INSTRUCCIÓN LÉXICA Y APRENDIZAJE.

The aim of this paper is to find which type of instruction is appropriate for learning vocabulary in a foreign language. In this research three lexical fields (Look, Temperature and Weather) were taught in a different way. One group of students of English as a foreign language got conceptual instruction of this vocabulary. Another group got the same instruction and was also exposed to native organization. This was inferred from their semantic networks by using the Pathfinder procedure which provides empirical networks with information about how subjects organize lexical material. Results show that when the vocabulary was not difficult both types of instruction had a similar effect on students. However, if the lexical field was very hard to learn, teaching with native organization was a critical factor for learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]