Cover not available
Article published In:
ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 160 (2010) ► pp.112–131

L2 English Receptive and Productive Vocabulary in Senior Learners

| Universidad Pública de Navarra
| Universidad del País Vasco – Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea

This study aims to analyse the effect of previous foreign language (FL) contact on the acquisition of receptive and productive vocabulary by senior learners in the early stages of English acquisition. Additionally, we also explore the relationship between receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary as well as the link between lexical competence and reading comprehension. Results confirm that false beginners consistently outperform true beginners, supporting previous research findings (Fukai, 2000; Watt, 1997). Receptive and productive vocabulary were found to be positively correlated, which indicates a direct relationship between the passive and the active knowledge of FL vocabulary. In agreement with previous research (Agustín Llach and Terrazas Gallego, 2009; Laufer, 1992; Quian, 2002), we found a positive correlation between senior learners’ lexical competence and their reading comprehension.

Published online: 1 January 2010
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/itl.160.06adr
References
Alba, O.
(1998) Variable léxica y dialectología hispánica, La Torre. Revista de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 7-81, 299–316.Google Scholar
Agustín Llach, M.P. & Terrazas Gallego, M.
(2009) Examining the relationship between receptive vocabulary and written skills of primary school learners. Atlantis, 31 (1), 11–29.Google Scholar
Agustín Llach, M.P., Fernández Fontecha, A. & Moreno Espinosa, S.
(2005) Responding to different composition topics: A quantitative analysis of lexical error production. Glosas Didácticas. Revista Electrónica Internacional de Didáctica de las Lenguas y sus Culturas, 131, 129–141.Google Scholar
Aitchison, J.
(1994) Words in the mind. An introduction to the mental lexicon. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Birdsong, D.
(1999) Second language acquisition and the critical period hypothesis. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blacklock, K. L.
(1985) Lifelong learning for the older adult. Journal of Extension, 23 (3), 1–4.Google Scholar
Brandt, H.
(1983) The acquisition of German as a second language by two adult learners: A case study. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Brown, C.
(1983) The distinguishing characteristics of the older adult second language learner. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. University of Southern California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Burling, R.
(1981) Social constraints on adult language learning in native language and foreign language acquisition. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 3791, 279–290. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cameron, L.
(2002) Measuring vocabulary size in English as an additional language. Language Teaching Research, 62(2), 145–73. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Carcedo González, A.
(1998) Sobre las pruebas de disponibilidad léxica para estudiantes de español/LE. RILCE, 14 (2), 205–224.Google Scholar
Casado, M. A. & Dereshiwsky, M. I.
(2001) Foreign language anxiety of univeristy students. College Student Journal, 351, 539–551.Google Scholar
Cavanaugh, J.
(1995) Ageing. In P. Bryant and A. Colman (Eds.), Developmental psychology (pp. 70–89). London: Longman.Google Scholar
Cenoz, J.
(2002) Age differences in foreign language learning. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 135–6, 125–142.Google Scholar
Channel, J.
(1988) Psycholinguistic consideration in the study of L2 vocabulary acquisition. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy, (Eds.) Vocabulary and language teaching (pp. 8–16). London: Longman.Google Scholar
De Haan, P. & van Esch, K.
(2005) The development of writing in English and Spanish as foreign languages. Assessing Writing, 101, 100–16. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Edelenbos, P. & Vinjé, M. P.
(2000) The assessment of a foreign language at the end of primary (elementary) education. Language Testing, 17(2), 144–162. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Etxebarría Arostegui, M.
(1996) Disponibilidad léxica en escolares del País Vasco: Variación sociolingüística y modelos de enseñanza bilingüe. Revista Española de Lingüística, 26(2), 301–325.Google Scholar
Fan, M.
(2000) How big is the gap and how to narrow it? An investigation into the active and passive vocabulary knowledge of L2 learners. RELC Journal, 31(2), 105–19. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Frantzen, D. & Sieloff Magnan, S.
(2005) Anxiety and the true beginner-false beginner dynamic in beginning French and Spanish classes. Foreign Language Annals, 38(2), 171–186. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fukai, M.
(2000) College Japanese classroom anxiety: True vs. false beginners. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Conference of Asian Affairs, Bloomington, IN, October 2000.
García Mayo, M. P. & García Lecumberri, M. L.
(Eds.) (2003) Age and the acquisition of English as a foreign language. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Germany, P. & Cortes, N.
(2000) Léxico disponible en inglés como segunda lengua en instrucción personalizada. Estudios Pedagógicos, 261, 39–50.Google Scholar
Grognet, A. G.
(1997) Elderly refugees and language learning. ELT, 1–4.Google Scholar
Halff, N. E. & Frisbie, D. A.
(1977) College foreign language study related to high school foreign language study. Modern Language Journal, 611, 401–406. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Haan, M. Shemanski, L., Jagust, W., Manolio, T. & Kuller, L.
