ERIC Number: EJ829150
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 39
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0023-8333
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Learning L2 German Vocabulary through Reading: The Effect of Three Enhancement Techniques Compared
Peters, Elke; Hulstijn, Jan H.; Sercu, Lies; Lutjeharms, Madeline
Language Learning, v59 n1 p113-151 Mar 2009
This study investigated three techniques designed to increase the chances that second language (L2) readers look up and learn unfamiliar words during and after reading an L2 text. Participants in the study, 137 college students in Belgium (L1 = Dutch, L2 = German), were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, forming combinations of two between-subject factors: [plus or minus] prereading test announcement and [plus or minus] postreading vocabulary task. Comprehension questions were used to direct participants' attention to half of the 16 target words in this study, creating the within-subject factor (word relevance). Participants accomplished the experimental tasks at computers. They could look up the meaning of unfamiliar words in an online dictionary. The dependent variables are the following: use of online dictionary during reading, performance on a word-form recognition test, and performance on two word-meaning recall tests (immediate and delayed). Test announcement and word relevance substantially prompted participants to use the online dictionary more. Only test announcement and vocabulary task (not word relevance) affected performance in the word recognition test positively. Both word relevance and postreading vocabulary task substantially affected word retention in the recall posttests. These findings, together with those of the studies reviewed, provide robust evidence that the low incidence of vocabulary acquisition through reading ("input only") can be substantially boosted by techniques that make students "look up the meaning of" unknown words, "process" their form-meaning relationship "elaborately," and process them "again" after reading ("input plus").
Descriptors: Second Language Learning, Reading Comprehension, Reading Processes, College Students, Program Effectiveness, Word Recognition, Foreign Countries, Vocabulary Development, German, Reading Tests, Task Analysis, Dictionaries, Recall (Psychology), Pretests Posttests, Linguistic Input
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Belgium
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A