Lengua materna y lengua de herencia en la disponibilidad léxica en español como lengua extranjera: implicaciones para la enseñanza en contextos multilingües

This study analyses the available lexicon of learners of Spanish as a foreign language through two comparative studies focusing on two variables: the students’ native language and the presence of Spanish as a heritage language. Using lexical availability tasks based on the prompts “animals” and “the city”, the study examines differences in lexical productivity, cohesion, semantic network organization, and levels of centrality. The results show that students with closer linguistic proximity to Spanish or with a heritage background tend to activate a broader and more varied lexicon, but one that is less cohesive and internally structured than that of students with non-Romance languages or without family contact with Spanish. Although exploratory, the findings provide valuable insights for vocabulary teaching and teacher training, both in Spanish as a foreign language and in Spanish as a language of schooling, particularly in multilingual settings or classrooms with linguistically diverse students.