Ana Pellicer-Sánchez University of Nottingham Using psycholinguistic measures to research vocabulary: Evidence from reaction time (RT) and eye-tracking Theory and Practice in Vocabulary Learning and Teaching University of Reading 20th January 2012 Ana Pellicer-Sánchez University of Nottingham

Multiple Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge Key issues Importance of vocabulary knowledge Need to master high number of words What do we need to know about words? Multiple Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge

Aspects of Lexical Knowledge (Nation, 2001) written spoken FORM word parts form & meaning concept & referents MEANING associations grammatical functions collocations USE register/frequency Fluency & Automaticity

Aspects of Lexical Knowledge Continuum of mastery No knowledge Complete Mastery Automaticity Very slow Very fast

Study 1 and Study 2 “Acquisition of automaticity and speed of lexical access in the language classroom”

Studies 1 & 2- Aims Can automaticity and speed of lexical access benefit from classroom instruction? and if so, Which teaching approach is more beneficial?

Studies 1 & 3- Methodology Two main teaching and learning approaches: Implicit/Incidental learning: “Incidental learning can occur when one is using language for communicative purposes” (Schmitt, 2000:120). Explicit/Intentional learning: “Explicit learning focuses attention directly on the information to be learned” (Schmitt, 2000:120).

Studies 1 & 2- Methodology Participants: 20/21 students of Spanish as a FL Structure: Test 1 Test 2 Treatment Week 1 1 month later Weeks 2 & 3

Studies 1 & 2- Methodology Tests: E-Prime software Yes-no decision Meaning-form link RTs recorded Instructions + Practice session + Test Target and control words

Studies 1 & 2- Methodology STUDY 1: - Two sessions - Incidental approach - Exposure through reading for comprehension STUDY 2: - Explicit/Engaged approach - Exposure through vocabulary activities

Studies 1 & 2- RTs Pre-test Post-test RT1 = 850 ms RT2 = 780 ms jefe jefe RT1 = 850 ms RT2 = 780 ms Two measures: 1) Raw RT 2) Coefficient of Variation (CV)= M/SD (Segalowitz & Segalowitz, 1993)

Studies 1 & 2: Main findings Acquisition of declarative knowledge from both approaches. Advantage of the explicit approach. Automaticity of vocabulary knowledge can be acquired in the language classroom. It might need more explicit, focused exposure. No significant effect of the number of repetitions in the acquisition of automaticity and speed of lexical access.

“Acquiring automaticity and speed of lexical processing in reading” Study 3 “Acquiring automaticity and speed of lexical processing in reading”

Study 3- Aims 1) What happens when L2 learners encounter new words while reading? How are new words read? 2) How many times do L2 learners need to read a new word before showing a more fluent and automatic reading?

Study 3- Methodology Participants: 15 non-natives speakers of English 7 males, 8 females Ages: from 21 to 32 years old (M= 25.5) Variety of L1s: Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, Chinese, Hindi, Lithuania, Polish, Romanian. PG students Self-rated reading abilities ≥ 8 (10-point scale)

Study 3- Methodology Structure: Reading Activity + post-reading assessment Materials: Reading text: Short story 2,298 words High-frequency vocabulary (3k from the BNC)

Meaning/ Word replaced Study 3- Methodology Target vocabulary: Nonword Meaning/ Word replaced N Repetitions 1. holter house (1k); shelter (3k) 8 2. berrow bowl (2k) 3. bancel criminal/ prisoner (2k) 4. cambul ring (1k) 5. twoser noise (2k) 6. soters clothes (1k)

Study 3- Apparatus and Procedure Instruments: Eye tracker: Eyelink I Calibration (at the beginning and half way through the experiment) Practice session Experimental session (25 screens) Comprehension Questions Post-tests Less than 1 hour

Study 3-Instruments Part 1-Form recognition test: Example: a) ackol b) acklon c) hacklon d) hackol 1 2 3 4 a) hotler b) holter c) houter d) houler 1 2 3 4 2. a) twoser b) twonse c) twiser d) twines 1 2 3 4 …

Study 3-Instruments Part 2-Meaning Recall test: Interviews Part 3-Meaning Recognition test: 1) holter   a) basement b) workhouse 1 2 3 4 c) prison d) food hall e) I don’t know.  2) cambul a) picture b) plate 1 2 3 4 c) window d) ring e) I don’t know    Part 4-Reading strategies Interviews

Study 3-Eye-tracking measures First fixation duration = 3 First pass reading time = 3 + 4 Fixation count= 3 fixations Total reading time = 3+4+6 4 3 1 2 7 8 9 10 11 6 5

Study 3- Declarative knowledge (Preliminary results) ** ** ** p< .001

Study 3- Eye-movements (Preliminary results) **

Study 3- Results (Preliminary results) ** **p ≤ .001

Study 3- Conclusion Effectiveness of reading for incidental acquisition of multiple components of vocabulary knowledge. Acquisition of fluency of reading: Significant effect of the N of repetitions for unknown words (not for controls) 3-5 repetitions. Similarity to known words by 8 repetitions.

General conclusion Studies 1 & 2: - Automaticity and speed of lexical access can benefit from classroom instruction. - It might take more explicit exposure - No effect of frequency of exposure. Study 3: - Automaticity, fluency, and speed of learners’ reading of new vocabulary can be acquired incidentally from repeated exposure. - Significant effect after 3-5 repetitions. Measures of RT and eye-tracking are effective means of measuring vocabulary acquisition.

References Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: University Press. Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: University Press. Segalowitz, N., & Segalowitz, S. (1993). Skilled performance, practice, and the differentiation of speed- up from automatization effects: Evidence from second language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 14 (3), 369-385. Pellicer-Sánchez, A. & Schmitt, N. (2010). Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition from an Authentic Novel: Do things fall apart? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 31-55. Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28,46–65.