Bilingual Contextual Variability: Learning Words in Two Languages

Background. Bilingual novel word learning is shaped by both semantic context and the language in which learning occurs. According to the context variability hypothesis and instance-based learning frameworks, varied semantic contexts promote the formation of flexible lexical-semantic representations. However, the extent to which these benefits generalize across languages and transfer to novel contexts remains unclear. Method. Two experiments examined the effects of study language (L1, L2, or both) and semantic variability (repeated vs. varied contexts) on novel word learning in English–Spanish bilinguals. Participants studied rare words embedded in sentences and were tested via a word-stem completion task. In Experiment 1, test sentences were identical to those seen during the study. In Experiment 2, half of the test sentences were novel, requiring generalization beyond previously encountered contexts. Orthographic overlap across languages was also assessed. Results. In Experiment 1, varied semantic contexts improved recall accuracy, supporting the context variability hypothesis. Unexpectedly, words studied in L2 were recalled more accurately than those studied in L1, consistent with desirable difficulty effects. Additionally, orthographic overlap moderated learning, with greater benefits observed in mixed-language conditions. In Experiment 2, overall accuracy declined, and no main effects of language or context were observed. However, a three-way interaction showed that orthographic overlap improved recall only when words were studied in L1 and tested in novel contexts. Conclusions. Semantic and linguistic variability can enhance bilingual word learning when test conditions are consistent with the learning context. However, generalization to novel contexts may require deeper processing, extended exposure, or additional retrieval cues.