The present studies examined the effects of varying degrees of unfamiliar vocabulary within written discourse on individuals' abilities to use linguistic context for the purposes of translation and comprehension (i.e., lexical inferencing). Prose varied in the number of foreign words introduced into each sentence (e.g., 0 through 7 content words per sentence). Furthermore, Krashen's Input Hypothesis and the Evaluation component of the Involvement Load Hypothesis were tested to determine the degree at which non-comprehensible input hinders the ability of a learner to successfully use linguistic context for translation and comprehension. Results indicated that, as the number of foreign words per sentence, i.e., non-comprehensible input, increased the ability to successfully translate foreign words and create situational models for comprehension begins to decrease especially beyond five unfamiliar words per sentence. This result suggests that there is an optimal level of effectiveness in the use of a linguistic context strategy for learning foreign language vocabulary, but also that there is a limit to the strategy's effectiveness. Implications and applications to the field of foreign language learning are discussed.

Purpose Situational judgment tests (SJTs) are widely used in personnel selection but have not been empirically explored as methods of training design. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate SJT-based training as a workplace training design method which utilizes active learning and structured feedback to enhance learning of both procedural and declarative knowledge. Design/methodology/approach Volunteers (n=416) were randomly assigned to full-length lecture-based training or abbreviated lecture-based training followed by 15 minutes of SJT-based training. Knowledge of training content was assessed at pre-test and three weeks after training. Findings SJT-based trainees showed greater improvement on declarative and procedural knowledge than those in traditional training. Research limitations/implications The results indicate that integrating the SJT methodology into training delivery may lead to greater mastery of declarative and procedural knowledge relative to exclusive use of lecture-based training methods. Practical implications Findings suggest that the relatively inexpensive, low-fidelity scenario-based training methodology the authors detail may increase retention of training material compared to more traditional training methods. Originality/value This is the first study to incorporate SJT methodology into the design of training content and to demonstrate that such content can produce greater retention of both declarative and procedural content.

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