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The effects of training on automatization of word recognition in English as a foreign language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2008

NOBUHIKO AKAMATSU
NOBUHIKO AKAMATSU*
Affiliation:
Doshisha University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Nobuhiko Akamatsu, Department of English, Doshisha University, Imadegawa-Karasuma, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto, 602-8580, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of word-recognition training on the word-recognition processing of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Providing 7-week word-recognition training, the study examined whether such training improves EFL learners' word-recognition performance. The main aspects of this study concerned word frequency and working-memory capacity in automatization of word recognition. Analysis of variance and correlational analyses revealed qualitative differences in the improvement of EFL word-recognition performance with respect to word frequency. The improvement in the processing of high-frequency words was associated with simple speedup; conversely, the processing of low-frequency words was associated with automatization. Results also showed that working-memory capacity might not play a noticeable role in improving word-recognition speed or efficiency.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , April 2008 , pp. 175 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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