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Es udios de
lingüís ica inglesa aplicada
THE EFFECTS OF USING L1 TRANSLATION ON YOUNG
LEARNERS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE VOCABULARY
LEARNING1
Aïda Codina Camó
Uni e sidad Au ónoma de Ba celona, Spain
[email p o ec ed]
Elisabe Plade all Balles e
Uni e sidad Au ónoma de Ba celona, Spain
[email p o ec ed]
DOI: h p://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/elia.2015.i15.06
In he ield o o eign language (FL) ocabula y acquisi ion, he e seems
o be a g owing awa eness o he ac ha he mo he ongue (L1) migh ha e a
acili a ing ole o language lea ne s. Resea ch has ound e idence o suppo
he posi i e e ec s o using he L1 as an ins uc ional ool, pa icula ly a he
ini ial s ages o FL lea ning. The p esen s udy explo es he ole ha he L1 plays
in young lea ne s’ e en ion o and access o English ocabula y. An expe imen al
g oup and he co esponding con ol g oup o 10-11 yea -old child en in an EFL
Ca alan school con ex we e ec ui ed o he s udy. The expe imen al g oup
was exposed o bo h he English inpu and he L1 ansla ion o he a ge i ems,
whe eas he con ol g oup ecei ed jus he English inpu . Di e ences be ween
he g oups in e ms o lexical e en ion and lexical access we e analysed. Resul s
o he p esen s udy sugges ha p o iding s uden s wi h he L1 equi alen s o he
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lexical i ems esul s in lea ne s e aining mo e lexical i ems, accessing hem wi h
g ea e ease and ecalling hem o longe pe iods o ime.
Key wo ds: Young lea ne s, o eign language lea ning, English
ocabula y lea ning, L1 use.
En el campo del ap endizaje del ocabula io de una lengua ex anje a,
pa ece habe cada ez más conciencia del hecho que la lengua ma e na (L1)
pod ía ene un papel acili ado pa a los ap endices de una lengua ex anje a.
La in es igación ha e idenciado los e ec os posi i os del uso de la L1 como una
he amien a de ins ucción, sob e odo en las e apas iniciales del ap endizaje
de la lengua ex anje a. És e es udio explo a el papel que desempeña la L1 en
la e ención y el acceso del ocabula io inglés en es udian es jó enes. Pa a el
p esen e es udio, se eclu a on un g upo expe imen al y el co espondien e g upo
con ol de niños de 10-11 años escola izados en un con ex o en el que, siendo el
ca alán la lengua ma e na de los es udian es, el inglés se enseña como lengua
ex anje a. El g upo expe imen al ue expues o al inpu en inglés y a la aducción
del ocabula io y, en con a pa ida, el g upo con ol solo ecibió el inpu en
inglés. Los esul ados de és e es udio mues an que p o ee a los es udian es
con la aducción del ocabula io hace que los alumnos e engan más elemen os
léxicos, accedan a ellos con mayo acilidad y los ecue den po pe íodos más
la gos de iempo.
Palab as cla e: Ap endices jó enes, ap endizaje de lenguas ex anje as,
ap endizaje del ocabula io inglés, uso de la L1.
1. In oduc ion
Vocabula y is conside ed o be a key componen o o eign language
(FL) lea ning as commanding an ex ensi e ange o wo ds is a cen al
equi emen o communica e e ec i ely in any language (Huls jin, 2001;
Ki , 2003; Na ion, 1990). A wide and g owing ange o echniques ha e been
p oposed o p omo e o eign language ocabula y de elopmen . Ins ances
o di e en app oaches include he use o mnemonic de ices, he p ac ice
o guessing ocabula y om con ex , he employmen o isual aids, he
applica ion o pai ed associa es and he use o dic iona ies, among many
o he s. These a ious app oaches a e e y o en linked and embedded in o
di e en b oad eaching me hods as, o ins ance, he na u alis ic app oach,
which a ou s mo e implici echniques o ocabula y de elopmen
(Lau e , 2005; Ox o d, 1990; Read, 2004).
