Connected Words
Word associations and second language vocabulary acquisition
What words come into your head when you think of SUN? For native English speakers, the most common responses are MOON, SHINE and HOT, and about half of all native speaker responses to SUN are covered by these three words. L2 English speakers are much less obliging, and produce patterns of association that are markedly different from those produced by native speakers. Why? What does this tell us about the way L2 speakers' vocabularies grow and develop? This volume provides a user-friendly introduction to a research technique which has the potential to answer some long-standing puzzles about L2 vocabulary. The method is easy to use, even for inexperienced researchers, but it produces immensely rich data, which can be analysed on many different levels. The book explores how word association data can be used to probe the development of vocabulary depth, productive vocabulary skills and lexical organisation in L2 speakers.
[Language Learning & Language Teaching, 24] 2009. xvii, 174 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 25 September 2009
Published online on 25 September 2009
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
-
Acknowledgements | pp. i–xviii
-
Section 1. Early work
-
Chapter 1. Learners’ word associations in French | pp. 5–20
-
Chapter 2. Word associations in a foreign language | pp. 21–28
-
Section 2. Associations as productive vocabulary
-
Chapter 3. Lex30: An improved method of assessing productive vocabulary in an L2 | pp. 33–44
-
Chapter 4. Exploring the validity of a test of productive vocabulary | pp. 45–58
-
Section 3. Word association networks
-
Chapter 5. Network structures and vocabulary acquisition in a foreign language | pp. 65–72
-
Chapter 6. V_Links: Beyond vocabulary depth | pp. 73–84
-
Chapter 7. A further note on simulating word association behaviour in an L2 | pp. 85–96
-
Section 4. Bibliographical resources for word associations in an L2
-
Chapter 8. Word associations in a second language: An annotated bibliography | pp. 101–128
-
Section 5. Software applications
-
Chapter 9. The Lex30 v3.00 manual | pp. 131–146
-
Chapter 10. The V_Six v1.00 manual | pp. 147–158
-
Chapter 11. WA_Sorter: The manual | pp. 159–164
-
References | pp. 165–170
-
Index | pp. 171–174
“Paul Meara is the world's leading researcher in modelling vocabulary knowledge and his work has been essential in guiding research and as a check on the findings of other research approaches. This book will be required reading for researchers and students of second language vocabulary acquisition.”
Paul Nation, Victoria University of Welling, New Zealand
“
Connected Words: Word Associations and Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition should be read by researchers in the field of second language vocabulary acquisition, persons interested in word associations, and more generally, by anyone who would like to see how an original thinker has approached solving complex linguistic problems. Whether you agree with Meara’s approaches to the fundamental issues he has investigated over his 30-year career or not, you will likely find it difficult not to learn something—and perhaps a great many things—from this historical account of the research path followed by one of the most influential researchers in the field of SLVA. This is an important book that should be read by anyone interested in the second-language lexicon.”
David Belgar, Temple University, Japanese Campus, in JALT 33(1): 77-79, 2011
Cited by (75)
Cited by 75 other publications
Agustín-Llach, M. P. & J. Rubio
2024. Navigating the Mental Lexicon: Network Structures, Lexical Search and Lexical Retrieval. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 53:2 
Agustín-Llach, María Pilar & Kiriaki Palapanidi
2024. Typicality effects in Spanish as a Foreign Language of intermediate and advanced level Greek learners. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics 37:1 ► pp. 264 ff.
Agustín-Llach, María Pilar & Kiriakí Palapanidi
2024. Apples, tomatoes, and health: comparison of structural characteristics of the L1 and L2 mental lexicons. Applied Psycholinguistics ► pp. 1 ff.
Mäntylä, Katja, Anssi Roiha, Hannele Dufva & Heini-Marja Pakula
2024. Vocabulary learning in Finnish early foreign language learning textbooks. Language Teaching for Young Learners 6:1 ► pp. 84 ff.
Planchuelo, Clara, José Antonio Hinojosa & Jon Andoni Duñabeitia
2024. The nature of lexical associations in a foreign language: valence, arousal and concreteness. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition ► pp. 1 ff.
