Effectiveness Of Different Types Of Glosses On Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition Through Reading

The present study investigates the effectiveness of different glossing languagesand glossing formats affecting the incidental vocabulary acquisition through readingon intermediate level English learners on the theoretical basis of Noticing Hypothesis,Depth of Processing Hypothesis, and Involvement Load Hypothesis. The variablesinvolved in the present study are two different glossing languages, Chinese as L1andEnglish as L2, and two different formats, single glosses and multiple-choice glosses.The study tries to answer three questions:1). Which glossing language is moreeffective on incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading in the immediate test,L1(Chinese) glosses or L2(English) glosses?2). Which glossing format is moreeffective on incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading in the immediate test,single glosses or multiple-choice glosses?3). What is the influence of different typesof glosses upon target words in word retention?104students in a vocational school majored in English were chosen for the study.They were assigned into four groups reading the same text with12target words underdifferent glossing conditions: L1(Chinese) single glosses, L2(English) single glosses,L1(Chinese) multiple-choices glosses, and L2(English) multiple-choices glosses.After the treatment, the subjects finished one immediate test at once and one delayedtest one week later.The results from data analysis in the immediate test have indicated that Chinesewas more effective than English as the glossing language for learners at intermediatelevel, and multiple-choice glosses was more effective than the single glosses. Theeffectiveness in the delayed test, however, was not obvious due to the low exposurefrequency. Based on the findings, implications for the English teachers, learners andreading material compilers and suggestions have been put forward.