Nem Undergraduates' Selective Attention In Vocabulary Learning And Related Factors

With vocabulary acquisition becoming one of the major parts in the study of SLA, some researchers abroad and at home plough into the field of the depth of vocabulary knowledge, shifting the key point of the study from the breadth of vocabulary to its depth. However, current researches primarily focus on the development of the depth of vocabulary knowledge. Few are concerned about what traits learners show in acquiring a given word, and what they attend to and ignore concerning its relevant knowledge. This thesis is intended to investigate the knowledge learners selectively attend to in vocabulary acquisition and the reasons why they make such a selection, and to analyze the relationship between selective attention and the depth of vocabulary knowledge, language proficiency, gender, learning style and motivation.The study is carried out by means of three questionnaires (QSAVL, SAS and ELMQ) and two tests (VKT and EAT), involving 221 non-English major sophomores of NAU by convenience sampling. With the application of SPSS 10.0 software, the following major findings are obtained.(1) Students allot their limited attention to diverse types of vocabulary knowledge disproportionally. Only 24% subjects always or often attend to details related to a word. What draws students' attention most is word form and conceptual meaning, while what attracts their attention least is word position and function like register, cultural information and style. The practice is mainly attributed to language proficiency, learning habit, and the teaching model.(2) The selective attention in vocabulary learning affects vocabulary acquisition and language proficiency. High- and low-scoring students in the depth of vocabulary knowledge and language proficiency differ significantly from each other in their attention to vocabulary learning, with the former outperforming the latter.(3) Individual differences have some correlation with selective attention in vocabulary learning. The male and the female students show different selective attention in vocabulary learning, the female attending to more knowledge than the male. Field-dependence style has weak correlation with the selective attention in vocabulary learning, but field-independence style is not related to the selective attention in vocabulary learning. Learners with FD style generally perform better than their FI counterparts in detailed learning. Students with stronger motivation pay more attention to learning detailed vocabulary knowledge. However, integrative motivation is more related to selective attention of vocabulary learning than the instrumental one. Integrative motivation is more helpful than instrumental motivation in vocabulary learning.On the basis of the findings, suggestions are presented on the improvement of vocabulary teaching and acquisition in terms of the theory, teaching mode, learning strategies, examination requirements and individual differences.