Effects of input elaboration and enhancement on second language vocabulary acquisition through reading by Korean learners of English

• Main Author: Kim, Youngkyu
• Other Authors: Long, Michael H
• Published: University of Hawaii at Manoa 2009
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/6863

The present study investigates the effects of lexical elaboration and typographical enhancement on the acquisition of second language (L2) vocabulary through reading by 297 Korean learners of Freshman English. The primary research questions are whether (1) lexical elaboration, typographical enhancement, or a combination of both, has an effect on L2 vocabulary acquisition through reading, and whether (2) two specific types of lexical elaboration, explicit or implicit, differentially affect L2 vocabulary acquisition. Participants were exposed to 26 low-frequency target words (TWs) by reading one of six versions of an experimental text containing these TWs. An explicitly lexically elaborated text had all TWs immediately followed by which means plus a synonym- or definition-type vocabulary explanation, whereas the TWs in an implicitly lexically elaborated text were immediately followed by an appositive vocabulary explanation only. A typographically enhanced text contained all TWs set in bold face in order to increase perceptual salience, in hopes of drawing participants' attention to the TWs while reading. The study adopted a 2 x 3 factorial multivariate analysis of variance design with typographical enhancement with two levels (enhanced, unenhanced) and type of lexical elaboration with three levels (explicit, implicit, unelaborated) as two independent variables, and form- and meaning-recognition vocabulary posttests as two dependent variables. The results were: (a) lexical elaboration alone did not aid form recognition of L2 vocabulary; (b) explicit lexical elaboration alone aided meaning recognition of L2 vocabulary; (c) typographical enhancement alone did not aid form and meaning recognition of L2 vocabulary; (d) lexical elaboration and typographical enhancement combined did not aid form recognition of L2 vocabulary; (e) both explicit and implicit lexical elaboration aided meaning recognition of L2 vocabulary; (f) explicit and implicit lexical elaboration did not differ in their effect on form and meaning recognition of L2 vocabulary; and (g) whether a text was further enhanced in addition to either explicit or implicit lexical elaboration did not seem to make a difference in the acquisition of either the forms or the meanings of the previously unknown words in the text. Pedagogical implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are proposed. === xv, 170 leaves