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P o iding he mo he ongue (L1) ansla ion o he i ems being
augh is e y o en ega ded as a con o e sial p ac ice when used o deal
wi h ocabula y in o eign language con ex s. Resou cing o he L1 in
FL ocabula y eaching migh be seen as a nega i e and un ashionable
exe cise. Ne e heless, esea ch has ound clea ad an ages in linking FL
wo ds o hei L1 equi alen s, mo e signi ican ly a he ini ial s ages o
he lea ning p ocess when he ini ial o m-meaning connec ion has o be
es ablished (Cook, 2003; Jiang, 2002; Liu, 2009; Schmi , 2008).
The p esen s udy seeks o con ibu e new da a o he analysis o
he ole he L1 plays in young lea ne s’ e en ion o and access o English
ocabula y, as hese lea ne s ep esen he ini ial s ages o he FL lea ning
p ocess in he con ex analysed. Two g oups o Ca alan s uden s aged
be ween 10 and 11 pa icipa ed in his s udy. One g oup was exposed o
bo h he FL o ms o a se o lexical i ems and hei L1 equi alen s whe eas
he o he g oup was only p o ided wi h he English inpu . This con as i e
ins uc ional p ac ice is analysed in ela ion o lexical e en ion, memo y
e ec s and lexical access. Mo e speci ically, he main esea ch ques ions
add essed in he p esen s udy a e he ollowing (1) Does he use o L1
ansla ion p omo e sho and long- e m ocabula y e en ion? and (2)
Does he L1 ac as a acili a o in e ms o lexical access?
In line wi h o he s udies ca ied ou explo ing he e ec s o using
L1 ansla ion in o eign o second language ocabula y lea ning (G ace,
1998; Huls ijn, Hollande and G eidanus, 1996; Lau e and Shmueli,
1997; Liu, 2009; Lo o and de G oo , 1998; Maca o and Lee, 2013; P ince,
1996; Sieh, 2008; Van Hell and Candia Mahn, 1997), ou hypo hesis is
ha using he L1 when eaching ocabula y will be bene icial o young
lea ne s’ ocabula y lea ning. Pa icipan s p o ided wi h he L1 equi alen
ansla ions a e p edic ed o e ain mo e wo ds and access hem wi h g ea e
ease.
The p esen pape is di ided in 6 sec ions and i is o ganized as
ollows: sec ion 2 p esen s he heo e ical amewo k o he s udy, which
includes h ee di e en subsec ions: The i s subsec ion highligh s he
main di e ences be ween lea ning and acqui ing ocabula y, he second
one explo es s a egies used in ocabula y lea ning and inally, he hi d
subsec ion e iews he ole o he L1 in FL ocabula y eaching. The
me hodology o he s udy is p esen ed in Sec ion 3. Sec ions 4 and 5
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in oduce, analyse and discuss he esul s ob ained om he s udy and
inally some conclusions a e d awn.
2. Li e a u e e iew
2.1. L1 ocabula y acquisi ion s. FL ocabula y lea ning
Child en lea ning hei L1 ecei e a conside able s eam o u e ances and
a e capable o inducing, wi h li le supe ision, he wo ds om his s eam
(Ki , 2003). Such a p ocess is used by child en o acqui e a la ge numbe
o wo ds and hey do so a an ex ao dina y pace. In con as , lea ning FL
ocabula y p esen s a e y di e en scena io. The ac ha FL lea ne s a e
al eady equipped wi h an L1 and, hence, ha e de eloped concep ual and
seman ic sys ems linked o he L1, implies ha FL ocabula y lea ning will
in ol e, a leas in i s ini ial s ages, a mapping o he new lexical o ms on o
al eady exis ing concep ual meanings o ansla ional equi alen s in he L1
(Takač, 2008). In o he wo ds, when being exposed o a second language,
child en ha e al eady lea ned how o ca ego ise he wo ld om hei L1
expe ience and such ca ego isa ion is no likely o be e aced. Ins ead, he
FL lexical i ems a e p one o be associa ed o L1 ep esen a ions.
