The Future of Education

This study examines lexical access and retrieval in second language (L2) learning through the lens of the bilingual mental lexicon, with a specific focus on Arabic–English learners across different proficiency levels. Research in language teaching and learning increasingly emphasizes that successful language use depends not only on what learners know, but also on how efficiently they can access and retrieve lexical knowledge during communication. Drawing on insights from psycholinguistics and second language acquisition, this study explores how lexical representations are structured, accessed, and strengthened through language experience, and how these processes affect L2 performance. Previous studies suggest that slower lexical access in L2 learners is primarily linked to weaker lexical entrenchment, limited exposure, and reliance on first language (L1) mediation rather than to permanent structural limitations (Jiang, 2000; Brysbaert et al., 2017). Building on the Revised Hierarchical Model and usage-based perspectives, the study adopts a developmental approach to lexical processing, viewing lexical access as an experience-dependent skill that improves with proficiency and repeated use. Empirical evidence has shown that vocabulary size, frequency of exposure, and proficiency level play a central role in determining retrieval speed and processing efficiency in L2 learners (Diependaele et al., 2013). In addition, bilingual learners often divide language use across two languages, which reduces opportunities for lexical activation and leads to weaker lexical links, particularly for low-frequency items (Gollan et al., 2008). Using word association and lexical availability tasks, the study investigates how lexical organization, semantic connectivity, and retrieval efficiency vary across beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. The findings aim to demonstrate that lexical access difficulties in L2 are developmental and gradual in nature, reflecting the ongoing consolidation of lexical representations rather than linguistic deficiency. From a language teaching and learning perspective, the study highlights the importance of repeated exposure, meaningful vocabulary practice, and proficiency-sensitive instruction to support automaticity and efficient lexical retrieval. These findings have direct pedagogical implications for vocabulary instruction, task design, and the development of communicative competence in L2 classrooms.

Keywords: language teaching and learning; bilingual mental lexicon; lexical access; lexical retrieval; L2 proficiency

References

Brysbaert, M., Lagrou, E., & Stevens, M. (2017). Visual word recognition in a second language: A test of the lexical entrenchment hypothesis with lexical decision times. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 20(3), 530–548. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728916000353

Diependaele, K., Lemhöfer, K., & Brysbaert, M. (2013). The word frequency effect in first- and second-language word recognition: A lexical entrenchment account. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 66(5), 843–863. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470218.2012.720994

Gollan, T. H., Montoya, R. I., Cera, C. M., & Sandoval, T. C. (2008). More use almost always means a smaller frequency effect: Aging, bilingualism, and the weaker links hypothesis. Journal of Memory and Language, 58(3), 787–814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jml.2007.07.001

Jiang, N. (2000). Lexical representation and development in a second language. Applied Linguistics, 21(1), 47–77. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/21.1.47