A Study of L2 Learners’ Word Formation Processes through Naming Task: using Think-aloud Methods

This study aims to understand L2 learners' word formation processes by which they use existing words in their mental lexicon to produce new words. For this purpose, the learners were asked to perform a naming task and their word formation process was recorded using a think-aloud technique. The results of the study showed that learners' word formation process consists of two stages: meaning formation and form formation. The semantic structure formed by learners can be categorized into three categories: category-centered semantic structure, attribute-centered semantic structure, and association-based semantic structure. In the form-formation stage, learners utilized syntactic and lexical knowledge and various strategies to formalize meaning. They also used both their L1 and L2 systems throughout the word formation process, and the more proficient they became, the less they relied on their L1.