Models o bilingual lexical p ocessing like he Re ised Hie a chical
Model (K oll and S ewa , 1994) sugges ha “L1 wo d o ms a e di ec ly
linked o meaning a he concep ual le el, bu ha FL meaning is accessed
ia L1 wo d o ms” (K oll and Sunde man, 2003: 401). Resou cing o a
ange o e idence om c oss-language p iming, K oll (1993) also a gues
o a model o lexical and concep ual links be ween he L1 and he FL in
which he s eng h o such connec ions di e s depending on ac o s like
p o iciency and age o acquisi ion. Rega ding hese men ioned ac o s,
i ollows ha du ing he ea ly lea ning p ocess, he FL men al lexicon
seems o be mos likely o ganised in subo dina ion o he L1 han in mo e
ad anced s ages.
Fo eign language ocabula y lea ning di e ges om L1 acquisi ion
no only on accoun o he di e en men al o ganiza ion bu also wi h
espec o exposu e o he a ge language. Lea ning wo ds bo h in he L1
and in he FL is a cyclical p ocess which in ol es mee ing hese new wo ds
epea edly (Came on, 2001). As sugges ed by Lau e (2005), in o de o
lexical i ems o en e in o he long- e m memo y sys em, he lea ne needs
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o ha e epe i i e encoun e s wi h hem. Such a cyclical p ocess is mo e
likely o occu in imme sion con ex s in which language ends o be lea ned
wi hou paying special a en ion o ocabula y since massi e exposu e o
language gua an ees inciden al ocabula y acquisi ion (Ke s en, 2010).
Con e sely, he ype o inpu exposu e s uden s lea ning a FL ecei e
is o en limi ed o he class oom en i onmen . This condi ion does no
a ou child en lea ning a la ge amoun o ocabula y nei he simply
om exposu e no in a sho pe iod o ime. In FL lea ning con ex s, a
ema kable amoun o explici ocabula y ins uc ion is needed in o de o
s uden s o lea n ocabula y in a ela i ely sho pe iod o ime (Campbell,
Campbell & Dickinson, 2004).
2.2. S a egies o o eign language ocabula y eaching
A wide a ie y o app oaches ha e been p oposed o deal wi h ocabula y
in FL lea ning con ex s, which do no seem o os e he acquisi ion o
ocabula y in an inciden al way, as he FL lea ne is no likely o encoun e
a wo d nume ous imes so as o i o be na u ally acqui ed (Folse, 2004;
Lau e , 2005; Takač, 2008). In addi ion, a lea ne mus ha e a la ge FL
ocabula y o be able o guess he meaning o unknown wo ds om
su ounding con ex clues success ully. Such a p econdi ion en ails ha less
p o icien and/o younge lea ne s a e a a disad an age as hey a e likely
o ace conside able di icul ies in inc easing hei FL lexicon by in e ing
unknown wo d meanings om unclea con ex s. Explici ins uc ion
o ocabula y, which is he p ac ice used in he p esen s udy, is seen as
pa icula ly essen ial o FL lea ne s, pa icula ly beginne s and young
lea ne s, whose lack o ocabula y limi s hei eading o unde s anding
abili ies (Folse 2004; Anu hama, 2010).
I is commonly belie ed ha s a egies ha ake o m as he
p incipal pa h o meaning a e mo e e icien o FL lea ne s since hey
enhance memo isa ion. Once lea ne s ha e me and paid special a en ion
o he o m o a new wo d, hei ocabula y lea ning p ocess has begun. The
wo d being augh explici ly en e s he lea ne ’s sho e m memo y and
h ough epe i i e ocabula y eaching s o ed i ems become a ailable o
use in he longe e m. Speci ically o young language lea ne s, exposu e
o e y conc e e language ha connec s wi h objec s young lea ne s can
handle o see is c ucial in o de o de elop hei men al in en o y o lexical

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i ems (Came on, 2001). Techniques used o inc ease young lea ne s’
ocabula y include p esen ing ealia ha s uden s can expe imen wi h,
making use o mime, p esen ing illus a i e si ua ions in which ocabula y
is in oduced and using isual aids (Pin e , 2006). The use o pic u es has
been especially highligh ed in memo y esea ch since i has been asse ed
ha pic u es a e ecalled mo e e icien ly han wo ds (Ca pen e and Olson,
2012).
