Children and adults benefit from a new word's phonological neighbors during explicit vocabulary instruction, suggesting that related prior knowledge can support new learning. This study examined the influence of lexical neighborhood structure during incidental word learning--limiting opportunities for strategically engaging prior knowledge--and…

This study focused on the mechanisms underlying incidental second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition prior to formal instruction. We designed a cross-sectional study to examine which learner-related and word-related variables affect young learners' vocabulary knowledge at the level of meaning recognition and meaning recall. We collected data…