Effects of Semantic Transparency and Knowledge of Morphemes on the Process and Products of the Word Part Technique in EFL Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

This study explored the process and products of the word part technique (WPT), in which learners relate the meanings of word parts to those of the whole word, and how semantic transparency and knowledge of morphemes operate. In this study, 16 English verbs consisting of a prefix and a root (e.g., conspire → con- + -spire) were examined, with eight verbs being semantically more transparent and eight being less transparent. A total of 70 Japanese university students memorized the target words using the WPT, divided into two groups. In the first group, the morphemes involved were known (the WPTK [word part technique with known morphemes] group), and in the second group they were unknown (the WPTU [word part technique with unknown morphemes] group). This was experimentally manipulated by the expectation of the availability/unavailability of the form and meaning of the morphemes during subsequent retrieval. The learning unit was followed by two vocabulary tests and a questionnaire to assess attention orientation during learning and learning outcomes. The results showed that the WPTK group focused more on the semantic link between morphemes and whole words, whereas the WPTU group focused more on other links. Additionally, more transparent words were retained better than less transparent ones. However, this trend was only observed when word part (morpheme) information was available during retrieval.