Learning English Through Out‐of‐School Exposure: How Do Word‐Related Variables and Proficiency Influence Receptive Vocabulary Learning?

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate which word-related variables play a role in Dutchspeaking children's L2 word learning through out-of-school exposure prior to classroom instruction in the foreign language. We used different measures to investigate the role of frequency, concreteness, cognateness, and age of acquisition (AoA) in receptive vocabulary learning. The results showed that cognateness and L1 AoA were important predictors of receptive word knowledge for all the participants. The findings confirmed that cognateness is important in vocabulary learning and that less proficient learners tend to guess the meaning of words based on their L1. The results also showed significant interactions between proficiency and cognateness, frequency, AoA, and concreteness, indicating that more proficient L2 learners are open to L2-related variables such as L2 word frequency. This indicates that word-related variables contribute in different ways according to learners' proficiency levels. This research was supported by Artevelde University College Ghent in the context of the PWOproject (Practice-based Scientific Research project) False Beginners. We thank Geert De Meyer, Philip O'Neill, and our students and colleagues for help with testing. We thank the schools, the teachers, the pupils, and their parents for participating in the project. We thank the anonymous reviewers and the associate editor, Scott Crossley, for their suggestions and comments on previous versions of this manuscript.

Young learners’ L2 English after the onset of instruction: longitudinal development of L2 proficiency and the role of individual differences

“…The results further showed that cognates are easier to learn than non-cognates. This is in line with previous findings by De Wilde et al (2020b), Goriot et al (2018) and Puimège and Peters (2019).…”

“…Furthermore, formal classroom instruction in the L2 starts much later in Flanders than in all studies run so far. When it comes to the learners’ L1, Dutch is more closely related to English than others – e.g., Chinese – and previous studies have shown the importance of cognates in language learning (Goriot, van Hout, Broersma, Lobo, McQueen & Unsworth, 2018; De Wilde, Brysbaert & Eyckmans, 2020b). It is therefore interesting to investigate what the contribution of internal and external factors is in a context where the L2 is neither the majority language nor a completely new, foreign language and where formal instruction is often preceded by contextual language learning.…”

“…Sun et al (2018b) and Puimège and Peters (2019) have indeed shown that L1 vocabulary knowledge positively impacts L2 word learning. Furthermore, studies have shown that similarities between the L1 and the L2 facilitate L2 learning both when it comes to the acquisition of morphosyntax (Paradis, 2011; Blom, Paradis & Duncan, 2012) and when it comes to vocabulary learning (Goriot et al, 2018; De Wilde et al, 2020b).…”

How do differences in exposure affect English language learning? A comparison of teenagers in two learning environments

“…This result generally concurs with the results by Azzolini et al (2020), showing that the shorter the distance between English and the national language, the higher the average English competence. In line with the usage-based assumption of language learning being rooted in concrete usage events, the Danish learners' superior listening comprehension was predicted because of their exposure to spoken English through a variety of media, as found in studies in similar environments such as Flanders (De Wilde & Eyckmans, 2017) and because of the language proximity and shared cognates, as also shown in studies with Dutch (De Wilde et al, 2020a;Puimège & Peters, 2019) and Danish children (Muñoz et al, 2018). Similarly, the Spanish learners' superior performance in the metalinguistic task was predicted given their longer period of English instruction, and thus, a longer exposure to usage events that are more form-focused and conducive to the development of declarative knowledge on the part of the learner.…”

The (near) absence of English in Flemish dinner table conversations

“…English is typically only offered in Flanders as of the second year of secondary school (for children at the age of thirteen). Nevertheless, as was discussed in the introduction, primary school children have incidentally already acquired a substantial amount of English vocabulary before the start of EFL in school contexts (De Wilde and Ecykmans 2017;De Wilde et al 2018).…”