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INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING IN SLA

EFFECTS OF FREQUENCY, AURAL ENHANCEMENT, AND WORKING MEMORY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2018

Jonathan Malone Open the ORCID record for Jonathan Malone [Opens in a new window]
Jonathan Malone*
Affiliation:
University of Maryland
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Jonathan Malone, School of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, 3215 Jiménez Hall, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. E-mail: jemalone@umd.edu
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Abstract

This study explored the roles of exposure frequency, aural enhancement (AE) of input, and individual differences in working memory (WM) during L2 incidental vocabulary learning while reading. Eighty intermediate-level English learners were divided into four treatment groups, and given reading tasks with target words embedded two or four times. Listening while reading was controlled, as well as duration of exposure to new words through timed reading tasks, and comprehension questions helped to ensure a focus on meaning. Surprise posttests assessed initial form recognition and form-meaning connections. Proficiency and WM measures were administered, with English proficiency used as a covariate. Results indicated that measurable learning occurred at the two-exposure level for new words, both in form recognition and form-meaning connections. Frequency effects held from two to four exposures across AE and non-AE conditions, but were influenced by AE on the form-meaning outcome. This indicated support for simultaneous input modalities facilitating deeper processing and better learning outcomes. WM outcomes correlated with vocabulary outcomes for form recognition, and an aptitude by treatment interaction was found for form recognition.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 40 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 651 - 675
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

This study was supported by the PhD program of Second Language Acquisition at the University of Maryland. I would like to thank Drs. Michael Long, Robert DeKeyser, and Steve Ross for their helpful suggestions for the project. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Dougherty for sharing the Shapebuilder memory task, Dr. J. D. Brown for sharing the cloze reading ability task, and the Center for the Advanced Study of Language for sharing the nonword span memory task. I would also like to thank Donna DeLuca and Cory Northern for their help during the project.

References

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