Chapter 12. Lexical access in bilinguals and second language learners

Gretchen L. Sunderman | Florida State University

Eileen Fancher | Florida State University

In this chapter, a theoretical account of non-selectivity effects in word recognition with a particular emphasis on the second language (L2) learner is described. Non-selectivity is the idea that lexical items from both languages are activated simultaneously. The focus is on how L2 learners and bilinguals retrieve words in isolation and in a broader contexts (e.g., sentence contexts) that can constrain or facilitate word recognition, thereby leading to selective lexical access. This chapter also addresses how research on L2 word recognition can inform L2 teachers about the underlying mechanisms involved in lexical processing, specifically describing the types of vocabulary errors students make and offering some pedagogical principles that can guide the teaching of L2 vocabulary.

Published online: 22 August 2013
https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.38.16sun

Cited by

Cited by 2 other publications

Friesen, Deanna C., Veronica Whitford, Debra Titone & Debra Jared

2020. The impact of individual differences on cross-language activation of meaning by phonology. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 23:2 ► pp. 323 ff.

Rosmawati

2014. Second Language Developmental Dynamics: How Dynamic Systems Theory Accounts for Issues in Second Language Learning. The Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist 31:1 ► pp. 66 ff.

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