The Effect Of Depth Of Word Knowledge On L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

L2 vocabulary acquisition has become a central issue in the field of L2 language acquisition research. More and more researchers have realized that L2 vocabulary acquisition is not an acquired-not-acquired affair. Instead, it is an incremental process in which the knowledge of the target words accumulates gradually. In essence, how well a word is known may determine a learner's (especially the intermediate and advanced learner) vocabulary capacity. However, many researches have demonstrated the fact that word knowledge does not increase naturally with the advancement of learning. Based on Wolter's Depth of Individual Word Knowledge model, and the research findings of deep process training derived from the existing researches, the author attempts to work out a deep process training program applicable to the Chinese classroom. The program aims at deepening the learners' vocabulary knowledge in terms of semantic, derivative and collocation knowledge of the target words. The results of the training program are examined from two aspects: the production and the long-term retention of the target words.The author carries out an experiment with the training program on 5 target words in the experiment group. In the meanwhile, the traditional way of instruction of the target words is used in the control group. Two tests are distributed to the two groups a week later and a month later. The results show that the experiment group has better performance both in the production and the long-term retention of the target words. The hypothesis that deep process training facilitates vocabulary acquisition is supported in this research.