BOOK OF ABSTRACTS - EUROSLA

inflectional and derivational relationships of Japanese EFL learners whose
vocabulary sizes were between 1,000 and 3,000 word families were
investigated (Their proficiency was considered to be low-intermediate).
Reaction time differences between stems whose inflectional and derivational
sizes were different were compared respectively. The results show that stems
whose inflectional family frequency is higher are not recognized more
quickly, but stems whose derivational family frequency is higher are. These
were unexpected results because inflectional relationships had been
considered to be stronger than derivational relationships. The results can be
interpreted in the following two ways. First, Japanese EFL learners whose
vocabulary size is between 1,000 and 3,000 word families do not decompose
words into constituents. If they decomposed words, words such as plays or
apples would be decomposed into stems and suffixes. Therefore, every time
inflections were processed, mental representations of their stems such as
play or apple would be strengthened so it would cause frequency effects on
lexical decision tasks of the stems. But, it is not the case. Second, as
Schreuder and Baayen (1997) have shown, the effect of derivational
frequency may have been caused by derivational family size effect and
semantic representations. They suggested that each derivative has its own
representation at the semantic level, arguing that the fact that derivational
family size (not derivational frequency) affects the reaction times of stems is
evidence of such structures in the mental lexicons of L1 speakers. Activation
of one derivational family spreads into the other families, so activated
representations of all other family members affect the reaction times.
Schreuder, R., & Baayen, R. (1997). How complex simplex words can be. Journal of
Memory and Language, 36, 118-139.
Differences in Strategy Use among Students of English or German as a
Foreign Language
Vera Janikova and Katerina Vlčková
Masaryk University
Introduction
Learning strategies have presented a crucial concept in the theory of second
language acquisition since the 1960s. They capture a wide range of linguistic
behaviours and most often are defined as sets of “conscious thoughts and
actions that a learner takes to achieve a learning goal” (Chamot 2004), or as
“operations to acquire, retain, retrieve or perform” (Rigney 1978). The
concept is connected with self-regulation, metacognition, learning style, and
cognitive style. Strategies are most often classified according to
psychological functions – cognitive, metacognitive, and socio-affective
(O’Malley, Chamot 1990), or 4 language skills (Cohen, Weaver 2006). In
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