Preferred Lexical Access Route in Persian Learners of English: Associative, Semantic or Both

Background: Words in the Mental Lexicon (ML) construct semantic field through associative and/ or semantic connections, with a pervasive native speaker preference for the former. Non-native preferences, however, demand further inquiry. Previous studies have revealed inconsistent Lexical Access (LA) patterns due to the limitations in the methodology and response categorization. Objectives: To fill the gap, we employed a primed Picture Naming (PN) task for investigating the relations between concepts in the ML of Iranian EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. We also explored whether conscious priming at a long prime-target stimulus onset asynchrony affected the naming latency of the learners with different proficiency levels. Materials & Methods: The participants were ۳۱ EFL learners (۱۱-۱۶ years old) at A۱ and A۲ levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages. They were recruited in summer ۲۰۲۰ from language institutes in Bushehr and Kazeroon cities, Iran, through a convenience sampling method. They performed a PN task, including ۶۶ prime-target pairs presented in associative, semantic, both semantic and associative, or unrelated conditions. The mixed-effects modeling was used for data analysis. Results: Based on the likelihood ratio test of model comparisons for condition effect (χ۲ (۱) =۹.۰۷, P=۰.۰۰۲), the interaction of condition, frequency, and length was significant in the semantic condition (t=۲.۷۲, P=۰.۰۰۸). A slight effect was also observed from the prime frequency in the associative condition (t=۱.۸۲, P=۰.۰۷). Conclusion: Results indicate one-level access to the ML, which is indeed a function of language proficiency. Findings are further discussed in terms of ML structure and patterns of LA.

Keywords:

Reaction time , Mental processes , Association , Semantics , Vocabulary