Article published In:
Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education
Vol. 10:1 (2025) ► pp.123–153

Multidimensional construct of lexical sophistication

The case of non-language majors in the context of English as a lingua franca study abroad

ORCID logo | University of Split
 | University of Osijek
This article documents language development in the context of studying abroad with English as the lingua franca. In particular, it examines whether and how lexical sophistication in English as a foreign language changes during a semester abroad. Given the advances in the conceptualization and operationalization of lexical sophistication, this study applies indicators of lexical sophistication that have not previously been used in study abroad research. A statistically significant improvement was found in two measures of lexical sophistication in oral production — familiarity and meaningfulness — and in one measure in written production — meaningfulness. Comparing the differences between the pre- and post-test results showed that respondents performed better in the oral production in terms of range and familiarity, that is, they produced more lexis that occurs in fewer texts and is less familiar, while they performed better in the written production in terms of imageability, in other words, they used less imageable lexis.
Keywords: lexical sophistication, written production, oral production, English as a lingua franca
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Literature review
    • 2.1The role of lexical sophistication in lexical competence
    • 2.2Lexical development in study abroad studies
    • 2.3Lexical sophistication in study abroad studies
    • 2.4Measures of lexical sophistication
  • 3.Methodology
    • 3.1Goal and research questions
    • 3.2Participants
    • 3.3Materials and tools
    • 3.4Procedure
      • 3.4.1Operationalization of lexical sophistication
      • 3.4.2Statistical analysis
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1Oral production
    • 4.2Written production
    • 4.3Comparison
  • 5.Discussion
    • 5.1Limitations and further studies
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 6 January 2025
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/sar.23013.mar
References (55)
References
Bahns, J., & Eldaw, M. (1993). Should we teach EFL students collocations? System, 21 (1), 101–114. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Barquin, E. (2012). Writing development in a study abroad context [Doctoral dissertation, Universitat Pompeu Fabra].
Borràs, J. (2023). Comparing L2 learning outcomes in traditional and English as a lingua franca study abroad contexts, The Language Learning Journal, 52 (4), 414–425. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borràs, J., & Llanes, À. (2021). Investigating the impact of a semester-long study abroad program on L2 reading and vocabulary development. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 6 (2), 276–297. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2022). Traditional study abroad vs. ELFSA: Differences and similarities in L2 reading, vocabulary, and use. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 23 (6), 879–894. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Borràs, J., Llanes, À., & Prieto Botana, G. (2023). Development of lexical deployment as a result of a short-term study abroad experience in Costa Rica. In I. Checa-García & L. Marqués-Pascual (Eds.), Current perspectives in Spanish lexical development (pp. 137–160). De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brysbaert, M., Warriner, A. B., & Kuperman, V. (2013). Concreteness ratings for 40 thousand generally known English word lemmas. Behavior Research Methods, 46 (3), 904–911. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bulté, B., & Housen, A. (2012). Defining and operationalizing L2 complexity. In A. Housen, F. Kuiken, & I. Vedder (Eds.), Dimensions of L2 performance and proficiency. Investigating complexity, accuracy and fluency in SLA (pp. 21–46). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2015). Evaluating short-term changes in L2 complexity development. Círculo De Lingüística Aplicada a La Comunicación, 63 1, 43–76. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bulté, B., Housen, A., Pierrard, M., & Van Daele, S. (2008). Investigating lexical proficiency development over time — the case of Dutch-speaking learners of French in Brussels. Journal of French Language Studies, 18 (3), 277–298. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cheng, W., Greaves, C., & Warren, M. (2006). From n-gram to skipgram to concgram. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 11 (4), 411–433. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cobb, T. (2023). Web Vocabprofile. [URL]
Coltheart, M. (1981). The MRC psycholinguistic database. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 33A1, 497–505. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Consortium, B. N. C. (2007). British National Corpus, XML edition. Ota.bodleian.ox.ac.uk. [URL]
Crossley, S. A., Cobb, T., & McNamara, D. S. (2013). Comparing count-based and band-based indices of word frequency: Implications for active vocabulary research and pedagogical applications. System, 41 (4), 965–981. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crossley, S. A., Kyle, K., & Salsbury, T. (2016). A usage-based investigation of L2 lexical acquisition: The role of input and output. The Modern Language Journal, 100 (3), 702–715. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crossley, S. A., Salsbury, T., McNamara, D. S., & Jarvis, S. (2011). What is lexical proficiency? Some answers from computational models of speech data. TESOL Quarterly, 45 (1), 182–193. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crossley, S. A., & Skalicky, S. (2017). Examining lexical development in second language learners: An approximate replication of Salsbury, Crossley & McNamara (2011). Language Teaching, 52 (3), 385–405. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Daller, H., van Hout, R., & Treffers-Daller, J. (2003). Lexical richness in the spontaneous speech of bilinguals. Applied Linguistics, 24 (2), 197–222. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Davies, M. (2006). A frequency dictionary of Spanish: Core vocabulary for learners. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010). The Corpus of Contemporary American English as the first reliable monitor corpus of English. Literary and Linguistic Computing, 25 (4), 447–464. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Eguchi, M., & Kyle, K. (2020). Continuing to explore the multidimensional nature of lexical sophistication: The case of oral proficiency interviews. The Modern Language Journal, 104 (2), 381–400. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
