Higgins’s (2000) regulatory fit theory proposes that a fit between one’s regulatory state and strategic means for reaching a goal increases motivational strength and engagement. This study investigates how regulatory fit affects the L2 acquisition of lexical stress in an authentic learning context. Ninety EFL students were assigned to either gain frame or loss frame conditions. They engaged in speech practice in which they mimicked a model speech in English to win a chance to enter a prize raffle. The reward system was framed differently in the two framing conditions, with the intention of eliciting the participants’ use of eager or vigilant strategies, thus creating fit and nonfit conditions. Acquisition of lexical stress was assessed using pre- and posttest scores. Multiple regression analysis showed no regulatory fit effects and no loss frame effects but did show a significant beneficial effect of the gain frame on the acquisition of lexical stress.

In paired-associate learning, there are two learning directions: L2 to L1 (L2 words as stimuli and L1 words as responses) and L1 to L2 (L1 words as stimuli and L2 words as responses). Results of previous studies that compared the effects of the two learning directions are not consistent. We speculated that the cause of this inconsistency may be L2 proficiency, as the strengths of the lexical links between L2 and L1 are different depending on the learner’s L2 proficiency. This hypothesis was examined with 28 native speakers of Japanese learning English. Participants studied novel English words in the two learning directions. The results of posttests showed that for lower-proficiency learners, L2-to-L1 learning was more effective than L1-to-L2 learning, while for higher-proficiency learners, L1-to-L2 learning was more effective. The findings suggest that L2 proficiency influences the effects of learning direction on vocabulary learning.

This study is a conceptual replication of Rogers and Cheung’s (2018) investigation into distribution of practice effects on the learning of L2 vocabulary in child EFL classrooms in Hong Kong. Following a pretest, treatment, delayed posttest design, 66 primary school students (Cantonese L1) studied 20 vocabulary items over three training episodes under spaced-short (1-day interval) or spaced-long (8-day interval) learning conditions. The spacing of the vocabulary items was manipulated within-participants, and learning was assessed using crossword puzzles following a 4-week delay. While Rogers and Cheung (2018) resulted in minimal overall learning with a slight advantage for the spaced-short group, this study found large learning gains across the experimental conditions with no significant differences between the two learning schedules. Taken together, these results provide evidence that the results from previous research examining input spacing with adult populations in laboratory contexts might not generalize to authentic child learning contexts.

The present study investigated the effects of exposure to Chinese orthography on learning phonological forms of new words in learners of Chinese as a second language. A total of 30 adult learners of Chinese studied spoken label and picture associations presented either with phonologically accurate characters, characters with partial phonological information, or no orthography. Half the phonologically accurate or partially accurate characters were semantically transparent or opaque. Spoken labels were recalled without orthography presence. Results showed that exposure to phonologically accurate and semantically transparent characters during learning did not enhance the recall of the spoken labels compared to no orthography. But exposure to characters with partial phonological information and semantically opaque characters significantly hindered vocabulary learning. The implications for Chinese as a second language vocabulary acquisition and instruction are discussed.