2.3. The use o he L1 in o eign language ocabula y lea ning
P e ious esea ch on using L1 equi alen o ms as a way o eaching,
accessing and/o memo ising FL lexical i ems has mainly ocused on
analysing adul in e media e- o-ad anced s uden s and sugges s ha
a bilingual eaching /p esen a ion me hod acili a es he lea ning and
e en ion o ocabula y (Huls ijn e al.,1996; Lau e and Shmueli, 1997;
Van Hell and Candia Mahn,1997; Lo o and de G oo , 1998; Liu, 2009)
As a as beginne s a e conce ned, in a s udy ca ied ou wi h
English speake s lea ning F ench, P ince (1996) ound e idence o suppo
he claim ha less p o icien s uden s a e also able o ecall mo e i ems
when hey lea n he wo ds in he ansla ion condi ion. Simila ly, G ace
(1998) also ga e suppo o ansla ion esul ing in lea ne s e aining
mo e wo ds. In his s udy, ansla ion was conside ed he p e e ed
op ion o he FL beginne s since i p o ided an oppo uni y o lea ne s
o double check he meanings o wo ds. Conside ing young beginne s,
Sieh (2008) conduc ed a s udy aiming a in es iga ing he way child en
p ocess and s o e English ocabula y in ini ial s ages o FL lea ning. Mo e
speci ically, he s a us o he L1 in FL ocabula y lea ning was explo ed
by measu ing he s uden s’ accu acy and hei eac ion imes in ela ion o
isual and audi o y s imuli. Six y- ou 9-yea -old s uden s om a subu ban
elemen a y school in sou he n Taiwan ook pa a s o y- elling p og amme
ocused on explici ocabula y eaching. The expe imen al and he con ol
g oup we e disc imina ed by a pedagogical di e ence: The o me was
ins uc ed only in English whe eas he la e was p o ided wi h he Chinese
ansla ion equi alen s o he selec ed English ocabula y. Resul s o he
s udy showed ha lea ne s who we e exposed o L1 ansla ions no only
gained mo e new wo ds bu hey we e also quicke in wo d e ie al. The
au ho ’s conclusion is ha he ac ha he wo languages we e connec ed
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made no only e en ion o bu also he access o English ocabula y much
mo e e ec i e.
Finally, aking in o conside a ion age, Maca o and Lee (2013)
explo ed whe he English only ins uc ion o using he L1 was di e en ially
bene icial o young and adul lea ne s ega ding ocabula y lea ning and
e en ion. Elemen a y school child en who had been s udying English
o a ew yea s and adul s a uni e si y wi h demons ably highe le els
o p o iciency we e selec ed o examine whe he he e ec s o using L1
as a ocabula y lea ning p ac ice a ied ac oss con as i e age g oups.
Findings o his s udy sugges ha al hough he use o he L1 was shown
o be mo e help ul o young lea ne s han o olde ones, bo h age g oups
bene i ed mo e om linking lexical i ems o hei L1 ansla ion han om
being p o ided wi h de ini ions o pa aph ases. All in all, esea ch seems
o gi e e idence o conside he L1 o be a use ul ool when app oaching
ocabula y lea ning, bo h o young and adul lea ne s, al hough p e ious
s udies on he use o L1 ansla ion wi h young lea ne s a e pa icula ly
sca ce. This s udy aims o con ibu e new young lea ne s’ da a o he ield
by analysing sho and long- e m e en ion o and access o FL lexical
i ems wi h and wi hou he use o he lea ne s’ L1.
