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ERIC Number: EJ1378541
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0026-7902
EISSN: EISSN-1540-4781
Available Date: N/A
Academic Word Difficulty and Multidimensional Lexical Sophistication: An English-for-Academic-Purposes-Focused Conceptual Replication of Hashimoto and Egbert (2019)
Modern Language Journal, v107 n1 p373-397 Spr 2023
This article presents a conceptual replication of Hashimoto and Egbert (https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12353), a study that featured multivariate models where lexical sophistication variables accounted for word difficulty (yes-no recognition) better than frequency alone among learners of English as a second or foreign language from North America. This current study (n[subscript words] = 88; n[subscript people] = 128) conceptually replicated Hashimoto and Egbert with data from three Asian university English-for-academic-purposes sites. Methodological differences included a more conservative lexical sophistication operationalization process and avoidance of stepwise regression. Like the original study, the replication's findings favored multivariate models over frequency, which predicted 36% of word difficulty's variance alone. In a multiple regression model accounting for word difficulty, R[superscript 2] = 0.52, frequency accounted for 17% of the predicted variance with age of acquisition (AoA: 18%) and word naming reaction time (WN_RT: 16%) also being significant predictors. This replication also extended the testing approach by using a mixed-effect model, involving person and site intercepts as random effects. The model's ability to predict word difficulty fell, marginal R[superscript 2] = 0.22, conditional R[superscript 2] = 0.40, but frequency, AoA, and WN_RT remained the strongest predictors. Taken together, this replication successfully supports the original study's more-than-frequency conclusion while highlighting the need for further research into the area.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Asia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A