(1999) The role of APOE є4 in modulating effects of other risk factors for cognitive decline in elderly persons. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2821, 40–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hanania, E. & Shikhani, M.
(1986) Interrelationships among three tests of language proficiency: Standarized ESL, cloze and writing. TESOL Quaterly, 20(1), 97–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hartmann, M. & Hasher, L.
(1991) Aging and suppresion: memory for previously relevant information. Psychology and Aging, 61, 587–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, E.
(1990) Attending to the affective domain in the foreign language classroom. In S. Magnan (Ed.), Shifting the instructional focus to the learner (pp. 15–33). Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.Google Scholar
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B. & Cope, J.
(1986) Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 701, 125–132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jarvis, S., Grant, L. Bikowski, D. & Ferris, D.
(2003) Exploring multiple profiles of highly rated learner compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing, 121, 377–403. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiménez Catalán, R. M.
(2003) Sex differences in L2 vocabulary learning strategies. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 13(1), 54–78. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jiménez Catalán, R. M. & Moreno, S.
(2005) Using Lex30 to measure the L2 productive vocabulary of Spanish primary learners of EFL. VIAL, Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 21, 27–44.Google Scholar
Jiménez Catalán, R. M. & Ojeda Alba, J.
(2008) CLIL instruction and EFL learners’ lexical productivity in an availability task. Paper presented at 2008 CLIL Fusion Conference, Tallin, Estonia, October 2008.
(2009) Disponibilidad léxica en inglés como lengua extranjera. Lenguaje y Textos, 301, 167–176.Google Scholar
Jiménez Catalán, R. M. & Terrazas Gallego, M.
(2005–2008) The receptive vocabulary of English foreign language young learners. Journal of English Studies, 5-61, 173–191.Google Scholar
Jochems, W. & Montens, F.
(1988) The multiple choice cloze test as a general language proficiency test. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 811, 139–159. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Joiner, E. G.
(1981) The older foreign language learner: A Challenge for colleges and universities. Language in Education: Theory and Practice, 341. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 208 672).Google Scholar
Knowles, M.
(1980) The modern practice of adult education. Englewood Cliffs: Cambridge Adult Education.Google Scholar
Krashen, S. D., Long, M. A. &. Scarcella, R. C.
(1979) Age, rate and eventual attainment in second language acquisition. TESOL Quaterly, 131, 573–582. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lange, D., Prior, D. & Sims, W.
(1992) Prior instruction, equivalency formulas and functional proficiency. Examining the problem of secondary school-college articulation. Modern Language Journal, 761, 284–294.Google Scholar
Lapkin, S. & Swain, M.
(1977) The use of English and French cloze tests in a bilingual education program evaluation: Validity and error analysis. Language Learning, 27(2), 279–314. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B.
(1989) What percentage of text-lexis is essential for comprehension? In C. Lauren & M. Nordmann (Eds.), Special language: from humans thinking to thinking machines (pp. 316–23). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
(1992) How Much Lexis is Necessary for Reading Comprehension?. In P. J. L. Arnaud & H. Béjoint (Eds.), Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics (126–32). London: Macmillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1998) The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: Same or different?. Applied Linguistics, 19(2), 255–71. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B. & Nation, P.
(1995) Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production. Applied Linguistics 161, 307–22. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1999) A Vocabulary size test of controlled productive ability. Language Testing, 16(1), 33–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B. & Paribakht, T.
(1998) The relationship between passive and active vocabularies: Effects of language learning context. Language Learning, 481, 365–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
López-Mezquita Molina, M.
(2003) La construcción de un instrumento de medida para la evaluación de la competencia léxica de los traductores de ingles al español. Apuntes, 11(4), 17–20.Google Scholar
(2005) La evaluación de la dimensión léxica a nivel receptivo: Un marco para el diseño de instrumentos de medida. In Carrió Pastor. M. L. (Ed.), Perspectivas interdisciplinares de la lingüística aplicada.Vol 1: Adquisición y aprendizaje, enseñanza de lenguas y diseño curricular, 381–90. Valencia: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.Google Scholar
López Morales, H.
(1999) Léxico disponible de Puerto Rico. Madrid: Arco Libros.Google Scholar
López Rivero, E.
(2008) Estudio de disponibilidad léxica en 43 estudiantes de ELE. Memoria del Máster de Enseñanza del Español como Lengua Extranjera. Universidad Antonio de Nebrija.Google Scholar
Losada Friend, M., Garrido Anes, E. & Bando Domínguez, J.
(2007) Perspectivas y estrategias de innovación en la enseñanza del inglés en el aula de mayores. In M. Losada Friend, P. Ron Vaz, S. Hernández Santano & J. Casanova (Eds.), Proceedings of the 30th international AEDEAN conference (pp. 1–6). Huelva: Universidad de Huelva.Google Scholar
McMillan Dictionary online
[URL]
Madden, D., Connelly, S. & Pierce, T.
(1994) Adult age differences in shifting focused attention. Psychology and Aging, 91, 529–538. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P.
