acculturation, articulation, and all aspects of learning. Unfortunately, although learners may have internalized complex vocabulary through formal learning, they may not have the ability to retrieve known words and concepts or have access to the right words, or lexical access, effectively. This study explores the lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English (ESL). Fifty students from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, participated in this research. Twenty-five represented the more proficient ESL speakers whereas the other 25 represented the less proficient ESL speakers. Four pieces of paper, each with a high-frequency word (i.e., “man”, “people”, “time”, “day”) printed at the centre of the paper, were distributed to the participants as stimuli for them to create four sets of semantic maps. This paper thus presents a qualitative analysis of the semantic mapping of the word “man” and results show that English language proficiency does affect the way participants activate the words from their mental lexicon. The frequency of the words that were activated from the word “man” in the participants’ environment also affects the mapping. The semantic maps produced by the participants reflect ESL speakers’ pattern of lexical access, particularly in the manner the words are categorised in their mental lexicon. This study proposes that semantic mapping activity can be used to reflect and analyse ESL speakers’ vocabulary development, as well as to reflect ESL speakers’ weaknesses in accessing words and their thought patterns in the English language.
format Article
author Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
spellingShingle Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
author_facet Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli,
Khazriyati Salehuddin,
author_sort Rasyiqah Batrisya Md Zolkapli,
title Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
title_short Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
title_full Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
title_fullStr Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
title_full_unstemmed Lexical access patterns of second language speakers of English
title_sort lexical access patterns of second language speakers of english
publisher Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate 2019
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/14097/1/34859-114041-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed 2023-09-18T20:06:20Z
last_indexed 2023-09-18T20:06:20Z
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