Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-shngb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-07T01:06:39.665Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

HOW DOES PRIOR WORD KNOWLEDGE AFFECT VOCABULARY LEARNING PROGRESS IN AN EXTENSIVE READING PROGRAM?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2015

Stuart Webb  and
Anna C.-S. Chang
Stuart Webb
Affiliation:
Western University
Anna C.-S. Chang*
Affiliation:
Hsing-Wu University
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Anna C.-S. Chang, 101 Section 1, Feng-Liao Road, Linkou, New Taipei, Taiwan. E-mail: annachang@livemail.tw
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Sixty English as a foreign language learners were divided into high-, intermediate-, and low-level groups based on their scores on pretests of target vocabulary and Vocabulary Levels Test scores. The participants read 10 Level 1 and 10 Level 2 graded readers over 37 weeks during two terms. Two sets of 100 target words were chosen from each set of graded readers and were tested on three occasions. The results showed that the relative gains from pretest to immediate posttest were 63.18%, 44.64%, and 28.12% for the high-, intermediate-, and low-level groups, respectively. There was little decay in knowledge on the Term 1 three-month delayed posttest; relative gains ranged from 21.05% for the low-level group to 59.01% for the high-level group. The learning gains in Term 2 were consistent with those from Term 1. The results indicate that prior vocabulary knowledge may have a large impact on the amount of vocabulary learning made through extensive reading.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 37 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 651 - 675
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Brown, R., Waring, B., & Donkaewbua, S. (2008). Incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading, reading-while-listening, and listening to stories. Reading in a Foreign Language, 20, 136–163.Google Scholar
Chang, C.-S., & Millett, S. (2013). Improving reading rates and comprehension through timed repeated reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 25, 126–148.Google Scholar
Chen, C., & Truscott, J. (2010). The effects of repetition and L1 lexicalization on incidental vocabulary acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 31, 693–713.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cho, K.-S., & Krashen, S. D. (1994). Acquisition of vocabulary from the Sweet Valley Kids series: Adult ESL acquisition. Journal of Reading, 37, 662–667.Google Scholar
Clarke, D. F., & Nation, I. S. P. (1980). Guessing the meanings of words from context: Strategy and techniques. System, 8, 211–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobb, T. (2007). Computing the vocabulary demands of L2 reading. Language Learning and Technology, 11, 38–63.Google Scholar
Day, R. R., Omura, C., & Hiramatsu, M. (1991). Incidental EFL vocabulary learning and reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 7, 541–551.Google Scholar
Dowhower, S. L. (1987). Effects of repeated reading on second-grade transitional readers’ fluency and comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly, 22, 389–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dupuy, B., & Krashen, S. D. (1993). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in French as a foreign language. Applied Language Learning, 4, 55–63.Google Scholar
Ellis, N. C. (2006). Selective attention and transfer phenomena in L2 acquisition: Contingency, cue competition, salience, interference, overshadowing, blocking, and perceptual learning. Applied Linguistics, 27, 164–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, N. C., & Beaton, A. A. (1993). Factors affecting the learning of foreign vocabulary: Imagery keywords mediators and phonological short-term memory. Language Learning, 43, 559–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorsuch, G., & Taguchi, E. (2008). Repeated reading for developing reading fluency and reading comprehension: The case of EFL learners in Vietnam. System, 32, 253–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herman, P. A. (1985). The effect of repeated readings on reading rate, speech pauses, and word recognition accuracy. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 553–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horst, M. (2005). Learning L2 vocabulary through extensive reading: A measurement study. Canadian Modern Language Review, 61, 355–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horst, M., Cobb, T., & Meara, P. (1998). Beyond A Clockwork Orange: Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 11, 207–223.Google Scholar
Horst, M., & Meara, P. M. (1999). Test of a model for predicting second language lexical growth through reading. Canadian Modern Language Review, 56, 308–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hu, M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2000). Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 13, 403–430.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. R., Stein, M. L., & Wysocki, K. (1984). Learning vocabulary through reading. American Educational Research Journal, 21, 767–787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koskinen, P. S., Blum, I. H., Bisson, S. A., Phillips, S. M., Creamer, T. S., & Baker, T. K. (2000). Book access, shared reading, and audio models: The effects of supporting the literacy learning of linguistically diverse students in school and at home. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 23–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B. (1989). What percentage of text lexis is essential for comprehension? In Lauren, C. & Nordman, M. (Eds.), Special language: From humans thinking to thinking machines (pp. 316–323). Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Laufer, B. (1992). How much lexis is necessary for reading comprehension? In Bejoint, H. & Arnaud, P. (Eds.), Vocabulary and applied linguistics (pp. 126–132). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laufer, B., & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, G. C. (2010). Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22, 15–30.Google Scholar