3. Me hodology
3.1. Pa icipan s
A o al o 34 s uden s om wo i h g ade g oups o a Ca alan p ima y
school ook pa in he p esen s udy. The pupils we e all aged be ween 10
and 11 a he ime o he s udy. The wo g oups we e dis inguished by a
di e en ins uc ional p ac ice in ela ion o explici ocabula y eaching.
Du ing he s udy, he con ol g oup was ins uc ed in English only whe eas
he expe imen al g oup was p o ided wi h he L1 ansla ion o he chosen
lexical i ems. The con ol g oup was composed o 16 s uden s (7 male and
9 emale) and he expe imen al g oup consis ed o 18 pa icipan s (8 male
and 10 emale). All he child en pa icipa ing in he s udy had Ca alan as
hei L1and English was a o eign language o all o hem.
All he subjec s s a ed cu icula English ins uc ion when hey
we e i e yea s old and om ha age on hey had been exposed o h ee
hou s o English as a Fo eign Language (EFL) a week. Apa om hese
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cu icula hou s o English, some o he pa icipan s epo ed ha hey we e
o had been a ending ex a English lessons. In he con ol g oup, he e we e
10 s uden s a ending ex a classes and 6 who had ne e a ended hem.
As o he expe imen al g oup, 11 s uden s had a ended hem and 7 had
no . Hence, he pe cen age o s uden s a ending and no a ending p i a e
lessons is balanced be ween he wo g oups. Among he pa icipan s who
epo ed a ending ex a-cu icula lessons, a g ea a iabili y in he numbe
o hou s pe week as well as in he numbe o mon hs/yea s ha child en
had been exposed o hese lessons was obse ed. As o he numbe o
hou s pe week, ex a exposu e o English ep esen ed, in he as majo i y
o cases, as li le as 1 hou o , a he mos , wo hou s a week. Wi h ega ds
o he leng h o ime, o child en who had been a ending ex a lessons,
alues anged om 5 mon hs o 4 yea s, al hough many o he ones who
had been in ol ed in hese lessons o yea s epo ed ha hei a endance
had been i egula .
3.2. Ma e ials, design and p ocedu e
Explici ocabula y eaching h ough s o y elling was he p ac ice
employed in o de o in es iga e whe he he use o he mo he ongue in
ocabula y eaching helps lea ne s e ain and access new wo ds in a mo e
e ec i e way.
The chosen s o y o he s udy was The Tale o Pe e Rabbi (Po e ,
1902), om which a o al o 20 lexical i ems we e selec ed o be explici ly
augh . The chosen lexical i ems we e p esen ed h ough a s o y as s o ies
o e meaning ul and ich inpu while hey also help inc ease he lea ne s’
le el o mo i a ion, in e es , enjoymen and pleasu e owa ds ocabula y
lea ning. The Tale o Pe e Rabbi was conside ed sui able o he pu pose
o he s udy o wo easons. Fi s , i p esen s a simple plo which would
enable s uden s o ocus no only on he s o y line bu also on he selec ed
ocabula y. Secondly, he ac ha he s o y de elops in a u al se ing
helped inding many speci ic ocabula y i ems ha we e mos ce ainly
no p e iously known by he subjec s. Such a ac was u he assu ed wi h
he adminis a ion o a p e- es (see Appendix B and u he explana ion in
his sec ion).
Ini ially, s o y elling was supposed o be ca ied ou using only
some lashca ds wi h images o di e en scenes o he s o y. The exe cise
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o elling he s o y was pilo ed wi h a di e en g oup o 10 yea -olds. The
use o lashca ds made he lesson no e y dynamic and “ a he bo ing”,
as epo ed by some o he child en. I was e y di icul o g asp hei
a en ion, as hey would s op lis ening and would e en s a alking among
hemsel es. The pilo s udy indica ed ha he s o y migh ha e been oo
simple in e ms o plo o hold he in e es o 10 yea -olds o else ha
he non-dynamic na u e o lashca ds was seen as ex emely un ashionable
o kids who ha e g own up su ounded by echnology. Ha ing hese
conside a ions in mind, a second pilo expe imen was conduc ed, his ime
using a ideo o he ale o p esen he s o y and lashca ds o some i ems
ha would be used no o explain he s o y bu o emphasize he selec ed
ocabula y. A lashca d con aining an image and i s spelling coun e pa
was designed o each o he 20 i ems o be es ed (see Appendix A). This
second pilo esul ed in all he s uden s ca e ully lis ening o he s o y.
