Vocabulary acquisition in study abroad and formal instruction: an investigation on oral and written lexical development

The present study investigates the impact of two different consecutive learning contexts, formal instruction (FI) at home and a 3-month stay abroad (SA), on second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition in oral and written production. Data were obtained from a group of 30 Catalan/Spanish advanced lear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Zaytseva, Victoria
Tipo de recurso: tesis doctoral
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:CBUC, CESCA
Repositorio:TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red
OAI Identifier:oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/387120
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/387120
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:English
Spanish
Catalan
English as a Second Language (ESL)
English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
Second language acquisition
Vocabulary
Lexical proficiency
Study abroad
Language learning
Oral production
Written production
Adquisición de segundas lenguas
Estancias en el extranjero
Inglés
Español
Catalán
Inglés como segunda lengua
Inglés como lengua extranjera
Producción oral
Producción escrita
Vocabulario
Anglès escrit
Anglès oral
Ensenyament
Estudis a l'estranger
Vocabulari
Competència lèxica
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Descripción
Sumario:The present study investigates the impact of two different consecutive learning contexts, formal instruction (FI) at home and a 3-month stay abroad (SA), on second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition in oral and written production. Data were obtained from a group of 30 Catalan/Spanish advanced learners of English before and after each learning period by means of an oral interview and a written composition. These samples were analyzed in terms of quantitative lexical proficiency measures in the domains of fluency, density, diversity, sophistication and accuracy, and through qualitative native-like selections. Baseline data from 29 native speakers of English, elicited through the same tasks, were also used for comparison purposes. Results reveal that SA is particularly beneficial for written productive vocabulary, and less so for oral, and that progress occurs especially in lexical fluency and diversity. FI, in contrast, shows a modest effect on the improvement of oral productive vocabulary and affects namely lexical sophistication. Furthermore, initial level of vocabulary knowledge is found to be a significant predictor of gains.