Word Knowledge in L2 Chinese Lexical Inference: A Moderated Path Analysis of Language Proficiency Level and Heritage Status

Abstract

This study explored the effect of word knowledge facets (word-general and word-specific knowledge) on second language (L2) Chinese lexical inference by highlighting the moderating effect of language proficiency level and learners’ heritage status. L2 Chinese learners with a mixture of linguistic (low-intermediate and high-intermediate) and cultural (heritage and non-heritage) backgrounds completed a series of word-knowledge measurements as well as a lexical inferencing task. Through a moderated path model, the study demonstrated that word-general knowledge (morphological awareness) and word-specific knowledge (vocabulary knowledge) contributed to L2 Chinese lexical inference. In addition, the study underlined the moderating effect of heritage status on the correlation between word knowledge and lexical inference. Given the distinct patterns between heritage and non-heritage learners, morphological awareness may define the characteristics of reading profiles in the Chinese heritage learner population.