A Comparative Study on Second Language Vocabulary Development: Study Abroad vs. Classroom Settings

Abstract

This paper aims to achieve a better understanding of the process of vocabulary acquisition in both classroom and study abroad contexts. For this purpose, a three-word association test was developed in order to assess both learners’ vocabulary size and depth of lexical knowledge (that is, synonyms, antonyms, metaphors, collocates, frequency of use, metonyms, etc.). The test was distributed among six groups, three of which were comprised of students of Spanish at different university levels, without any experience abroad. The fourth group consisted of L2 learners who had been in study abroad programs in Spanish speaking countries for a period time of five months. A cluster of high proficiency L2 speakers of Spanish formed the fifth group. The sixth group, the control group, was comprised by native speakers of Spanish. The results suggest that classroom instruction does not offer the appropriate language experience to foster lexicon development either in size or in-depth of vocabulary knowledge. In contrast, study abroad students experiences an increase in both levels of vocabulary knowledge.