The Effects Of Different Task Types On Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition Through Extensive Reading

Vocabulary plays an important part in foreign language learning. "Without grammar, we can say very little; without vocabulary, we can say nothing.' (Wilkins,1972). "Language is not words and grammar, it is essentially lexical" (Lewis,1993). Vocabulary acquisition is receiving more and more attention in second language pedagogy and research, but it is still a big problem for second language learners to acquire a large number of new words.The previous researches show that direct vocabulary learning cannot account for a significant proportion of the words learners need to know. In recent years, there is a general consensus among L2 vocabulary experts that extensive reading can lead to vocabulary acquisition over time. After recognizing the importance of incidental vocabulary learning, many researchers became engaged in the exploration of this area. Therefore, L2 incidental vocabulary learning through reading has gained support not only theoretically but also empirically. In terms of different vocabulary learning tasks, Laufer and Hulstijn (2001) proposed the "Involvement Load Hypothesis" for L2 vocabulary learning. They conducted two parallel experiments to investigate the validity of the hypothesis. The results of the first experiment fully supported the hypothesis while the second experiment only partially supported it. Therefore, further empirical evidence for the Involvement Load Hypothesis will be provided.in the present study.In the present experiments, two intact classes of freshmen at the same language proficiency level in Linyi University participated during normal class time. All of the 40 subjects in control class were asked to do Task I (reading comprehension plus multiple-choice questions); while all of the 40 subjects in experiment class were asked to do TaskⅡ(reading comprehension plus sentence-making). TaskⅡinduces a higher involvement load than taskⅠ. The author explored the three questions in this study:1) Do college students in China acquire words incidentally through extensive reading?2) Will words processed with a higher involvement load be retained better than those that are processed with a lower involvement load in the immediate test?3) As time goes by, can this phenomenon be so obvious that words processed with a higher involvement load will be retained better than those that are processed with a lower involvement load?The experiment conducted for 7 weeks during normal class time. Two pretests were made to make sure the participants were in the same language proficiency level and they were unfamiliar with the target words. Then the two classes were given two different tasks within a certain time and after the tasks they were given an immediate word test unexpectedly. Lastly, two posttests were administered to the participants to test the extent of word retention.The major findings are analyzed quantitatively with the aid of SPSS 11.5, and they are concluded as following:1) The college students in China can incidentally acquire a certain amount of vocabulary knowledge through extensive reading.2) The results of the experiments partially support the theoretical foundation of the present study—The Involvement Load Hypothesis. Task with a higher involvement load yields a better retention of target words in incidental vocabulary learning than task with a lower involvement load.3) At three testing time, the knowledge of target words is maintained differently. As time elapses, students'vocabulary knowledge would be reduced in incidental vocabulary learning. The highest mean scores of the target words are gained at the immediate test and the lowest mean scores are gained at posttest 2.The present study has both theoretical and practical value. The author put forward some constructive implications on English vocabulary teaching. English teachers could design different reading tasks according to different teaching purposes to help students acquire unfamiliar words. At the same time, in the teaching process, teachers should ensure the reproduce of the target words, so that the students can have the opportunity to review and consulate the target words.