What constitutes vocabulary learning difficulty? - A classroom-based study of semantic relatedness and L1 familiarity effects on L2 word learning

Oct 15, 2026

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This classroom-based study revisits what constitutes vocabulary learning difficulty by examining how semantic relatedness and L1 familiarity shape second language (L2) word learning. Prior research is limited by inadequate control of lexical properties of target words, producing mixed findings. Four matched sets of English target words (high/low L1 familiarity crossed with semantic related/unrelated sets) were learned by 41 EFL learners, followed by immediate and one-week delayed receptive posttests. Semantic relatedness showed a negative delayed effect, while L1 familiarity consistently facilitated learning, including possible interference when L1 familiarity levels were similar.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Mapping lexical forms to meanings

Semantic sets versus unrelated sets

Literature Review

Theoretical underpinnings regarding the semantic relatedness effect

Semantic relatedness and semantic clustering

| | | | --- | --- | | Australian Journal ofApplied Linguistics, 4 (3), 82–102 (2021) [https://doi.org/10.29140/ajal.v4n3.545](https://doi.org/10.29140/ajal.v4n3.545) | | | What constitutes vocabulary learning difficulty? A classroom-based study of semantic relatedness and L1 familiarity effects on L2 word learning | | | HANZHONG SUN a
SHAOHUA FANG b
a Quzhou University, China b University of Pittsburgh, USA
[sunhanzhong@foxmail.com](sunhanzhong@foxmail.com) [shf64@pitt.edu](shf64@pitt.edu) | | | Abstract
There has been a plethora of studies investigating the effect of semantic relatedness on second language (L2) word learning.However, most prior studies failed to control for the lexical properties of target words, which may be responsible for the mixed results yielded. This study, therefore, sets out to revisit this issue by controlling for L1 familiarity, one of the lexical factors confirmed to impact L2 learnability. Another goal of this study is to explore the extent to which semantic relatedness interacts with L1 familiarity, thus helping us determine the suitable condition under which word learning takes place. Towards these two aims, four sets of English target words matched in length were created (i.e., words of high/low L1 familiarity placed in semantic related/unrelated sets) . For each set, after the timed learning session, an immediate posttest and an unannounced one-week delayed posttest, both of which measured the receptive knowledge of the target words, were administered to forty-one English as foreign language (EFL) learners. The results showed that (a) semantic relatedness negatively affected L2 word learning on the delayed posttest only, regardless of L1 familiarity status, suggesting a robust hindrance effect; (b) L1 familiarity persistently served asa facilitative force, as it aided the acquisition of both semantically related and unrelated word sets on both posttests; (c) similar L1 familiarity levels might result in additional interference. Our findings highlight the complex interplay between these two input-related variables.
Keywords: semantic relatedness, L1 familiarity, L2 word learning, interference | | | | | Copyright: © 2021 Hanzhong Sun & Shaohua Fang. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4. 0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Data Availability Statement: All relevant data are within this paper. Introduction One of the essential tasks involved in second language (L2) word learning is to map lexical forms to meanings 1 (Henriksen, 1999; Jiang, 2002; Schmitt, 2008) . Given the opaque relationship between these two aspects (DeKeyser, 2016), this process can sometimes be exceedingly challenging, especially for beginning learners, susceptible to a variety of item-, learner-, and context-related variables (Housen & Simoens, 2016; Suzuki, Nakata & DeKeyser, 2019) . In terms of item difficulty, Housen and Simoens (2016) made a fine distinction between intrinsic feature properties and input properties. Of these two, the investigation of input-related features may likely yield more pedagogical suggestions regarding how to best promote learning outcomes, as these features can be manipulated with relative ease even in natural classroom settings. Learners usually receive multiple exposures to the target language to master a word. One of the things weighed up in this process is whether new words should be introduced in semantically related versus unrelated sets. Interestingly, despite extensive scholarly attention (Erten & Tekin, 2008; Finkbeiner & Nicol, 2003; Hong & Feng, 2014; Hoshino, 2010; Ishii, 2015; Jiang, Jong, Tse & Chai, 2020; Nakata & Suzuki, 2019; Papathanasiou, 2009; Tinkham, 1993, 1997; Waring, 1997; Wilcox & Medina, 2013; Zhang & Sheng, 2009), results to date remain inconclusi

FAQs

What does the study examine as “vocabulary learning difficulty”?

It examines how semantic relatedness and L1 familiarity affect difficulty in L2 word learning, especially regarding receptive knowledge measured after learning.

How were the English target words organized for the experiment?

Four sets of English target words were created by matching word length and crossing L1 familiarity (high/low) with semantic relatedness (related/unrelated).

What were the main findings about semantic relatedness and L1 familiarity?

Semantic relatedness negatively affected delayed L2 word learning regardless of L1 familiarity, while L1 familiarity persistently facilitated acquisition across both immediate and delayed posttests.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Franzy