L2 Word Learnability in Thai High School Learners of English

Abstract

Word knowledge is the result of a long and complex process of learning (e.g., Nation, 2013; Schmitt, 2008). Specifically, acquiring a word involves the amount of effort, and different word aspects have different learning burdens for learners. The ease or difficulty of learning a word depends on the nature of the aspects of the word. Therefore, this study aims to investigate L2 word learnability in order to understand the roles of word knowledge aspects (form, meaning, and use) both receptively and productively and their impact on the ease or difficulty of learning a second language vocabulary. Two hundred sixty-one Thai EFL high school learners were given a battery test, including the Word Segmentation Test (WST), Affix Elicitation Test (AET), L2 Translation Test (L2TT), L1 Translation Test (L1TT), Collocation Recognition Test (CRT), and Productive Collocation Recall Test (PCRT). The results of the study indicated the hierarchy of L2 word learnability in Thai high school participants. The form of a word is acquired first, followed by its meaning, and, at last, word use. Indeed, the current study highlighted the difficulty levels of word knowledge to be acquired. The findings also showed that word knowledge aspects are closely related. Overall, these findings indicated that learning a word is the result of a long and incremental process, starting from the recognition of a word to the ability to use it in a real context. To conclude, multiple aspects of word knowledge together are more useful in vocabulary acquisition than a single knowledge alone. Longitudinal research is needed to examine the pattern of word learning and changes in different education levels.

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