Using psycholinguistic measures to
research vocabulary: Evidence
from reaction time (RT) and
eye-tracking
Theory and Practice in Vocabulary Learning and Teaching
University of Reading
20th January 2012
Ana Pellicer-Sánchez
University of Nottingham
Key issues
• Importance of vocabulary knowledge
• Need to master high number of words
• What do we need to know about words?
Multiple Aspects of Vocabulary
Knowledge
Aspects of Lexical Knowledge
(Nation, 2001)
FORM
MEANING
USE
written
spoken
word parts
form & meaning
concept & referents
associations
grammatical functions
collocations
register/frequency
Fluency &
Automaticity
Aspects of Lexical Knowledge
Continuum of mastery
No knowledge
Complete Mastery
Automaticity
Very slow
Very fast
Study 1 and Study 2
“Acquisition of automaticity and speed of
lexical access in the language
classroom”
Studies 1 & 2- Aims
• Can automaticity and speed of lexical
access benefit from classroom instruction?
and if so,
• Which teaching approach is more
beneficial?
Studies 1 & 3- Methodology
• Two main teaching and learning approaches:
•Implicit/Incidental learning:
“Incidental learning can occur when one is using
language for communicative purposes”
(Schmitt, 2000:120).
▫Explicit/Intentional learning:
“Explicit learning focuses attention directly on
the information to be learned” (Schmitt,
2000:120).
Studies 1 & 2- Methodology
• Participants: 20/21 students of Spanish as a FL
• Structure:
Test 1
Week 1
Treatment
Weeks 2 & 3
Test 2
1 month later
Studies 1 & 2- Methodology
•
-
Tests:
E-Prime software
Yes-no decision
Meaning-form link
RTs recorded
Instructions + Practice session + Test
Target and control words
Studies 1 & 2- Methodology
• STUDY 1:
- Two sessions
- Incidental approach
- Exposure through reading for
comprehension
• STUDY 2:
- Two sessions
- Explicit/Engaged approach
- Exposure through vocabulary activities
Studies 1 & 2- RTs
Pre-test
jefe
RT1 = 850 ms
Post-test
jefe
RT2 = 780 ms
Two measures:
1) Raw RT
2) Coefficient of Variation (CV)= M/SD
(Segalowitz & Segalowitz, 1993)
Studies 1 & 2: Main findings
• Acquisition of declarative knowledge from both
approaches.
• Advantage of the explicit approach.
• Automaticity of vocabulary knowledge can be
acquired in the language classroom.
• It might need more explicit, focused exposure.
• No significant effect of the number of repetitions
in the acquisition of automaticity and speed of
lexical access.
Study 3
“Acquiring automaticity and speed of
lexical processing in reading”
Study 3- Aims
1) What happens when L2 learners encounter new words
while reading? How are new words read?
2) How many times do L2 learners need to read a new
word before showing a more fluent and automatic
reading?
Study 3- Methodology
• Participants:
 15 non-natives speakers of English
 7 males, 8 females
 Ages: from 21 to 32 years old (M= 25.5)
 Variety of L1s: Portuguese, Spanish, Greek, Chinese,
Hindi, Lithuania, Polish, Romanian.
 PG students
 Self-rated reading abilities ≥ 8 (10-point scale)
Study 3- Methodology
• Structure:
Reading Activity + post-reading assessment
• Materials:
 Reading text:
▫ Short story
▫ 2,298 words
▫ High-frequency vocabulary (3k from the
BNC)
Study 3- Methodology
• Target vocabulary:
Nonword
Meaning/ Word replaced
N Repetitions
1. holter
house (1k); shelter (3k)
8
2. berrow
bowl (2k)
8
3. bancel
criminal/ prisoner (2k)
8
4. cambul
ring (1k)
8
5. twoser
noise (2k)
8
6. soters
clothes (1k)
8
Study 3- Apparatus and Procedure
• Instruments:
▫ Eye tracker: Eyelink I
▫ Calibration (at the
beginning and half way
through the experiment)
▫ Practice session
▫ Experimental session
(25 screens)
▫ Comprehension Questions
▫ Post-tests
▫ Less than 1 hour
Study 3-Instruments
Part 1-Form recognition test:
Example:
d) hackol
ry
e
V
1
in
un
2
3
n
ai
t
er
c
n
rta
e
c
U
4
ce
rta
in
c) hacklon
Ve
ry
b) acklon
Ce
rta
in
a) ackol
1. a) hotler
b) holter
c) houter
d) houler
1
2
3
4
2. a) twoser
b) twonse
c) twiser
d) twines
1
2
3
4
…
Study 3-Instruments
Part 2-Meaning Recall test: Interviews
Part 3-Meaning Recognition test:
1) holter
a) basement
b) workhouse
c) prison
d) food hall
e) I don’t know.
2) cambul
a) picture
b) plate
c) window
d) ring
e) I don’t know
1
2
3
4
1
2
3
4
Part 4-Reading strategies Interviews
Study 3-Eye-tracking measures
1)
2)
3)
4)
First fixation duration = 3
First pass reading time = 3 + 4
Fixation count= 3 fixations
Total reading time = 3+4+6
1
4
3
2
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Study 3- Declarative knowledge
(Preliminary results)
**
6
**
** p< .001
5
Form recognition
4
3
Meaning recall
5.4
(90%)
3.8
(63%)
2
5
(83%)
1
0
Form recognition
Meaning recall
Meaning recognition
Meaning
recognition
Study 3- Eye-movements
(Preliminary results)
800
**
700
600
500
**
400
First Fixation
Duration
First Pass Reading
Time
Total Reading Time
**p ≤ .001
300
200
100
0
Rep 1 Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6 Rep 7 Rep 8
Study 3- Results (Preliminary results)
3
**
2.5
N Fixations
2
**p ≤ .001
1.5
1
0.5
0
Rep 1
Rep 2 Rep 3 Rep 4 Rep 5 Rep 6
Rep 7 Rep 8
Study 3- Conclusion
• Effectiveness of reading for incidental acquisition
of multiple components of vocabulary
knowledge.
• Acquisition of fluency of reading:
 Significant effect of the N of repetitions for
unknown words (not for controls)
3-5
repetitions.
 Similarity to known words by 8 repetitions.
General conclusion
• Studies 1 & 2:
- Automaticity and speed of lexical access
can benefit from classroom instruction.
- It might take more explicit exposure
- No effect of frequency of exposure.
• Study 3:
- Automaticity, fluency, and speed of learners’
reading of new vocabulary can be acquired
incidentally from repeated exposure.
- Significant effect after 3-5 repetitions.
• Measures of RT and eye-tracking are effective means
of measuring vocabulary acquisition.
References
• Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another
language. Cambridge: University Press.
• Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching.
Cambridge: University Press.
• Segalowitz, N., & Segalowitz, S. (1993). Skilled
performance, practice, and the differentiation of speedup from automatization effects: Evidence from second
language word recognition. Applied Psycholinguistics,
14 (3), 369-385.
• Pellicer-Sánchez, A. & Schmitt, N. (2010). Incidental
Vocabulary Acquisition from an Authentic Novel: Do
things fall apart? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1),
31-55.
• Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary
knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28,46–65.