Martina Kienberger (Vienna) p.37-57
2021 Issue 03
Abstract
Lexical inferencing strategies are considered a relevant factor in second and third language vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension. This article covers a case study that focuses on two underrepresented aspects in existing research: inferencing by learners of German as an L3 with a background in Spanish and strategy use at a beginner’s level. Eight participants taking beginner’s level German courses at the University of Salamanca (Spain) were asked to read through an authentic text and infer the meaning of unknown words while speaking their thoughts out loud. The analysis of the gathered think-aloud data suggests that the most frequently used strategies were those that rely on the immediate context and word form. However, there are significant differences among the learners as regards overall inferencing attempts and preferred strategies. This study also indicates that perceived strategy use and actual strategy use differ.