Abstract:Given that affix knowledge plays a vital role in the development of L1/L2 knowledge, the aim of this paper is to explore Mochizuki and Aizawa's (2000)

The size of L2 learners? vocabulary, both receptive and productive, represents a vital concept in the field of L2 acquisition, given that it determines the degree of success in communication. The larger the vocabulary size of a learner is, the better his/her understanding and ease of communication in the target language. For this reason, a body of research focusing on the developmental process of lexical acquisition in L2 learners of various proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate, advanced) in different teaching contexts is nowadays steadily expanding. A recent study aimed at investigating the relationship between lexical reception and production in Serbian L1 English L2 learners, English language majors, has indicated that production seriously lags behind reception. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to explore the growth in receptive and productive vocabulary size of B2-level (CEFR) English L2 learners, first year English majors, over a period of a single academic year. The data obtained reveal that the rich L2 input provided in Integrated skills classes, combined with other compulsory and elective courses predominantly held in English, has resulted in the learners? productive lexical knowledge developing faster than their receptive lexical knowledge. This outcome consequently affected the relationship between the learners? receptive and productive vocabulary size - the gap between the two narrowed.[Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 178014]

This paper will explore the issue of similar lexical forms (Laufer 1991) as a potential problem in vocabulary acquisition of Serbian EFL learners. Building on previous research (Kocić 2008), we collected data from two groups of undergraduate students at the Faculty of Philology and Arts in Kragujevac (lower- and upper-intermediate), and attempted to identify the factors that contribute to synform confusions.

This dissertation centers around the acquisition of lexicо-morphological knowledge in EFL learners, which thematically places it in the field of applied linguistics. In recent times, due to the pedagogical and didactic predominance of the communicative method in teaching foreign languages, communicative competence and its lexical aspect in particular have received a significant amount of attention. Lexical knowledge is, however, inextricably linked to morphological knowledge. The aim of this thesis is, therefore, essentially twofold. On the one hand, it will analyze the relations between various dimensions of lexical knowledge and morphological (i.e. derivational) awareness and identify the factors that figure prominently in the process of acquiring derivational knowledge as well as explore the use of the strategy of breaking down complex words into morphemes. On the other hand, it will assess the efficacy of both explicit and implicit approaches to teaching derivational morphology by means of a pedagogical experiment. The empirical research was conducted in several stages during a single semester of the academic year. First, the homogeneity of the sample group was ascertained by means of a questionnaire, followed by a battery of preliminary tests devised to help establish the lexical and morphological competence of the participants. Next, the students were divided into three groups, a control group and two experimental ones. The two experimental groups were subsequently exposed to extensive derivational input, explicit and implicit respectively, whereas the control group received only regular teaching. Moreover, the experimental group that underwent an implicit teaching procedure was constantly under close scrutiny, and their results were recorded in the teaching log. Additionally, a certain number of participants from the control group took part in think-aloud protocols. At the close of the semester a final test of derivational knowledge was conducted in all three groups of students. The collected data were subjected to both quantitative (several statistical techniques) and qualitative analysis (a meticulous examination of classroom observations and the students" statements in oral interviews). The results imply a number of conclusions. The productive dimension of not only lexical but also morphological knowledge lags behind the receptive dimension, while the application of explicit teaching intervention aimed at developing morphological awareness yields decidedly better results. Finally, there are certain factors at work which may facilitate or impede the acquisition of morphological knowledge in EFL learners.