Word and child characteristics in vocabulary learning of native English speakers and bilingual learners

Jie Zhang*, Meng Ting Lo, Tzu Jung Lin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study investigated how word and child characteristics affect children's ability to learn the meanings of novel words. Participants were fourth- and fifth-graders representing native English speakers (NE) and bilingual learners with fluent English proficiency (FEP) and designated English Learners (EL). Students were taught the meanings of a series of novel words that were either morphologically related or unrelated. Results showed that compared to the EL group, the NE and FEP groups were better able to learn the meanings of morphologically related words than morphologically unrelated words. The effect of morphological relatedness on semantic learning was stronger for the target words with familiar suffixes than with novel suffixes. Students learned the meanings of derivatives with familiar suffixes faster than the derivatives with novel suffixes. Verbal working memory and word reading fluency significantly predicted word learning performance. Implications for vocabulary instruction for learners with varying English proficiency are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)147-173
Number of pages27
JournalReading and Writing
Volume36
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2023

Keywords

  • English proficiency
  • Morphological awareness
  • Morphological relation
  • Vocabulary learning
  • Vocabulary learning

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