(1996) The dimensions of lexical competence. In G. Brown, K. Malmkjaer & J. Williams (Eds.) Performance and competence in second language acquisition. (pp. 35–53). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Meara, P. & Buxton, B.
(1987) An alternative to multiple choice vocabulary tests. Language Testing, 4(2), 142–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P. & Fitzpatrick, T.
(2000) Lex30: An improved method of assessing productive vocabulary in an L2. System, 281, 19–30. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P. and Jones, G.
(1990) Tests of vocabulary size in English as a foreign language. Polyglot, 8(1), 1–40.Google Scholar
Melka, F.
(1997) Receptive versus productive aspects of vocabulary. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy (pp. 84–102). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Miralpeix, I.
(2008) The influence of age on vocabulary acquisition in English as a foreign language. Doctoral Dissertation. Universitat de Barcelona.Google Scholar
Morgan, B. Q. & Oberdeck, L. M.
(1930) Active and passive vocabulary. In E. W. Basgster-Collins (Ed.), Studies in modern language teaching (pp. 213–221). Basingstoke: Mcmillan.Google Scholar
Muñoz, C.
(Ed. (2006) Age and the rate of foreign language learning. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nakamura, T.
(1997) What makes language learners false beginners? ERIC Digest. Washington, DC. ED420194.Google Scholar
Nation, P.
(1983) Teaching and testing vocabulary. Guidelines, 5(1), 12–25.Google Scholar
(1990) Teaching and learning vocabulary. New York: Newbury.Google Scholar
(1993) Measuring readiness for simplified material: A Test of the first 1,000 words of English. In M. L. Tickoo (Ed.), Simplification: Theory and application. RELC Anthology Series, 311, 193–203.Google Scholar
OECD
(1977) Learning opportunities for adults. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Ostwald, S. K. & Williams, H. Y.
(1981) Optimizing learning in the elderly: A model. Lifelong Learning, 9(1) , 10–13.Google Scholar
Poon, L. W.
(1985) Differences in human memory with aging: Nature, causes and clinical implications. In J. Birren & K. Schaie (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.Google Scholar
Quian, D.
(2002) Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: an assessment perspective. Language Learning, 52(3), 513–36. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Read, J.
(1988) Measuring the vocabulary knowledge of second language learners. RELC Journal, 191, 12–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rogers, A.
(1996) Teaching adults. Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Rogers, J.
(1989) Adults learning. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Roumani, J.
(1978) Foreign language learning for older learners: Problems and approaches. Peace Corps, Washington, D.C.. ERIC Document. Retrieved from [URL].
Samper Hernández, M.
(2000) Disponibilidad léxica en alumnos de ELE. Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca.Google Scholar
Schaie, K.
(1996) Intellectual development in adulthood: The Seattle longitudinal study. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schaie, K. & Geiwitz, J.
(1982) Adult development and aging. Toronto: Little Brown.Google Scholar
Schleppegrell, M.
(1987) The older language learner. Washington, DC. (ERIC Clearinghouse on Language and Linguistics FL No. 016 969).Google Scholar
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D. & C. Clapham
(2001) Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the vocabulary level test. Language Testing, 18(1), 55–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sifakis, N. C.
(2003) Applying the adult education framework to ESP curriculum development: An integrative model. English for Specific Purposes, 221, 195–211. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Singleton, D. & Ryan, L.
(2004) Language acquisition: The age factor. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Turner, G.
(1983) Teaching French vocabulary: A training study. Educational Review, 35(1), 81–88. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
UNESCO
(1975) ISCED: International standard classification of educational data. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
(1976) Nairobi: Recommendations on the development of adult education: Declaration of Nairobi conference. Paris: UNESCO.Google Scholar
Wagner, E.
(1992) The older second language learner: A bibliographic essay. Issues in Applied Linguistics, 3(1), 121–129.Google Scholar
Walsh, T. M., and K. C. Diller
(1978) Neurolinguistic Foundations to Methods of Teaching a Second Language. International Review Of Applied Linguistics, 161, 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Waring, R.
(1997) A comparison of the receptive and productive vocabulary sizes of some second language learners. Immaculata, 11, 53–68.Google Scholar
Watt, Y. I.
(1997) Attrition and performance in Japanese language courses: A study of articulation between high school and university levels. Foreign Language Annals, 301, 327–334. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Webb, S.
(2008) Receptive and productive vocabulary sizes of L2 learners. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 301, 79–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Weigle, S.C.
(2002) Assessing writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zdenek, J. W.
(1986) A survival course for the older learner. Hispania, 691, 723–727. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by 1 other publications

del Puerto, Francisco Gallardo & María Martínez Adrián
2014. The Incidence of Previous Foreign Language Contact in a Lexical Availability Task: A Study of Senior Learners. In Lexical Availability in English and Spanish as a Second Language [Educational Linguistics, 17], ► pp. 53 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 1 april 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.