THE EFFECT OF MARGINAL GLOSSES UPON JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS'' INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING THROUGH A SIMPLIFIED NOVEL

• Main Authors: Shu-yun Chuang, 莊素雲
• Other Authors: Ching-chi Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2004
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/61664106884000090262

碩士 === 國立高雄師範大學 === 英語學系 === 92 === ABSTRACT Based on the significance of English reading comprehension in the Junior-High school Basic Competency tests, a study of the effects of utilizing marginal glosses upon junior high school students’ incidental vocabulary learning through a simplified novel was developed. The subjects in this study were divided into two experimental groups and two control groups receiving two treatments. The experimental groups read the simplified novel along with marginal glosses, while the control groups completed the reading process without the glosses. Nevertheless, the subjects in all of the groups took reading comprehension tests, vocabulary tests, and answered one questionnaire after the whole novel was completed. The results of the study showed many positive effects and constructive suggestions for innovative English teaching. First, junior high school students are able to learn words incidentally from a simplified novel. However, if the students lacked of proper practice and reviewing the new words regularly right after learning, they would forget most of the words in the end. Second, the frequency of the new words appearing in the text influenced the word acquisition a lot. The more the new words occurred in the novel, the longer they would be retained. Third, salient words were also another important factor in vocabulary incidental learning. Fourth, the method of providing marginal glosses was a good aid for the low-intermediate students in this study while their performance in reading comprehension and vocabulary tests and in enhancing confidence reached a significant effect. Fifth, for high-proficiency students in the control group, there was no big influence in reading comprehension tests; however, their performance in vocabulary tests was still worse than those in the experimental group. Sixth, though the results of language forgetting patterns in this study were measured at different intervals, the curves of this study were found to be similar to those found by other studies. The amount of forgetting was the highest in the beginning and then slowed down gradually afterwards. Seventh, the questionnaire revealed that most of the students would like to have the assistance of marginal glosses while reading. They also agreed that if they were aided with marginal glosses, they would have more confidence to understand the novel better and expanded their vocabulary abilities incidentally. Finally, for the efficiency of the students’ vocabulary acquisition, teachers were recommended to design some following-up activities right after learning if the teachers wanted to lessen the possibilities of the students’ forgetting new learned words. Newspaper and graded readers were two good sources of such materials that contained key words that reoccur.