Study Of Contextual Guessing And Dictionary Consulting In Incidental Vocabulary Learning Through Reading

This study aims to investigate two important incidental vocabulary learning strategies, contextual guessing and dictionary consulting, with 110 English learners in China University of Petroleum. In particular, three approaches are applied in the research, namely, a questionnaire concerning vocabulary learning strategies, three vocabulary tests with a Yes/No test, a vocabulary learning test through reading and a post test for checking learning outcomes included and finally a post interview.By summarizing studies related to vocabulary, vocabulary learning, incidental vocabulary learning, reading, context, dictionary and so forth, the thesis intends to compare two strategies, namely, contextual guessing and dictionary consulting, in the area of the foreign vocabulary learning. The tentative efforts in the thesis lie in data collections for empirical supports for the main ideas and the proposed suggestions of a better way of vocabulary learning.The thesis covers four chapters besides introduction and conclusion. The introduction part simply presents the research orientation, methodology and data collection, the significance of the study. Chapter one deals with the related studies of vocabulary learning, including vocabulary learning strategies, reading, contextual guessing, and dictionary consulting, which serve as the theoretical bases of the study. Chapter two is the empirical study of the two strategies, with methods of a questionnaire, three vocabulary tests, and a post interview. Chapter three presents the results and findings from the research mentioned above. Chapter four discusses the results and findings and then puts forward the implications in term of the using and training of the two strategies. Finally, the conclusion part summaries each part of the thesis, and presents limitations and further suggestions for the study. Although some limitations can be found in the present study, it necessarily has its important implications. The thesis would be a great help for both foreign language teachers and learners to better realize the necessity of combining guessing strategy and dictionary strategy in incidental vocabulary learning to both enlarge vocabulary breadth and enhance its depth. Another implication of the study is that special trainings on the two vocabulary learning strategies are needed for English learners.