Publications

L3 Vocabulary Acquisition: Lexical access and the role of proficiency

Conference
29th AESLA International Conference
Year
2011
Location
Salamanca
Links

The incorporation of new representations into the mental lexicon has raised numerous questions about the organisational principles that govern the process. A number of studies have argued that similarity between the new L3 items and existing representations in the L1 and L2 is the main incorporating force (Hall & Ecke, 2003; Herwig, 2001). Experimental evidence obtained through a primed picture-naming task supports Hall and Ecke’s Parasitic Model of L3 vocabulary acquisition, displaying a significant main effect for both priming and proficiency. These results complement current models of vocabulary acquisition and lexical access in multilingual speakers.