‘Key Contributions of Lexical Availability to the Study of Semantic Prototypes in Foreign Language Learning’

Lexical availability is an approach to vocabulary acquisition and a crucial variable in learners’ lexical and communicative competence (Jiménez Catalán, 2014). Although several studies have been conducted in this field regarding L1 and L2 Spanish and English vocabulary learning, little has been done concerning semantic prototypes in foreign language contexts through lexical availability. Semantic prototypes are considered the most central and representative exemplars within a category (Rosch, 1975; Kleiber, 1995); thus, their role in lexical competence enables us to understand how foreign language learners organize their mental lexicon and categorize in response to semantic categories. This article aims to explore how semantic prototypes have been analyzed through lexical availability in L2 Spanish and English language contexts and, consequently, the implications they might have for English foreign language (EFL) learners’ vocabulary production.