| The present study attempted to determine whether English vocabulary words can be explicitly taught and effectively learned through interaction with an experimental reading-based, gloss-embedded text plus interaction with form, meaning, and use vocabulary exercises, and whether this approach would lead to higher retention rates compared to a more conventional vocabulary-learning approach involving a text plus dictionary use plus an opportunity to write on a related topic. Results show that the experimental condition had a significant positive effect on the immediate but not the delayed vocabulary posttest performance. Activation of glosses, prior knowledge, motivation, and educational level did not significantly affect performance. IEP level (placement in language learning classes) and L1 had mixed effects on performance. No relationship was found between participant group and ratings of treatment helpfulness. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are also discussed. |
