Browsing by Author "Qahl, Taghreed"

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The Role of Self-reference in Initial Lexical Acquisition
(Saudi Digital Library, 2026) Qahl, Taghreed; Lambert, Craig
This hybrid-model thesis aims to address three questions: (1) How do the four self-referential processing (self, intimate, familiar, and semantic) impact item and source memory for novel L2 lexical items? (2) Do emotional valence and self-referential processing interact with respect to item and source memory? (3) Do self-esteem and self-referential processing interact with respect to item and source memory? Three studies were conducted in response to each question: Study 1: Personal Investment in Language Processing: The Role of Self-Reference in Initial Lexical Acquisition This study investigates the role of self-reference in the initial stages of second language (L2) lexical acquisition. The study is motivated by recent trends in second language acquisition (SLA) research that highlight the positive effects for treatments that draw on learners’ background experiences (e.g., Boudreau et al., 2018; Lambert et al., 2017; Lambert et al., 2023b; Lambert & Zhang, 2019; MacIntyre & Wang, 2021; Stranger-Johannessen & Norton, 2017, 2019). However, the role of the learner in SLA remains undertheorized (Swain, 2013; Lambert, 2023), and further work is needed to identify the specific mechanisms responsible for documented effects and their role in language processing. One such mechanism might be self-reference, which refers to information processed with reference to the self that is typically better remembered than information processed with reference to others (Hamami et al., 2011; Leshikar et al., 2015; Symons & Johnson, 1997). Accordingly, the present study investigates the impact of self-reference on the establishment of form-to-meaning connections during the initial acquisition of L2 lexis in item memory (the meaning of each item) and source memory (the conditions under which the items were processed). 144 Saudi female undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners processed 20 novel L2 trait adjectives counterbalanced across four processing conditions in which they considered each trait with reference to themselves, an intimate other, a familiar other, or a known lexical item. Findings revealed that information processed under personal investment conditions (self-reference and intimate-other reference) was recalled significantly better than information processed under non-personal investment conditions (familiar-other and semantic reference) in both item and source memory. Overall, low-proficiency EFL learners recalled more information when it was personally relevant. Study 2: Emotional Valence, Personal Investment and Initial L2 Lexical Acquisition This study examines the effect of emotional valence in memory for L2 lexical items in interaction with self-referential processing. The study employed a repeated measures design in which the participants processed 20 novel L2 trait adjectives (10 positively and 10 negatively valenced). Lexical items were counterbalanced across conditions and participants, with each lexical item occurring an equal number of times in each condition to control for the effects of specific lexical items. The study reveals that participants recalled negative emotional valence words processed in the personal investment conditions significantly better than in the non-personal investment conditions. Study 3: Domain-Specific Self-Esteem, Personal Investment, and Initial L2 Lexical Acquisition This study investigates self-esteem in memory for novel lexis in interaction with self-reference. Learners evaluated their self-esteem at the time each item was processed. They later recalled the meaning of each item (item memory) and the conditions under which they processed it (source memory). Results revealed that self-esteem interacted significantly with processing condition, in which learners with high self-esteem recalled items processed in the personal investment conditions significantly better than in the non-personal investment conditions in terms of both item and source memory. Personal investment and self-esteem thus had synergistic effects. The thesis contributes to illuminating processes underlying personal investment theory as a basis for research on the role of the learner in second language acquisition (SLA). It also provides insight into how affective factors influence the establishment of initial form-to-meaning relationships in novel L2 lexical acquisition.
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