Acquisition of Opposites and Cognitive Explanation

This paper presents an analysis of the acquisition sequence of two pairs of contrasting terms in English. The research is based on questionnaires completed by Chinese learners of English of various levels. The analysis concludes that easily-recognisable, unmarked, high-frequency terms, from which are derived concepts and terms that express an earlier stage of an action, tend to be easier to learn and enjoy a higher retention level during the first phase of acquisition while those terms which do not share these characteristics have a much lower retention level during the same stage. Given these conclusions, this study suggests that learners and teachers of a language should pay more attention to those terms which are in an unfavourable position in the vocabulary acquisition sequence of a language. (English text).