The Effect of Language Exposure and Word Characteristics on the Arab EFL Learners’ Word Associations

Abstract

The present study investigates the patterns of word associations among Arab EFL learners and compares these patterns with those of native speakers of English. The study also examines the influence of increased language exposure and word characteristics on the learners’ association patterns. To this end, 45 native speakers of English and 421 Arab learners of English at a Saudi university with two distinct levels of English language exposure completed a multiple-response word association test and their responses were analyzed, examined and compared. The results revealed strong influence for language exposure and word characteristics on the learners’ associations and support a developmental approach to the second language lexicon where an increase in language exposure and word knowledge enhances mental word connectivity and increases its native-like similarity.

Appendices

Appendix 1: The Word Association Test

Dear Participant

The current survey aims to investigate mental word associations in English as a foreign language. The survey contains 30 English words. You are kindly requested to complete the survey by writing the first English words that come to your mind in connection with the words you see on the screen. Please, make sure that you follow the correct numbering of the words on the screen and also note that you will only have 30 s to complete your answers for every word. For example, the word “exam” may remind you of “tension,” “mark,” “question,” “study,” etc.

Before completing the survey, you are kindly asked to provide some personal information below without mentioning your name. Hence, your answers will only be used for research purposes and will remain confidential.

Thank you for providing support to the current study.

Part I: Personal Information

Words & Associations

(spaces on the table are minimized for publication purposes)

#	Word	Associations
Example	Exam	Study, Question, Mark, Tension, etc.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
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24
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28
29
30

Appendix 2: List of Stimuli in the Word Association Test

#	Prompt Word
1	hot
2	cat
3	busy
4	understand
5	information
6	silence
7	eat
8	tree
9	excellent
10	restaurant
11	opinion
12	college
13	alone
14	hospital
15	sit
16	write
17	angry
18	think
19	impossible
20	friendship
21	want
22	teach
23	beautiful
24	have
25	terrible
26	believe
27	holiday
28	tired
29	speak
30	perfect

Appendix 3: Definitions/Examples of Classification Model (Fitzpatrick 2007—Adapted)

(Sub)Category	Definition	Examples—Present Study
Meaning-based
Synonym	Word with the same or similar meaning to another word	holiday & vacation teach & educate
Antonym	Word with the opposite meaning of another word	beautiful & ugly busy & free
Subordinate	Word that is more specific than a given word	cat & kitten tree & Christmas tree
Superordinate	Word representing a general class under which subcategories are subsumed	cat & pet tree & plant
Coordinate	Word of the same rank as (an)other	cat & dog tree & flower
Meronym	Word representing a part of something	college & class hospital & ward
Feeling	Word representing an affective relation	holiday & happiness college & stress
Context	Word referring to a creature / object often found in the physical surrounding of the referent of another word	silence & library hospital & germs
Position-based
Sequential	Word that follows another	hot tea eat food
Lexical	Frequent word combinations consisting of content words	fluffy cat information overload
Grammatical	Frequent word combinations consisting of content and function words	sit down angry with
Restrictive	Frequent word combinations that have become a cliché or idiomatic	mission impossible golden silence
Form-based
Form	Word similar in sound, structure or spelling to another word	tired & fired lecture & picture
Erratic
Erratic	Erroneous or irrelevant word	write & asinment college & poory