They e en asked o he s o y o be played again. Hence, using a ideo2 o
p esen he s o y was selec ed as he p ac ice o be used in he ac ual s udy.
Ha ing all he ma e ials eady o he s udy, a ocabula y es was
adminis e ed as an achie emen es o ensu e ha he wo ini ially selec ed
g oups we e compa able. The es was designed adap ing some exe cises
om he ex book he pa icipan s used in hei p e ious school yea :
Inc edible English 3 (Phillips and Mo gan, 2007). S uden s we e gi en
di e en se s o 5 o 8 hema ically ela ed images wi h a o al o 32 which
hey had o ma ch wi h hei co esponding spelling. The esul s o he
ocabula y es in each g oup we e compa ed by means o an independen
samples - es . Al hough he expe imen al g oup sco ed sligh ly highe
(M= 17.84, SD= 2.62) han he con ol g oup (M= 16.99, SD= 2.40), he
di e ence was no s a is ically signi ican : (34)=.985, p=.332.
Once he wo g oups we e shown o be compa able in e ms o hei
capaci y o e ain ocabula y, a bioda a ques ionnai e aiming a ga he ing
in o ma ion on he age, gende , educa ional backg ounds and linguis ic
habi s o he pa icipan s was gi en o all he subjec s (see sec ion 3.1 o he
esul s). In addi ion, a p e- es was ca ied ou o make su e he pa icipan s
we e no amilia wi h he selec ed lexical i ems p io o ins uc ion (see
Appendix B and sec ion 4 o he esul s). The p e- es included he 20
key i ems om he s o y which we e di ided in o h ee pa s so as o he
young lea ne s o be able o quickly make hei choice among six o eigh
pic u es. S uden s had o lis en o a eco ding and numbe a se o lexical
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could ins ead make use o he L1-FL connec ion wi h which hey we e
p o ided du ing ins uc ion, managed no only o main ain he numbe
o igh answe s o pos - es I bu o inc ease i . On he o he hand, he
con ol g oup ailed o make such connec ion and hus, hey wen h ough
a memo y dec ease.
Conside ing he las pos - es , al hough om pos - es II o pos -
es III he expe imen al g oup also unde wen a wo d dec ease, his was
s a is ically di e en om he mo e conside able dec ease demons a ed
by he con ol g oup. In ac , conside ing he o e all g oup e olu ion, no
s a is ically signi ican di e ences we e ound be ween pos - es I and
pos - es III o he expe imen al g oup whe eas he wo d dec ease om
hese wo es s was signi ican o he g oup ha was no p o ided wi h
he L1 equi alen s o he a ge lexical i ems. In connec ion o he i s
esea ch ques ion, such a ac implies ha p o iding young lea ne s wi h
bo h he L1 and he FL o ms o lexical i ems does ha e an impac on hei
ocabula y gain since he connec ion o he wo languages a he lexical
le el seems o make e en ion o English ocabula y easie .