Balboa-Bandeira, Yolanda, Leire Zubiaurre-Elorza, M. Acebo García-Guerrero, Naroa Ibarretxe-Bilbao, Natalia Ojeda & Javier Peña
2023. Effects of transcranial electrical stimulation techniques on foreign vocabulary learning. Behavioural Brain Research 438 ► pp. 114165 ff.
Chen, Tianxu & Dongbo Zhang
2023. Different aspects of vocabulary depth knowledge in L2 Chinese reading comprehension: Comparing higher‐ and lower‐proficiency readers. Foreign Language Annals 56:3 ► pp. 786 ff.
Lindqvist, Christina
2023. Lexical development in a third language. In L3 Development After the Initial State [Studies in Bilingualism, 65], ► pp. 152 ff.
Raet, Mai
2023. When Negative Turns out to Be Positive. Półrocznik Językoznawczy Tertium 8:1 ► pp. 71 ff.
Steen, Gerard J.
Alshehri, Mona & Dongbo Zhang
2022. Word-to-text integration components in second language (L2) reading comprehension. Frontiers in Education 7
Li, Ming, Lubei Zhang & Qi Zhou
2022. A Study on the Developmental Features of Yi Students’ Chinese Mental Lexicon. Frontiers in Psychology 13
Niitemaa, Marja-Leena
2022. Cohesion in Finnish EFL essays. EduLingua 8:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Read, John & Thi Ngoc Yen Dang
2022. Measuring depth of academic vocabulary knowledge. Language Teaching Research
Wimhurst, Andrew
2022. Using Word Association Tests to Assess L2 Vocabulary Proficiency. In The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, ► pp. 1 ff.
Xiang, Li & Hyunjeong Nam
2022. L1 mediation in Chinese English learners’ mental lexicon: Evidence from word association tests. Language Teaching Research
Chen, Heng
2021. A Quantitative and Network Approach to Alignment Effects in L2 Continuation Tasks. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 44:3 ► pp. 399 ff.
Chen, Heng
2023. A lexical network approach to second language development. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications 10:1
Kovács, László, András Bóta, László Hajdu & Miklós Krész
2021. Networks in the mind – what communities reveal about the structure of the lexicon. Open Linguistics 7:1 ► pp. 181 ff.
Kovács, László, Katalin Orosz & Péter Pollner
2021. Networks in the mental lexicon – contributions from Hungarian. Glottotheory 12:2 ► pp. 107 ff.
Nakata, Tatsuya, Saori Tada, Stuart Mclean & Young Ae Kim
2021. Effects of Distributed Retrieval Practice Over a Semester: Cumulative Tests as a Way to Facilitate Second Language Vocabulary Learning. TESOL Quarterly 55:1 ► pp. 248 ff.
Wu, Shuang, L. Quentin Dixon, Haitao Sun & Peng Zhang
2021. Breadth or depth: the role of vocabulary in Chinese English-Language beginning writers’ development. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 24:9 ► pp. 1356 ff.
Fitzpatrick, Tess & Peter Thwaites
2020. Word association research and the L2 lexicon. Language Teaching 53:3 ► pp. 237 ff.
Lam, Boji P. W. & Li Sheng
2020. Taxonomic Development in Young Bilingual Children: Task Matters, and So Does Scoring Method. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 29:3 ► pp. 1162 ff.
Lanaghan, Mary Helen
2020. Vocab Victor Word Learning App. TESOL Journal 11:2
Uchihara, Takumi & Jon Clenton
2020. Investigating the role of vocabulary size in second language speaking ability. Language Teaching Research 24:4 ► pp. 540 ff.
Crosson, Amy C., Margaret G. McKeown & Arthur K Ward
2019. An Innovative Approach to Assessing Depth of Knowledge of Academic Words. Language Assessment Quarterly 16:2 ► pp. 196 ff.
Ma, Qing & Hung Yuk Lee
2019. Measuring the Vocabulary Knowledge of Hong Kong Primary School Second Language Learners Through Word Associations: Implications for Reading Literacy. In English Literacy Instruction for Chinese Speakers, ► pp. 35 ff.
Nakata, Tatsuya & Yuichi Suzuki
2019. EFFECTS OF MASSING AND SPACING ON THE LEARNING OF SEMANTICALLY RELATED AND UNRELATED WORDS. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41:2 ► pp. 287 ff.
