We investigated three aspects of paired associate learning of vocabulary in an unfamiliar language: monolingual-bilingual differences, effects of dominance and language proficiency, and the possible role of associative strategies. Spanish–English bilinguals (48 English-dominant and 48 Spanish-dominant) and English-speaking monolinguals (n = 48) learned Swahili–English and Swahili-Spanish word pairs. Learning was assessed using cued recall (Swahili cue or Swahili response) and associative recognition tests. English-dominant bilinguals did not outperform English monolinguals on any learning measure. Cued recall accuracy was higher when learning through the dominant language than through the non-dominant language, whether the Swahili words were cues or responses. Proficiency scores in the known language were positively correlated with cued recall accuracy, whether the cue or the response was in Swahili, indicating that proficiency effects occurred not in retrievability of known words but in learning of associations. Bilingual and monolingual participants did not differ in their reported use of associative strategies.

中文翻译：

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双语能力对陌生语言词汇配对联想学习的影响

我们研究了陌生语言词汇配对联想学习的三个方面：单语-双语差异、优势和语言熟练程度的影响以及联想策略的可能作用。西班牙语-英语双语者（48 名以英语为主，48 名以西班牙语为主）和英语单语者（n = 48）学习了斯瓦希里语-英语和斯瓦希里语-西班牙语单词对。使用提示回忆（斯瓦希里语提示或斯瓦希里语反应）和联想识别测试来评估学习情况。在任何学习指标上，以英语为主的双语者的表现都不优于英语单语者。无论斯瓦希里语单词是提示还是反应，通过主导语言学习时的提示回忆准确度都高于通过非主导语言学习时的提示回忆准确度。已知语言的熟练程度得分与提示回忆的准确性呈正相关，无论提示还是反应是斯瓦希里语，这表明熟练程度的影响不是发生在已知单词的可检索性上，而是发生在关联的学习上。双语和单语参与者在使用联想策略方面没有差异。