Testing Prime Lexicality Effect With Chinese English Adult Learners In Incidental Learning Setting

For second language and foreign language learners,vocabulary learning may be an important matter throughout their language learning career.The process of lexical learning involves a variety of factors such as ways of learning,exposure frequency,and memory consolidation etc.(Qiao,Forster & Witzel,2009;Qiao & Forster,2013;Tamura,Castles,& Nation,2017).Based on previous studies on native English speakers,the present study aims to investigate how Chinese English speakers learn novel words via story reading.Two research questions are asked: whether Chinese L2 learners show signs of “lexical configuration” as native speakers did and whether Prime Lexicality Effect could be used as an indicator of “lexical engagement” for L2 learners(Leach & Samuel,2007).As for lexical configuration,tasks such as dictation test and meaning matching were carried out to assess learners’ performance after reading stories(a process that was regarded as incidental learning)in each learning session.In regard to lexical engagement,PLE was measured in a masked priming lexical decision experiment by manipulating prime-target relationship(related vs.unrelated),and the exposure times(i.e.,in four-exposures condition and twelve-exposures condition).As shown by the test results,both word form and meaning were learned at a relatively slow speed by the Chinese English learners.Also,we have found that the learning effect of meaning is much better than that of word form.On the other hand,no clear PLE was observed in current experiment,suggesting that lexical integration could not be claimed.The conclusion,therefore,is that Chinese English speakers did not show a quick learning of lexical configuration as native child learners did;at the meantime,PLE could not be used as a potential marker for the lexicalization of Chinese English learners.