González-Fernández, B. (2022). Conceptualizing L2 vocabulary knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44 (4), 1124–1154. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
González-Fernández, B., & Schmitt, N. (2020). Word knowledge: Exploring the relationships and order of acquisition of vocabulary knowledge components. Applied Linguistics, 41 (4), 481–505. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Goss-Sampson, M. (2019). Statistical analysis in JASP: A guide for students. [URL]
Granger, S., & Wynne, M. (1999). Optimizing measures of lexical variation in EFL learner corpora. In J. Kirk (Ed.), Corpora galore (pp. 249–257). Rodopi. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Güvendir, E., Borràs, J., & Güvendir, M. A. (2024). The effects of study abroad on L2 vocabulary development. Study Abroad Research in Second Language Acquisition and International Education, 9 (1), 26–51. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Housen, A., & Kuiken, F. (2009). Complexity, accuracy, and fluency in second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 30 (4), 461–473. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Köylü, Z. (2016). The influence of context on L2 development: The case of Turkish undergraduates at home and abroad [Doctoral dissertation, University of South Florida].
(2021). The ERASMUS sojourn: Does the destination country or pre-departure proficiency impact oral proficiency gains? The Language Learning Journal, 51 (1), 48–60. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Köylü, Z., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2022). Learning English in today’s global world: A comparative study of at home, Anglophone, and lingua franca study abroad. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44 (5), 1330–1355. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuperman, V., Stadthagen-Gonzalez, H., & Brysbaert, M. (2012). Age-of-acquisition ratings for 30,000 English words. Behavior Research Methods, 44 1, 978–990. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kyle, K., & Crossley, S. A. (2015). Automatically assessing lexical sophistication: Indices, tools, findings, and application. TESOL Quarterly, 49 (4), 757–786. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2016). The relationship between lexical sophistication and independent and source-based writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 34 1, 12–24. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kyle, K., Crossley, S. A., & Berger, C. (2018). The tool for the automatic analysis of lexical sophistication (TAALES): Version 2.0. Behavior Research Methods, 50 (3), 1030–1046. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B., & Nation, P. (1995). Vocabulary size and use: Lexical richness in L2 written production. Applied Linguistics, 16 (3), 307–322. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leonard, K. R., & Shea, C. E. (2017). L2 speaking development during study abroad: Fluency, accuracy, complexity, and underlying cognitive factors. The Modern Language Journal, 101 (1), 1–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À. (2019). Study abroad as a context for learning English as an international language: An exploratory study. In M. Howard (Ed.), Study abroad, second language acquisition and interculturality (pp. 136–154). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À., Arnó, E., & Mancho-Barés, G. (2016). Erasmus students using English as a lingua franca: Does study abroad in a non-English-speaking country improve L2 English? The Language Learning Journal, 44 (3), 292–303. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Llanes, À., Tragant, E., & Serrano, R. (2012). The role of individual differences in a study abroad experience: The case of Erasmus students. International Journal of Multilingualism, 9 (3), 318–342. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McCarthy, P. M., & Jarvis, S. (2007). vocd: A theoretical and empirical evaluation. Language Testing, 24 (4), 459–488. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McManus, K., Mitchell, R., & Tracy-Ventura, N. (2020). A longitudinal study of advanced learners’ linguistic development before, during, and after study abroad. Applied Linguistics, 42 (1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Meara, P., & Miralpeix, I. (2018). D_Tools 2.21. [URL]
O’Donnell, M. B., Römer, U., & Ellis, N. C. (2013). The development of formulaic sequences in first and second language writing. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 18 (1), 83–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pavičić Takač, V., & Buljan, G. (2017). Exploring EFL learners’ lexical competence: What numbers tell us about words. In K. Cergol Kovačević & S. L. Udier (Eds.), Applied linguistics research and methodology: Proceedings from the 2015 CALS conference (pp. 55–70). Peter Lang.Google Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C., & Juan-Garau, M. (2011). The effect of context and input conditions on oral and written development: A study abroad perspective. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 49 (2). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pérez-Vidal, C., Juan-Garau, M., Mora, J. C., & Valls-Ferrer, M. (2012). Oral and written development in formal instruction and study abroad: Differential effects of learning context. In C. Muñoz (Ed.), Intensive exposure experiences in second language learning (pp. 213–233). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Segalowitz, N. (2010). Cognitive basis of second language fluency. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Serrano, R., Tragant, E., & Llanes, À. (2012). A longitudinal analysis of the effects of one year abroad. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 68 (2), 138–163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tracy-Ventura, N. (2017). Combining corpora and experimental data to investigate language learning during residence abroad: A study of lexical sophistication. System, 71 1, 35–45. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Uchihara, T., & Saito, K. (2016). Exploring the relationship between productive vocabulary knowledge and second language oral ability. The Language Learning Journal, 47 (1), 64–75. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Xu, Y. (2019). Changes in interlanguage complexity during study abroad: A meta-analysis. System, 80 1, 199–211. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zareva, A., Schwanenflugel, P., & Nikolova, Y. (2005). Relationship between lexical competence and language proficiency: Variable sensitivity. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 27 (04), 567–595. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Zaytseva, V., Miralpeix, I., & Pérez-Vidal, C. (2019). Because words matter: Investigating vocabulary development across contexts and modalities. Language Teaching Research, 25 (2), 162–184. DOI logoGoogle Scholar