Processing strategies in focus: How highly-efficient and less-efficient learners navigate novel word learning in Chinese reading

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.1512

Abstract

Abstract:

This study investigated whether efficient lexical acquisition is associated with specific cognitive processing strategies during reading. Participants were divided into highly- and less-efficiency groups based on their orthographic learning performance. Two types of pseudo-characters were constructed as novel words, manipulating the consistency between semantic cues from radicals and sentence contexts, resulting in two experimental conditions: semantically transparent and semantically opaque. The novel words were embedded in six sentences to establish lexical representations, followed by an orthographic knowledge test. A total of 116 university students participated in the study. The results showed that the highly-efficient readers exhibited significantly longer fixation durations on novel words and their contexts compared to the less-efficient readers. As learning progressed, the proportion of fixation times on novel words decreased while the proportion of fixation times on sentential context increased. This effect was more pronounced among highly-efficient than less-efficient learners. Additionally, only highly-efficient learners showed a robust semantic transparency effect when processing novel words during sentence reading. These results support the Focusing-Enrichment Model, suggesting that successful lexical acquisition in reading is linked to specific cognitive processing strategies, particularly the strategic use of sublexical semantic cues and dynamic resource allocation between novel words and contextual information.

Key words: incidental word learning, individual differences, sub-lexical semantic decoding, radical

XIANG Ying, HE Fei, FENG Linlin, LONG Mengling, BAI Xuejun, LIANG Feifei. (2025). Processing strategies in focus: How highly-efficient and less-efficient learners navigate novel word learning in Chinese reading. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(9), 1512-1528.

Figures/Tables 16

References 50

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Condition	Semantic transparency	Right-radicals familiarity	Stroke
Transparent	4.64(0.23)	2.43(0.86)	8.88(1.55)
Opaque	1.22(0.35)	2.73(1.14)	8.38(1.06)

Condition	Semantic transparency	Right-radicals familiarity	Stroke
Transparent	4.64(0.23)	2.43(0.86)	8.88(1.55)
Opaque	1.22(0.35)	2.73(1.14)	8.38(1.06)

Sentence number
1	全身长着白毛的新生 /坺都是胖乎乎的样子，很招人喜欢。 Newborn NW covered entirely in white fur are all chubby in appearance, very adorable.
2	长大后，变黑的爪子和尾巴就是 /坺最特别的地方。 As they grow up, their blackened paws and tails become the most distinctive features of NW.
3	雪地上的四个独特的爪印是发现 /坺活动轨迹的主要线索。 The four unique paw prints in the snow are the primary clues for tracking NW activity.
4	探险家说，灵活的四肢足以保证 /坺在树枝间安全爬行。 Explorers say that flexible limbs are enough to ensure NW can safely crawl among tree branches.
5	靠闻气味找到食物是幼小 /坺天生就有的强大本领。 Relying on scent to locate food is an innate and powerful ability of young NW.
6	寒潮来临，群居的弱小雌性 /坺经常会挤在一起取暖。 When cold waves arrive, weaker female NW living in groups often huddle together for warmth.

Sentence number
1	全身长着白毛的新生 /坺都是胖乎乎的样子，很招人喜欢。 Newborn NW covered entirely in white fur are all chubby in appearance, very adorable.
2	长大后，变黑的爪子和尾巴就是 /坺最特别的地方。 As they grow up, their blackened paws and tails become the most distinctive features of NW.
3	雪地上的四个独特的爪印是发现 /坺活动轨迹的主要线索。 The four unique paw prints in the snow are the primary clues for tracking NW activity.
4	探险家说，灵活的四肢足以保证 /坺在树枝间安全爬行。 Explorers say that flexible limbs are enough to ensure NW can safely crawl among tree branches.
5	靠闻气味找到食物是幼小 /坺天生就有的强大本领。 Relying on scent to locate food is an innate and powerful ability of young NW.
6	寒潮来临，群居的弱小雌性 /坺经常会挤在一起取暖。 When cold waves arrive, weaker female NW living in groups often huddle together for warmth.

E	FFD	GD	RPD	ROP	RR	TFD	TFC	SRT	SFC	FTR	FCR
1	−0.009	0.10	0.22^*	0.31^*	0.61^**	0.61^**	0.59^**	0.45^**	0.40^**	0.36^**	0.32^**
2	−0.006	0.03	0.09	0.04	0.25^*	0.36^**	0.40^**	0.38^**	0.34^**	−0.006	−0.05
3	0.12	0.15	0.10	0.19	0.49^**	0.53^**	0.47^**	0.40^**	0.35^**	0.07	0.04
4	−0.05	0.05	0.22^*	0.22	−0.07	0.28^**	0.39^**	0.36^**	0.34^**	−0.13	−0.07
5	0.14	0.14	0.07	0.17	0.07	0.34^**	0.26^**	0.37^**	0.35^**	−0.07	−0.14
6	−0.08	−0.04	0.08	0.30^**	0.26^**	0.20^*	0.22^*	0.39^**	0.36^**	−0.23^*	−0.25^**