Sandberg, Chaleece W., Erin Carpenter, Katherine Kerschen, Daniela Paolieri & Carrie N. Jackson
2019. The benefits of abstract word training on productive vocabulary knowledge among second language learners. Applied Psycholinguistics 40:6 ► pp. 1331 ff.
Vetchinnikova, Svetlana
2019. Phraseology and the Advanced Language Learner,
Vivas, Leticia, Laura Manoiloff, Adolfo M. García, Francisco Lizarralde & Jorge Vivas
2019. Core Semantic Links or Lexical Associations: Assessing the Nature of Responses in Word Association Tasks. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 48:1 ► pp. 243 ff.
Woll, Nina
2019. Investigating Positive Lexical Transfer from English (L2) to German (L3) by Quebec Francophones. In International Research on Multilingualism: Breaking with the Monolingual Perspective [Multilingual Education, 35], ► pp. 103 ff.
Chen, Meng‐Hua, Wen‐Ta Tseng & Tsung‐Yuan Hsiao
2018. The effectiveness of digital game‐based vocabulary learning: A framework‐based view of meta‐analysis. British Journal of Educational Technology 49:1 ► pp. 69 ff.
Dikilitaş, Kenan & İsmail Hakkı Erten
2018. Teaching Homographs, Homonyms, Homophones, Synonyms, and Antonyms. In The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, ► pp. 1 ff.
Dragićević, Rajna
2018. Dictionaries of associations of Slavic languages in semantic studies. Linguistica Brunensia :1 ► pp. 7 ff.
Sikora, Dorota, F. Neveu, B. Harmegnies, L. Hriba & S. Prévost
2018. Locutions en apprentissage de langue seconde. SHS Web of Conferences 46 ► pp. 05002 ff.
Wang, Isobel Kai-Hui
2018. Introduction. In Learning Vocabulary Strategically in a Study Abroad Context, ► pp. 1 ff.
Zhong, Hua Flora
2018. The relationship between receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge: a perspective from vocabulary use in sentence writing. The Language Learning Journal 46:4 ► pp. 357 ff.
Jiménez Catalán, Rosa M. & Jean-Marc Dewaele
2017. Lexical availability of young Spanish EFL learners: emotion words versus non-emotion words. Language, Culture and Curriculum 30:3 ► pp. 283 ff.
Khudhur Albodakh, Mohammed Khaleel & Emrah Cinkara
2017. The Relationship between Learner Motivation and Vocabulary Size: The Case of Iraqi EFL Classrooms. SSRN Electronic Journal
Zhang, Dongbo & Keiko Koda
2017. Assessing L2 vocabulary depth with word associates format tests: issues, findings, and suggestions. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education 2:1
Debrenne, Michèle, F. Neveu, G. Bergounioux, M.-H. Côté, J.-M. Fournier, L. Hriba & S. Prévost
2016. Variabilité diatopique des associations évoquées par les mots en Francophonie. SHS Web of Conferences 27 ► pp. 03002 ff.
Heidari-Shahreza, Mohammad Ali & Mansoor Tavakoli
2016. The effects of repetition and L1 lexicalization on incidental vocabulary acquisition by Iranian EFL Learners. The Language Learning Journal 44:1 ► pp. 17 ff.
Holmström, Ketty, Eva-Kristina Salameh, Ulrika Nettelbladt & Annika Dahlgren Sandberg
2016. A descriptive study of lexical organisation in bilingual children with language impairment: Developmental changes. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 18:2 ► pp. 178 ff.
Lopez, Nuria
2016. A case study: writing a Spanish dictionary as a collaborative task among beginner students. The Language Learning Journal 44:1 ► pp. 52 ff.
Playfoot, David, Teodor Balint, Vibhuti Pandya, Averil Parkes, Mollie Peters & Samantha Richards
2016. Are Word Association Responses Really the First Words that Come to Mind?. Applied Linguistics ► pp. amw015 ff.
Atasheneh, Nasser & Maki Naeimi
2015. Vocabulary Learning through Using Mechanical Techniques Vocabulary Learning Strategy. Theory and Practice in Language Studies 5:3 ► pp. 541 ff.
