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2025 - Volume 8 - Number 1

Role of Connectionist and Activation Theory Approaches Teaching Vocabulary in Context: Exploring Vocabulary Teaching Methods with Adult Mexican Students

Brandon Tovar * ORCID: 0009-0005-7903-600X
University of Guanajuato, Division of Social Sciences and Humanities, Guanajuato, MEXICO

Open Journal for Studies in Linguistics, 2025, 8(1), 11-20 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsl.0801.02011t
Received: 31 May 2025 ▪ Revised: 23 August 2025 ▪ Accepted: 15 November 2025

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:
This study examines whether cognitive-based instruction improves vocabulary use and recall in adult Mexican English learners compared to traditional methods. The study adopted a mixed methods approach, combining quantitative data from the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) with qualitative insights from learner questionnaires. The participants were ten adult beginner English learners (A1-A2 level, CEFR) from the University of Guanajuato’s language program. Participants were exposed to both connectionist/activation and conventional vocabulary teaching techniques. While qualitative thematic analysis investigated learners' attitudes and the perceived efficacy of each strategy, quantitative data evaluated vocabulary retention. Despite learners expressing a strong preference for context-based, associative learning strategies, often describing them as more enjoyable, meaningful, and reflective of real-world language use, this preference did not translate into superior short-term vocabulary test performance. In contrast, participants consistently achieved higher vocabulary scores in post-instruction assessments when they were exposed to traditional methods such as drilling, repetition, and lexical sets. Importantly, this is the first study in the Mexican context to directly compare vocabulary instruction based on cognitive theories with traditional lexical set approaches among adult EFL learners, making it a significant contribution to the field of applied linguistics and language pedagogy in Latin America. The significance of this research lies not only in its practical implications for classroom instruction but also in its theoretical contributions. It challenges prevailing assumptions about the universal superiority of cognitive-based methods by demonstrating that traditional approaches, often overlooked or dismissed as outdated, still hold substantial value in certain learner contexts.

KEY WORDS: cognitive-based instruction, connectionist theory, vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary retention and retrieval, and vocabulary teaching methods.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Brandon Tovar Miranda, University of Guanajuato, Department of Social Sciences and Humanities, Guanajuato, MEXICO.

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