The Effects Of Glossing Types On Incidental L2 Vocabulary Acquisition In Reading

Glossing, a device of text-enhancement, has long been confirmed of its facilitative effects on incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition in reading. Nowadays, the focus of glossing research has shifted to exploring the most desirable glossing format that would ameliorate the rate of incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition in reading. Nevertheless, due to the diversity of glossing formats, research subjects and instruments, no consistent findings have been attained yet. The current study revolves around the following three questions to examine the effectiveness of single glosses and multiple-choice glosses on incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition in reading. 1) What are the effects of single glosses and multiple-choice glosses on L2 learners’ immediate word gain? 2) What are the effects of single glosses and multiple-choice glosses on L2 learners’ word retention? 3) What is the developing tendency of glossing-aided learners’ incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition over an extended period of time?The present experiment is constituted of a pre-test and a main-test,in which a total of 153 non-English sophomores from 3 classes participate. They are of intermediate English proficiency on the whole, judging from their scores in last semester’s English exam and their performance in class. In the pre-test, 33 students from Class C are arranged to read the text without the aid of glossing so as to determine the target words for the main-test. At the main experimental stage, according to their scores in last semester’s English exam, the author further groups the 120 students from Class A and Class B into four parts, i.e.high-level English learners from Class A, low-level English learners from Class A,high-level English learners from Class B, and low-level English learners from Class B.Learners from these two classes are instructed to read two versions of the text respectively,that is, one with single glosses (Class A) and the other one with multiple-choice glosses(Class B). Subsequent to reading, all the learners are required to finish a recall protocol,and the immediate vocabulary test. Two weeks later follows the delayed vocabulary test.Research results indicate that 1) multiple-choice glosses are more favorable than single glosses in enhancing L2 learners’ immediate word gain, and, in terms of their effectiveness on immediate word gain, the former interacts positively with learners’language proficiency; 2) multiple-choice glosses make more contribution to L2 learners’word retention than single glosses do, and the former’s effects on word retention interact positively with learners’ language proficiency; 3) two weeks later, under the two glossing conditions,the rate of L2 learners’incidental vocabulary acquisition assumes a declining tendency, as shown by the paired-samples T-test results; this predictable developing tendency reconfirms the incremental and multifaceted attributes of incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition. Based on the findings in the current study, it is suggested that English teachers and book compilers should appropriately utilize multiple-choice glosses,in quest of bolstering incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition, the comprehensibility of reading materials and learner autonomy.