Resea ch has ound ha since lea ne s exposed o a o eign
language possess a well-es ablished L1 concep ual and lexical sys em,
FL wo ds a e likely o be linked o he al eady exis ing L1 concep ual
ep esen a ions. The ac ha his s udy was ca ied ou wi h young
lea ne s gi es u he suppo o p edic he pa icipan s’ eliance on he L1
ansla ions since i has been a es ed ha s ong links be ween a concep
and i s L1 lexical ep esen a ion exis a ini ial s ages o o eign language
lea ning (K oll, 1993; K oll and S ewa , 1994; K oll and Sunde man,
2003; Ke s en, 2010; Maca o and Lee, 2013). Consequen ly, and as
i has been shown in he p esen s udy, L1 ansla ion eaching p ac ice
enhances he connec ion be ween he FL and he L1 wo d o ms and
ul ima ely acili a es young lea ne s’ e en ion o new ocabula y. The
in e iews ca ied ou in he p esen s udy lend u he suppo o he claim
ha pa icipan s p o ided wi h he L1 ansla ion accessed he FL wo ds
h ough hei L1. The lea ne s’ limi ed p o iciency in English s eng hened
hei eliance on he L1 and hey we e able o e ain mo e wo ds p ecisely
because hey could ma ch he FL o ms di ec ly o hei al eady exis ing
L1 men al ep esen a ions. S uden s in he con ol g oup we e no p o ided
wi h he L1 du ing ins uc ion and his made wo d access and e en ion
slowe and mo e di icul . This was shown by hei subs an ial dec ease in

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lexical e en ion om pos - es I o pos - es II and e en mo e ega ding
pos - es III.
As a as lexical access is conce ned and in ela ion o esea ch
ques ion (2), he ac ha he con ol g oup would ma ch wo ds di ec ly
o hei co esponding pic u es and he expe imen al g oup had o p ocess
one mo e s ep accessing he L1 ansla ion equi alen s could well lead o
he p edic ion ha he con ol g oup would p oduce sho e eac ion imes.
Ne e heless, and in line wi h p e ious esea ch (Sieh, 2008) esul s o he
compu e ised es s showed ha using he L1 in conjunc ion wi h he FL in
eaching FL ocabula y was also bene icial in e ms o lexical access since
pa icipan s in he expe imen al g oup had sho e eac ion imes. Again,
he s onge connec ion o he FL wo d o ms o L1 ep esen a ions in he
expe imen al g oup made hem ou pe o m he con ol g oup also in e ms
o speed o lexical access.
As poin ed ou by Snodg ass (1993), connec ing a FL wo d o i s
ansla ed equi alen yields a eac ion ime ad an age o FL–L1 ansla ion.
Since FL wo d o ms a e connec ed o L1 ep esen a ions in ea ly o eign
language lea ning, he wo g oups had o loca e he phonological cues o
he L1 ansla ion equi alen s be o e he pic u e-decision was made. As
sugges ed by Sieh (2008), he ac ha he con ol g oup p oduced longe
eac ion imes is linked o hem ha ing o unde go a u he p ocess:
si ua ing he L1 ep esen a ions o he FL wo ds. On he o he hand, he
expe imen al g oup managed o espond as e because o hei eadily-
ma ched connec ion o English phonological o ms o hei L1 ansla ion
equi alen s. Thus, ins uc ion ha p o ides s uden s wi h he connec ion
o FL wo ds in o L1 o ms seems o ha e a posi i e ole o young o eign
language lea ne s in e ms o bo h e en ion and access.
A numbe o limi a ions a e acknowledged in he p esen s udy.
Fi s , al hough he ime spen in each o he ins uc ion sessions was he same
o bo h g oups, he expe imen al g oup ine i ably ecei ed mo e exposu e
o he a ge lexical i ems as hey we e exposed o bo h he L1 and FL wo d
o ms o each i em. Secondly, he ac ha s uden s we e adminis e ed ou
es s ha ing he same o ma (p e- es , pos - es I, pos - es II and pos -
es III) could be conside ed a ac o a ec ing hei es - aking abili ies
in ha al hough hey we e no gi en eedback on hei pe o mance, hey
acqui ed p ac ice in illing in his kind o es . Mo eo e , he lexical i ems
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we e andomly a anged in he di e en es s ca ied ou h oughou he
s udy, which mean ha ine i ably some lexical combina ions could ha e
been easie o pa icipan s o ma ch. Also, he usage o pic u es o p esen
ocabula y as well as he w i en inpu included in he lashca ds could
ha e played a ole in young lea ne s’ ocabula y e en ion ha may ha e
diminished he L1-yes e sus L1-no ac o . As o he compu e ised es ,
pa icipan s had o make hei choice among wo pic u es, which mean
ha hey possibly had o access he wo d- o m o bo h lexical i ems o
be able o decide which one ma ched he audi o y s imulus hey had been
gi en. Such a ac mean ha he RTs did no accu a ely show whe he
he ime used o ma ch he audi o y and he pic o ial s imuli included he
access o one o wo lexical i ems. Finally, i would ha e been in e es ing o
adminis e a w i en es in which s uden s had o p o ide he L1 ansla ion
o he lexical i ems o see whe he he pa icipan s no p o ided wi h he
ansla ion du ing ins uc ion could eally come up wi h he equi alen s,
and hence, o explo e whe he hey elied jus on he image o whe he hey
eally unde s ood he meaning o he concep s.