Liu, N., & Nation, I. S. P. (1985). Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context. RELC Journal, 16, 33–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lotto, L., & De Groot, A. M. B. (1998). Effects of learning method and word type on acquiring vocabulary in an unfamiliar language. Language Learning, 48, 31–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew effect in science. Science, 159(3810), 56–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagy, W. E., Anderson, R. C., & Herman, P. A. (1987). Learning word meanings from context during normal reading. American Educational Research Journal, 24, 237–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nagy, W. E., Herman, P. A., & Anderson, R. C. (1985). Learning words from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 233–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (1983). Testing and teaching vocabulary. Guidelines, 5, 12–25.Google Scholar
Nation, I.S.P. (2012). The BNC/COCA word family lists. Unpublished manuscript. Retrieved fromwww.victoria.ac.nz/lals/about/staff/paul-nationGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P. (2014). How much input do you need to learn the most frequent 9,000 words? Reading in a Foreign Language, 26(2), 1–16.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P., & Heatley, A. (2002). Range: A program for the analysis of vocabulary in texts [Software]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.victoria.ac.nz/lals/staff/paul-nation/nation.aspxGoogle Scholar
Nation, I. S. P., & Wang, K. M.-T. (1999). Graded readers and vocabulary. Reading in a Foreign Language, 12, 355–380.Google Scholar
Nation, I. S. P., & Webb, S. (2011). Researching and analyzing vocabulary. Boston, MA: Heinle.Google Scholar
Pellicer-Sánchez, A., & Schmitt, N. (2010). Incidental vocabulary acquisition from an authentic novel: Do Things Fall Apart? Reading in a Foreign Language, 22, 31–55.Google Scholar
Pigada, M., & Schmitt, N. (2006). Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study. Reading in a Foreign Language, 18, 1–28.Google Scholar
Pitts, M., White, H., & Krashen, S. (1989). Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading: A replication of the Clockwork Orange study using second language acquirers. Reading in a Foreign Language, 5, 271–275.Google Scholar
Pulido, D. (2004). The relationship between text comprehension and second language incidental vocabulary acquisition: A matter of topic familiarity? Language Learning, 54, 469–523.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review, 56, 282–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qian, D. D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective. Language Learning, 52, 513–536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rott, S. (1999). The effect of exposure frequency on intermediate language learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 589–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sasao, Y. (2013). Diagnostic tests of English vocabulary learning proficiency: Guessing from context and knowledge of word parts (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.Google Scholar
Schmitt, N. (2010). Researching vocabulary: A vocabulary research manual. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Jiang, X., & Grabe, W. (2011). The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension. Modern Language Journal, 95, 26–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitt, N., Schmitt, D., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behaviours of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18, 55–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shefelbine, J. L. (1990). Student factors related to variability in learning word meanings from context. Journal of Reading Behaviour, 22, 71–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stanovich, K. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tekmen, E. A. F., & Daloglu, A. (2006). An investigation of incidental vocabulary acquisition in relation to learner proficiency level and word frequency. Foreign Language Annals, 39, 220–243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Waring, R., & Takaki, M. (2003). At what rate do learners learn and retain new vocabulary from reading a graded reader? Reading in a Foreign Language, 15, 130–163.Google Scholar
Webb, S. (2007). The effects of repetition on vocabulary knowledge. Applied Linguistics, 28, 46–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S. (2008). The effects of context on incidental vocabulary learning. Reading in a Foreign Language, 20, 232–245.Google Scholar
Webb, S. A. (2009). The effects of pre-learning vocabulary on reading comprehension and writing. Canadian Modern Language Review, 65, 441–470.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, S. A., & Chang, A. C.-S. (2012). Vocabulary learning through assisted and unassisted repeated reading. Canadian Modern Language Review, 68, 267–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahar, R., Cobb, T., & Spada, N. (2001). Acquiring vocabulary through reading: Effects of frequency and contextual richness. Canadian Modern Language Review, 57, 541–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar