The productive and receptive knowledge of the vocabulary in L2

Analysis of the effectiveness of recognition and production tasks

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of receptive and/or productive knowledge of lexical units that 150 B1 level learners of Spanish as a Second Language demonstrate when they have incorporated those lexical units into their mental lexicon thanks to a particular activity, either a recognition activity (selection of the correct definition or example which includes the semantic equivalent of the stimulus word) or a productive one (writing sentences to answer to questions containing the stimulus word). Results indicate productive activity is the most effective, because subjects who are trained with it obtain more correct answers both in tasks that require them receptive knowledge (Sections 1 and 2 of the posttest) and in the productive task (Section 3). In the opposite extreme, the less effective activity is the selection of definitions (receptive activity). From the statistical point of view, the difference of the effect of practice with definitions and writing is significant in all three sections of the posttest, whereas the effect of the two selection activities, the receptive ones, is not significantly different in any of the three parts of the posttest. When selecting activities aimed at learning vocabulary we should be aware of the degree of control that students require, because knowing a word encompasses many aspects and learning is a cumulative process, which is not completed by a single exposure to the lexical unit.