The effect of frequency on learners’ ability to recall the forms of deliberately learned L2 multiword expressions

In incidental learning, vocabulary items with high or relatively high objective frequency in input are comparatively likely to be acquired. However, many single words and most multiword expressions (MWEs) occur infrequently in authentic input. It has therefore been argued that learners of school age or older can benefit from episodes of instructed or self-managed deliberate (or intentional) L2 vocabulary learning, especially when L2 is learned in an EFL environment and most especially when productive knowledge is the goal. A relevant question is whether the objective frequency of vocabulary items is an important factor in production-oriented deliberate L2 vocabulary learning. We report three small-scale interim meta-analyses addressing this question with regard to two-word English Adj-Noun and Noun-Noun expressions. The data derive from 8 original studies involving 406 learners and 139 different MWEs. Our results suggest that objective frequency has a weak, possibly negative effect in the deliberate learning of MWE forms

When does assonance make L2 lexical phrases memorable?

Among the challenges that second language learners face is that of acquiring a large num-ber of lexical phrases such as collocations and idiomatic expressions (e.g. Pawley & Syder, 1983; Willis, 1990; Nattinger & DeCarrico, 1992; Lewis, 1993). There is evidence that post-childhood learners master this dimension of L2 vocabulary very slowly (e.g. Li & Schmitt, 2010; Laufer & Waldman, 2011). In recent years, researchers have tested diverse proposals about how learners can be helped to acquire L2 phrases (see Boers & Lind-stromberg, 2012). The factor we explore in the present article, however, is a phonological feature that may make word combinations relatively noticeable and easy to acquire, namely, assonance

Further Evidence of the Comparative Memorability of Alliterative Expressions in Second Language Learning

Previous research has furnished evidence that alliterative expressions (e.g. a slippery slope) are comparatively memorable for second language learners, at least when these expressions are attended to as decontextualized items (Lindstromberg and Boers, 2008a; Boers et al., 2012). The present study investigates whether alliteration renders lexical phrases comparatively memorable also when these phrases are encountered in texts read primarily with a focus on content. Fifty-four EFL students read a text adapted so as to include five instances of 12 idiomatic expressions. The results of surprise post-tests suggest that the alliterative phrases among these target expressions left significantly stronger memory traces than the non-alliterative ones, especially regarding the form or composition of the phrases

Structural elaboration to foster vocabulary retention: effects of sound repetition and attention direction

It has frequently been observed that L1 words which share beginnings, such as onset consonants, are especially likely to render each other accessible in memory (Aitchison, 2003). In L2 research several experimental studies have found that learners who have been exposed to a list of decontextualized alliterative and non-¬‐alliterative L2 collocations (e.g., full force and full speed) find it relatively easy to recall the alliteratives (Lindstromberg & Boers, 2008; Boers, Lindstromberg & Eyckmans, 2012, 2013). The observed effect appears to be greatest when the learners’ attention is directed to the structural properties of the collocations. However, these studies touched on targeted collocations that were familiar to the participants before the study phase. In this paper we will cast light on the effect sound repetition on the long term retention of novel, authentic expressions in L2. In two separate classroom experiments, Dutch-¬‐ speaking learners of English were asked to study a list of unknown expressions, half of which contain sound repetition. One group of learners was asked to mark occurrences of sound repetition in the content words of the expressions (e.g., miss the mark; get the show on the road). The second group of learners had the same time on task but was not given the attention direction task. Form recall of the expressions was measured in a cued recall test immediately after the study phase and two weeks later. A comparative discussion of the results of both data sets will divulge whether (1) sound repetition causes expressions to be inherently more memorable, (2) attention direction is at the expense of the recall of the non-¬‐distinctive expressions

The particular need for replication in the quantitative study of SLA : a case study of the mnemonic effect of assonance in collocations

Recent surveys of published reports of quasi-experimental studies of second language acquisition (SLA) indicate that low statistical power is pervasive owing in large part to small average sample sizes. The surveys do not indicate a marked trend toward samples that are larger. After illustrating the problem of low power in SLA research, we review arguments that increased replication of original studies can enable small-sample quantitative researchers to make firmer contributions to the field of SLA, especially if estimation of effect sizes and the practice of on-going statistical meta-analysis become routine. As a case study, we describe a series of small-sample quasi-experiments of which the first five found a short term positive mnemonic effect of interword, intra-phrase vowel repetition (or assonance) on learners’ retention of the forms of L2 collocations (e.g. strong bond vs. firm hold), whereas a sixth study newly reported here found negative effects. The case study illustrates the roles of replication and meta-analysis in successive re-adjustments of an original estimate. More specifically, the case study illustrates a meta-analytic approach to making sense of conflicting outcomes. All in all, it illustrates why small-sample researchers need to adopt a more long-term view

How big is the positive effect of assonance on the near-term recall of L2 collocations?

High proficiency in L2 partly depends on acquiring many formulaic sequences (FSs), yet post-childhood learners find this difficult. Ways of accelerating the acquisition of FSs would be welcome. Small-scale studies have indicated that assonance (e.g., strong bond) makes studied FSs especially retrievable if, during exposure, assonance is made the object of teacher-instigated awareness-raising and attention direction. However, questions remain about effect size and duration. In two new experiments a mnemonic effect of assonance was detected after 5-10 minutes. This was despite a sorting task thought likely to direct participants’ attention particularly to the control collocations. The effect appeared to fade over an hour and disappear after a day. A small-scale meta-analysis indicates the effect is initially of medium size. We discuss how short-term operation of such an effect could facilitate the fuller acquisition of partly learned assonant FSs. We propose avenues for research into means whereby the mnemonic effect of assonance might be exploited in learning materials. We touch on effects of item frequency, mutual information, and concreteness-imageability of meaning