Vocabulary size and depth of word knowledge in adult‐onset second language acquisition

This study investigated whether adult-onset second language (L2) learners achieve native level vocabulary after decades of immersion. Vocabulary tests were given to three groups of participants: highly successful adult-onset learners of English, monolingual English speakers, and bilingual native speakers of English. Overall, the native speakers outperformed the non-native speakers; however, the rate of native like achievement was remarkably high among the successful adult-onset learners, which indicated that native level L2 vocabulary size and depth of word knowledge were attainable in adulthood. Factors that correlated with native level L2 vocabulary were: childhood caregivers' education, verbal ability and literacy in the native language, and interest in word learning and daily reading. The findings suggest that the lexicon may be the potentially most successful area of adult-onset L2 learning. Olyan felnőttkori angol nyelvtanulok szokincset vizsgaltuk, akik tobb evtizedig amerikai angol nyelvteruleten tartozkodtak es az angol nyelvet sikeresen elsajatitottak. A felnőttkori angol nyelvtanulokat ket kontroll csoporttal hasonlitottuk ossze szokincsfelmerő tetszek alapjan: egy nyelven beszelő amerikai angol anyanyelvűekkel es tobb nyelven beszelő amerikai angol anyanyelvűekkel. Mindent osszevetve, az angol anyanyelvű kontroll csoportok magasabb eredmenyt ertek el. Ennek ellenere meglepően magas volt a sikeres felnőttkori nyelvtanulo mintacsoportban azoknak az aranya, akik anyanyelvi szintű angol szokincset ertek el, ami arra utal, hogy egy idegennyelv szokincse felnőttkorban is elsajatithato anyanyelvi szinten. Regresszioproba harom osszetett faktort hozott statisztikai osszefuggesbe az anyanyelvi szintű idegennyelvi szokinccsel azoknak a felnőttkori nyelvtanuloknak a koreben, akik tobb evtizedig nyelvteruleten tartozkodtak: (1) szuleik/nevelőik iskolai vegzettsege, (2) magyar anyanyelvi kezseguk es iras-olvasas tudasszintjuk, (3) erdeklődesuk a szokincsfejlesztes es a mindennapi olvasas irant. Az eredmeny azt jelzi, hogy a szokincs nagysaga es melysege a felnőttkori nyelvelsajatitas potencialisan legsikeresebb terulete.

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