Article published In:
Australian Review of Applied LinguisticsVol. 36:2 (2013) ► pp.132–145
Focus on the forms
Form recognition practice in Chinese vocabulary learning
This study examines the effect of recognition-based retrieval practice on vocabulary learning in a university Chinese class. Students (N=26) were given practice retrieving new vocabulary (single or two-character words) in a series of simple form recognition tests administered over four weeks. The test sets consisted of target vocabulary that appeared in the previous week’s lesson and distracter items drawn from upcoming vocabulary. Tests were group-administered via PowerPoint and students used a checklist response to indicate whether a given item had appeared in the previous week’s material. Responses relied on episodic knowledge of previous exposure and required no processing of semantic information. Students were able to reliably identify the target items in the retrieval task with performance on these items being found superior to that for supplementary list control words on midterm and final vocabulary tests. The findings indicate that a focus on word forms can have a measurable effect on vocabulary learning in the classroom and underscores the efficacy of retrievalbased testing (the testing effect, Barcroft, 2007; Roediger & Karpicke, 2006) in facilitating vocabulary learning. The implications for recognition-based retrieval practice in vocabulary instruction in the Chinese classroom are discussed.
Keywords: Vocabulary learning, classroom practice, Chinese language, word retrieval, generation effect, testing effect
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.
For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].
References (33)
Akamatsu, N. (2008). The effects of training on automatization of word recognition in English as a foreign language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 29, 2, 175–193. 
Barcroft, J. (2002). Semantic and structural elaboration in L2 lexical acquisition. Language Learning, 52(3), 323–363.
(2007). Effects of opportunities for word retrieval during second language vocabulary learning. Language Learning, 57(1), 35–56.
Carpenter, S. K. &DeLosh, E. L. (2005). Application of the testing spacing effect to name learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 191, 619–636.
Chapelle, C. (2006). L2 vocabulary acquisition theory: The role of inference, dependability and generalizability in assessment. InM. Chalhoub-Deville, C. A. Chapelle & P. Duff (Eds.)Inference generalizability in applied linguistics: multiple perspectives (pp. 47–64). Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Everson, M. (1998). Word recognition among learners of Chinese as a foreign language: Investigating the relationship between naming and knowing. Modern Language Journal, 82(2), 194–204.
Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). London: Sage.
Fukkink, R. G., Hulstijn, J. & Simis, A. (2005). Does training in second-language word recognition affect reading comprehension? An experimental study. Modern Language Journal, 89(1), 54–75.
Hinze, S. R. & Wiley, J. (2011). Testing the limits of testing effects using completion tests. Memory, 19(3), 290–304.
Hulstijn, J. H. Laufer, B. (2001). Some empirical evidence for the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning, 51(4), 539–558.
Jiang, N. (2002). Form-meaning mapping in vocabulary acquisition in a second language. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(4), 617–637.
Karpicke, J. D. & Roediger, H. L., III. (2007). Repeated retrieval during learning is the key to long-term retention. Journal of Memory Language, 57(2), 151–162.
Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language reading: A cross-linguistic approach. NY: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, C. H. & Kalyuga, S. (2011). Effectiveness of different Pinyin presentation formats in learning Chinese characters: A cognitive load perspective. Language Learning, 61(4), 1099–1118.
Lightbown, P. (2007). Transfer appropriate processing as a model for second language acquisition. In Han (Ed.), Understanding second language process (pp. 27–44). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
McDaniel, M. A., Anderson, J. L., Derbish, M. H. & Morrisette, N. (2007). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19(3), 371–385.
McNamara, D. S. & Healy, A. F. (1995). A generation advantage for multiplication skill training and nonword vocabulary acquisition. In A. F. Healy & L. E. Bourne, Jr. (Eds.), Learning memory of knowledge skills: Durability and specificity (pp. 132–169). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Meara, P. (1996). The dimensions of lexical competence. In Brown, G., Malmkjaer, K., J. Williams, editors, Performance competence in second language acquisition, (pp. 35–53). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Mondria, J. A. & Mondria-De Vries, S. (1994). Efficiently memorizing words with the help of word cards 'hand computer'. System, 22(1), 47–57.
Morris, P. E. & Fritz, C. O. (2000). The name game: Using retrieval practice to improve the learning of names. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 6(2), 124–129.
Nassaji, H. (2003). Higher-level and lower-level text processing skills in advanced ESL reading comprehension. Modern Language Journal, 87(2), 261–276.
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Peters, E., Hulstijn, J. H., Sercu, L, & Lutjeharms, M. (2009). Learning L2 German vocabulary through reading: The effect of three enhancement techniques compared. Language Learning, 59(2), 131–151.
Richland, L. E., Kornell, N. & Kao, L. S. (2009). The pretesting effect: do unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance learning? Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied, 15(3), 243–257.
Roediger, H. L., III, & Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-enhanced learning: Taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249–255.
Rott, S. (2007). The effect of frequency of input-enhancements on word learning text comprehension. Language Learning, 57(2), 165–199.
Royer, J. M. (1973). Memory effects for test-like events during acquisition of foreign language vocabulary. Psychological Reports, 321, 195–198.
Segalowitz, N. (2010). Cognitive bases of second language fluency. New York: Routledge.
Slamecka, N. J. & Graf, P. (1978). The generation effect: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 4(6), 592–604.
Snellings, P., Van Gelderen, A. & De Glopper, K. (2002). Lexical retrieval: An aspect of fluent second language production that can be enhanced. Language Learning, 52(4), 723–754.
Tan, L. & Perfetti, C. (1999). Phonological activation in visual identification of Chinese two-character words. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, Cognition, 25(2), 382–393.
Wang, M. & Koda, K. (2005). Commonalities and differences in word identification skills among learners of English as a second language. Language Learning 55(1), 71–98.
Wu, Z. (2003). Contemporary Chinese. Beijing: Sinolingua.
Cited by (7)
Cited by seven other publications
Jeong, Hyojin & Robert DeKeyser
2023. Development of automaticity in processing L2 collocations: The roles of L1 collocational knowledge and practice condition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 45:4 ► pp. 930 ff. 
Mister, Bianca, Honglin Chen & Amanda Baker
Xiao, Xue & Shuangling Li
2023. The use of flyswatter game to assist elementary learners’ vocabulary learning: Gamification in TCSOL. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 33:1 ► pp. 3 ff.
Kida, Shusaku & Joe Barcroft
2018. SEMANTIC AND STRUCTURAL TASKS FOR THE MAPPING COMPONENT OF L2 VOCABULARY LEARNING. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 40:3 ► pp. 477 ff.
Oliver, Rhonda, Honglin Chen & Stephen Moore
2016. Review of selected research in applied linguistics published in Australia (2008–2014). Language Teaching 49:4 ► pp. 513 ff.
Poole, Frederick & Koyin Sung
2015. Three approaches to beginning Chinese instruction and their effects on oral development and character recognition. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics 1:1 ► pp. 59 ff.
[no author supplied]
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 9 october 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.