ABSTRACT
Two experiments examined the implications of the revised hierarchical model (Kroll & Stewart, 1994) for the acquisition of second language (L2) vocabulary. In both experiments, native English-speaking students learned a set of Dutch words. In Experiment 1, conceptual information was emphasized by presenting L2 words in semantically categorized lists and by having participants associate L2 words with pictures of the objects to which they referred. In Experiment 2, perceptual cues were made salient by having participants associate L2 words with noncanonical views of the objects to which they referred. The results show that, even when semantic information is salient, learners are likely to rely on mediation via the first language (L1). In contrast, the presence of novel perceptual information appears to benefit vocabulary acquisition. Taken together, the results suggest that cues that enable the L2 learner to control L1 activation facilitate acquisition.
