ABSTRACT 中文摘要 LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES ABBREVIATIONS Chapter One INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Need for the Study 1.3 Significance of the Study 1.3.1 Theoreticalsignificance 1.3.2 Methodological significance 1.3.3 Pedagogical significance 1.4 Organization of the Thesis Chapter Two WORD ASSOCIATION IN THE MFNTAL LEXICON: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Definitions of Key Terms 2.2.1 Mental lexicon 2.2.2 Word association (WA) 2.2.2. 1 Semantically-Related (SR) type 2.2. 2.2 Non-Semantically-Related (non-SR) type 2.2.3 Word-Related variables 2.2.3.1 Word class 2.2.3.2 Concreteness 2.2.3.3 Word frequency 2.3 Theories and Studies on the L1 Mental Lexicon 2.3.1 Theories of word associations in the L1 mental lexicon 2.3.2 Theories related to WA patterns and word type effects 2.3.3 Word association studies on the L1 mental lexicon 2.3.3.1 Findingsof the WA general patterns in the L1 mental lexicon 2.3.3.2 Previous findings about WA patterns related to word types 2.3.3.2.1 Word class 2.3.3.2.2 Concreteness 2.3.3.2.3 Frequency 2.4 Theories and Studies on the 1_2 Mental Lexicon 2.4.1 Theories on the L2 mental lexicon 2.4.1.1 Compound vs. Coordinate 2.4.1.2 Word-Connectedvs. Concept-Mediated 2.4.1.3 Shared vs. Distributed Conceptual Features 2.4.2 Empirical studies on WAs in the L2 mental lexicon 2.4.2.1 Controversial findings of the WA patterns in the L2 mental lexicon 2.4.2.2 PhonologiCally-Associated organization 2.4.2.1. 2 Semantically-Dominated organization 2.4.2.2 Findings related to word type effects 2.4.2.2.1 Word class effect 2.4.2.2.2 Concreteness effect 2.4.2.2.3 Word frequency effect 2.5 Unsettled Issues 2.5.1 Theoretical issues remained Unsolved 2.5.1.1 Biased understandings towards the nature of L2 mental lexicon 2.5.1. 2 Unclear understandings towards the role of paradigmatic and syntagmatic responsesin L2 word associations 2.5.1.3 Incomplete theories: to account for word type effects 2.5.2 Methodological issues remained unsolved 2.5.2.1 Lacking a carefully-designed stimulus word list 2.5.2.2 Inconsistent classification of WA responses 2.6 Summary Chapter Three RESEARCH DESIGN 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Questions 3.3 Methodology 3.3. 1 Participants 3.3.2 Instruments 3.3.2.1 WA test 3.3.2.2 Stimulus word selection 3.3.2.3 Familiarity judgment test of SWs 3.3.3 Data analysis procedures 3.3.3.1 Data collecting process 3.3.3.2 Data encoding process 3.3.3.2.1 WA response lemmatizing 3.3.3.2.2 WA response classifying 3.3.3.2.3 WA response labeling 3.3.3.3 Data analyzing 3.4 Summary Chapter Four L2 MENTAL LEXICON ( I ) : AN OVERALL PICTURE 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Overall WA Patterns in the L1 and 1,2 Mental Lexicons 4.2.1 The L1 and L2 overall response patterns 4.2.2 Comparison with other studies 4.2.3 Commonaity analysis of non-SR responses 4.2.3.1 Derivational-responses 4.2.3.3 Responses to words of high-frequency-and-familiarity 4.3 Overall SR Patterns of the L1 and L2 Mental Lexicons 4.3.1 The L1 and L2 overall SRs 4.3.2 Commonality analysis of the L1 and L2 SR associations 4.4 Summary Chapter Five L2 MENTAL LEXICON (Ⅱ) : WORD TYPE EFFECTS 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Word Class Effects on the WA Patterns 5.2.1 Overall WA patterns of words of different classes 5.2.2 Word class effects on the SR patterns 5.2.3 Analysis of word class effect on the mental lexicons 5.3 Concreteness Effect 5.3.1 Overall WA patterns of concrete and abstract words 5.3.2 Concreteness effect on the SR patterns …… Chpater Six L2 MENTAL LEXICON(III):PROFICIENCY EFFECTS Chpater Seven WORD ASSOCIATIONS IN THE L2 MENTAL LEXICON:CONCLUSION References Appendixes