English vocabulary in L1 Danish and L1 Finnish learners: Vocabulary sizes, word frequency effect, and cognate facilitation

Abstract

The study presents vocabulary sizes in native (L1) Danish and L1 Finnish learners of English differing in second language (L2) immersion. The estimated vocabulary sizes suggest that some L2 learners have vocabulary sizes within the L1 English range, and that all participants should be lexically equipped to understand spoken English. The article moreover examines the effect of word frequency and cognateness on L2 lexical knowledge and how these two effects are mediated by L2 immersion. Word frequency was found to significantly affect word definition. Contrary to the prediction, this effect was larger for L1 English speakers than for L2 learners and for immersion learners than for non-immersion learners. Significant cognate facilitation was also observed and was found to be larger for non-immersion learners than for immersion learners, as predicted.