Proficiency as a Predictor of Lexical Representation in English Speakers Learning German

Abstract

The question of whether two languages are stored and retrieved in one interacting network or two independent networks, and whether or not those processes differ based on ability in a second language is examined. English students learning German at different levels of ability - beginner, intermediate, and advanced performed a bilingual lexical decision task where German and English were presented together in associated and unassociated pairs. The reaction times and error rates were analyzed. Main effects of word pair type, association, and proficiency were found in the error analysis and a word pair by association by proficiency interaction effect was also found. Reaction time analysis yielded a main effect for word pair type, and an interaction of word pair by association by proficiency. Evidence for a single shared network was found, but the organization of that network seems to differ between proficiency groups. Implications of these results are discussed.

Notes

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Thesis Completion

2003

Semester

Fall

Advisor

Sims, Valerie

Degree

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Program

Psychology

Subjects

Arts and Sciences -- Dissertations, Academic; Dissertations, Academic -- Arts and Sciences; Bilingualism; German language -- Study and teaching -- English speakers; Second language acquisition

Format

Print

Identifier

DP0021770

Language

English

Access Status

Open Access

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Document Type

Honors in the Major Thesis

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