Effects Of Retrieving Glossed Words On Incidental Vocabulary Learning In L2 Reading

Second language(L2)learners can acquire vocabulary knowledge from reading.However,many studies have revealed that word learning in L2 reading,a major type of incidental vocabulary learning,is a slow and ineffective process.Glossing(i.e.,a short explanation or synonym of unfamiliar words)is a commonly-used technique to improve incidental L2 vocabulary learning.Although glossing could help learners understand word meanings quickly and establish correct form-meaning associations,it induces little cognitive processing of words,which limits its effect on incidental vocabulary learning.Researchers explored various glossing methods that foster cognitive process,including multiple-choice glosses,hyperlinked glosses,dictionaryusage glosses,and the retrieval of glosses,among which the retrieval of glosses has been scarcely examined.Furthermore,several previous studies on the retrieval of glosses displayed inconsistent results.Therefore,it is a need to investigate the effect of retrieving glossed words on incidental vocabulary learning.This empirical study aimed to explore the effect of retrieving the meaning of words after they have been glossed previously on incidental vocabulary learning among university students.Two research questions were addressed:(1)To what extent does retrieving glossed words influence incidental vocabulary learning from L2reading(in terms of word form recognition,meaning recognition,and meaning recall)?(2)How does retrieval influence L2 readers’ incidental vocabulary learning?The participants in this study were 75 Chinese EFL undergraduates.They were randomly divided into three groups to read three glossing versions of the same story of 4,706 words.There were 12 target words,and each target word appeared four times.Version one served as the control condition.Each occurrence of target words was glossed with in-text L1 translations(gloss-gloss-gloss-gloss,GGGG).In version two,the first occurrence of target words was glossed,and the next three occurrences were followed by a Chinese question asking the word meaning presented in brackets(glossretrieval-retrieval-retrieval,GRRR).In version three,the first occurrence of target words was glossed;the next two occurrences were followed by the retrieval question;the last occurrence was again glossed,which served as feedback(gloss-retrievalretrieval-gloss,GRRG).The study underwent 4 major steps.First,participants took a vocabulary size test,a 107-item vocabulary checklist(containing the 12 target words).Second,they read the story on computer through the software Power Point.The story was divided into five parts.After each part,five multiple-choice reading comprehension questions were given.In order to control the exposure frequency of target words,participants were not allowed to turn back to the last page during reading.Third,after reading,participants took three vocabulary posttests that were not told in advance: word form recognition test,meaning recognition test,and meaning recall test.Finally,for each experimental condition,five participants were randomly selected to have a semi-structured interview.As for the first research question,one-way MANOVA was conducted to analyze the quantitative data.Results showed that in terms of the word form recognition test,both the GRRR and GRRG groups were significantly better than the control group,which suggested that retrieval opportunities promoted vocabulary learning of form recognition.In terms of the word meaning recognition and recall tests,only the GRRG group yielded better learning gains than the control group.It demonstrated that the benefits of retrieval in word form-meaning connection were perceived only when feedback was provided after retrieval attempts.As for the second research question,semi-structured interview was employed.The purpose was to explore how retrieval influenced L2 readers’ incidental vocabulary learning.The findings revealed that in the full glossing group,participants inclined to attend much more to L1 glosses than L2 word forms during reading.Regarding the GRRR group,it was found that the first occurrence of TWs with glossing was not as effective as predicted in helping readers establish the initial formmeaning connection.Thus,in subsequent encounters,participants used word inference strategy to access lexical meanings,which negatively influenced learning gains.Concerning the GRRG group,the provision of feedback by means of the fourth gloss input produced positive effects as hypothesized.The feedback could confirm correct retrievals or inferences,crystallize vague retrievals or inferences,and correct wrong retrievals or inferences.This study provided new evidence for the facilitative effect of retrieving glossed words on incidental vocabulary learning,and it also explored how this facilitative effect yielded.The research findings have implications for second language teaching and learning.Language teachers can improve their commonly used method of glossing by providing students with retrieval opportunities,which could promote students’ vocabulary development.Language learners can value the function of retrieval,and use retrieval practice to promote their vocabulary development.