An Investigation into the L2 Mental Lexicon of Chinese English Learners by Means of Word Association

The present study employs a word association test to investigate the nature of Chinese English learners' mental lexicon by comparing the association responses of native speakers and Chinese English learners. The result shows that there are significant differences in the structure of mental lexicons between Chinese English learners and native speakers. With regard to L1 mental lexicons, Chinese English learners have poorer concentricity of association and weaker association strength. Their association is more dependent on forms. They have no established systematic and stable networks between words. The semantic network in their mental lexicon is underdeveloped. The results of the experiments have some implications for L2 vocabulary teaching and learning. 本文采用词汇联想测试方法，通过比较中国英语学习者和母语者的反应词的不同，来探究中国英语学习者二语心理词汇的特点。结果表明：中国英语学习者和母语者的心理词汇结构存在显著差异。与母语者相比，中国英语学习者的联想集中性较差，联想强度较弱；中国英语学习者过分依赖词的形态来联想；词与词之间没有形成系统的、稳固的联系网络；语义网络不完善。实验结果对二语词汇教学有一定的启示和帮助。