Fu he esea ch on his opic could include compa ing he p ac ice
o using L1 equi alen s e sus English-only ins uc ion in child en o
di e en ages, o ins ance p e and pos c i ical pe iod child en, in o de o
see whe he he use o he L1 is equally bene icial in di e en young age
g oups. I would also be in e es ing o look a mo e ad anced le els since
i seems clea ha he FL is connec ed o he L1 a he ini ial s ages o he
lea ning p ocess, bu i seems ha as he lea ne becomes mo e ad anced,
eliance on he L1 dec eases.
6. Conclusion
The p esen s udy aimed a explo ing he ole he L1 plays in young
lea ne s’ e en ion o and access o English ocabula y. Mo e speci ically,
he s udy has a emp ed o de e mine (1) whe he he use o L1 ansla ion
aids sho and long- e m ocabula y e en ion and (2) whe he he L1 ac s
as a acili a o in e ms o lexical access.
Da a we e ob ained om a p e- es and h ee pos - es s o explo e
di e ences be ween and wi hin he g oups in ela ion o ocabula y gain
and memo y e ec s. A compu e ised es was conduc ed o measu e
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possible di e ences be ween he g oups in ela ion o lexical access. In line
wi h p e ious esea ch ca ied ou in o eign language ocabula y lea ning,
esul s o he p esen s udy showed s a is ically signi ican di e ences in
he ou comes o he wo con as i e ins uc ional p ac ices, bene i ing he
g oup who had been ins uc ed using he L1 ansla ion equi alen s. Da a
collec ed om eco ded in e iews ca ied ou wi h he pa icipan s also
de e mined om a mo e quali a i e poin o iew he s ong endency o
s uden s o eso o he L1 when accessing he FL lexical i ems.
Resul s a e accoun ed o by he ac ha du ing he ea ly s ages o
o eign language lea ning he FL lexis seems o be mos likely o ganised
in subo dina ion o he L1 men al lexicon. To conclude, al hough he use
o he L1 is o en neglec ed in he o eign language class oom, he p esen
s udy sugges s ha he mo he ongue can be used as a bene icial a he
han a de imen al ool o p omo e o eign language ocabula y lea ning.
No es
1 A p e ious e sion o his a icle was submi ed as a BA disse a ion in he
Depa amen de Filologia Anglesa i de Ge manís ica a Uni e si a Au ònoma
de Ba celona, Spain in June 2014 and is a ailable a h ps://ddd.uab.ca /pub/
g/2014/123365/TFG_aidacodina.pd
2 h ps://www.you ube.com/wa ch? =Mis UJX3QGU
3
h p://www.wo ken.com.b
4 The le el o signi icance will be p < 0.05 all h oughou he analysis.
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Appendices
Appendix A: Flashca ds
ROOT BASKET BLACKBERRIES
UMBRELLA WOOD FIRE
BAKERY NET RAKE
PARSLEY LETTUCE CUCUMBER
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GATE TOOLSHED TEARS
SCARECROW FLOWERPOT WATERING CAN
BEANS BUSH
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Appendix B: P e- es
Appendix C: Pos - es I