Bardel, Camilla
2015. Lexical cross-linguistic influence in third language development. In Transfer Effects in Multilingual Language Development [Hamburg Studies on Linguistic Diversity, 4], ► pp. 111 ff.
Fitzpatrick, Tess, David Playfoot, Alison Wray & Margaret J. Wright
2015. Establishing the Reliability of Word Association Data for Investigating Individual and Group Differences. Applied Linguistics 36:1 ► pp. 23 ff.
Reynolds, Barry Lee
2015. The effects of word form variation and frequency on second language incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. Applied Linguistics Review 6:4 ► pp. 467 ff.
Séguin, Maja
2015. Exploration of the relationship between word-association and learners’ lexical development with a focus on American L1 and Croatian L2 speakers. ExELL 3:2 ► pp. 80 ff.
DRONJIC, VEDRAN & RENA HELMS-PARK
2014. Fixed-choice word-association tasks as second-language lexical tests: What native-speaker performance reveals about their potential weaknesses. Applied Psycholinguistics 35:1 ► pp. 193 ff.
Liu, Ming-Chi, Chia-Hung Lai & Yueh-Min Huang
2014. 2014 International Conference of Educational Innovation through Technology, ► pp. 111 ff.
Macedonia, Manuela
2014. Bringing back the body into the mind: gestures enhance word learning in foreign language. Frontiers in Psychology 5
Paivio, Allan
2014. Bilingual Dual Coding Theory and Memory. In Foundations of Bilingual Memory, ► pp. 41 ff.
Sato, Masanobu & Shigenori Tanaka
2014. Core and Networking in L2 Lexical Teaching in an Input-Poor Context. Open Journal of Modern Linguistics 04:05 ► pp. 676 ff.
Williams, Joy, Norman Segalowitz & Tatsiana Leclair
Beglar, David & Paul Nation
2013. Assessing Vocabulary. In The Companion to Language Assessment, ► pp. 172 ff.
Hoshino, Yuko
2013. Relationship between types of distractor and difficulty of multiple-choice vocabulary tests in sentential context. Language Testing in Asia 3:1
Playfoot, David & Cristina Izura
2013. Imageability, age of acquisition, and frequency factors in acronym comprehension. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 66:6 ► pp. 1131 ff.
Read, John
2013. Second language vocabulary assessment. Language Teaching 46:1 ► pp. 41 ff.
Whong, Melinda
2013. Applied Generative SLA: The Need for an Agenda and a Methodology. In Universal Grammar and the Second Language Classroom [Educational Linguistics, 16], ► pp. 231 ff.
BIRD, STEVE
2012. Expert knowledge, distinctiveness, and levels of processing in language learning. Applied Psycholinguistics 33:4 ► pp. 665 ff.
Fitzpatrick, Tess
2012. Word Associations. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Fitzpatrick, Tess
2012. Tracking the changes: vocabulary acquisition in the study abroad context. The Language Learning Journal 40:1 ► pp. 81 ff.
Hamel, Marie-Josée
2012. Testing aspects of the usability of an online learner dictionary prototype: a product- and process-oriented study. Computer Assisted Language Learning 25:4 ► pp. 339 ff.
Hulstijn, Jan H.
2012. Incidental Learning in Second Language Acquisition. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Marsden, Emma
2012. Language Testing in Second Language Research. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Walters, JoDee
2012. Aspects of Validity of a Test of Productive Vocabulary: Lex30. Language Assessment Quarterly 9:2 ► pp. 172 ff.
Wolter, Brent
2012. Lexis: Overview. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics,
Zareva, Alla & Brent Wolter
2012. The ‘promise’ of three methods of word association analysis to L2 lexical research. Second Language Research 28:1 ► pp. 41 ff.
Spada, Nina
2011. Beyond form-focused instruction: Reflections on past, present and future research. Language Teaching 44:2 ► pp. 225 ff.
Tseng, Wen‐Ta & Norbert Schmitt
2008. Toward a Model of Motivated Vocabulary Learning: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Language Learning 58:2 ► pp. 357 ff.
[no author supplied]
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 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.
Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CFDC: Language acquisition
Main BISAC Subject
LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General