The Effect Of Topic Familiarity On Intermediate Korean Leaner's Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

The study examines the effects of topic familiarity (more familiar, less familiar) and exposure frequency ( 1 exposure, 3 exposure, 6 exposure ) on intermediate Korean learner's incidental vocabulary acquisition by reading Chinese. A with-in subject design was used here. 28 Korean learners participated in this study. All participants read four narratives in two days and take a reading task. After the reading task, they were given two surprised vocabulary tests: with context and without context. 6 days later, the two tests were given again. Results indicated that: (a), topic familiarity significantly affected learners'incidental vocabulary acquisition, the more familiar performed significantly better than the less familiar. (b), exposure frequency significantly affected the incidental vocabulary acquisition , 6 exposure performed significantly better than 3 exposure ,and 3 exposure significantly better than 1 exposure. (c) the topic familiarity×exposure frequency interaction was significant.