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Lexical inference in L2: predictive roles of vocabulary knowledge and reading skill beyond reading comprehension

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Abstract

The current study examined the predictive roles of L2 vocabulary knowledge and L2 word reading skills in explaining individual differences in lexical inferencing in the L2. Participants were 53 Israeli high school students who emigrated from the former Soviet Union, and spoke Russian as an L1 and Hebrew as an L2. L2 vocabulary knowledge and decoding accuracy predicted L2 reading comprehension, which in turn was strongly related to lexical inferencing abilities in the L2. In addition, decoding accuracy predicted additional variance in lexical inferencing, beyond the role of reading comprehension. These findings support the idea that beginning L2 readers with more precise and efficient lexical representations demonstrate better lexical inferencing abilities, most likely due to the increased automatization of word reading, which frees up resources for higher level processing. These results suggest that lexical inferencing from text in the L2 might be limited not only by vocabulary knowledge and higher order comprehension processes, but also by basic decoding skills.

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Notes

  1. Additional measures were collected from participants but not analyzed in the context of the current study. These include RAN and WM measures in Hebrew and Russian as well as single word decoding in Russian.

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Correspondence to Tami Katzir.

Appendix: Sample story

Appendix: Sample story

Everyone says that 13-year-old Alon is a “born actor.” His parents say that even when he was 2 years old, he would stand at the table at family events and entertain the audience. When a theater department was opened at the performing arts school, it was clear that Alon would be the first to sign up for it. The theater class puts on shows twice a year. In preparation for the show, many rehearsals are held in the afternoons as well, and students spend a lot of time working on the sets and the characters’ costumes. For the first role he played, Alon had to find a shofter. Alon asked friends and neighbors if any of them had a shofter and explained that he needed a shofter because he was playing the role of an old man who has trouble keeping stable while walking. When he did not find what he was looking for, Alon had an idea—he went to the retirement home near his house and asked if they could help him out. The retirement home staff was happy to help him and promised to come see the play.

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Prior, A., Goldina, A., Shany, M. et al. Lexical inference in L2: predictive roles of vocabulary knowledge and reading skill beyond reading comprehension. Read Writ 27, 1467–1484 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-014-9501-8

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