A Study On Form-focused Instruction Of Vocabulary In College English Reading Class

The term form-focused instruction (FFI) was proposed in the early1990s, and Long(1991) initially distinguished the two types of it, that is, focus on form and focus on forms.Since then, form-focused instruction has become a major concern of many linguists andlanguage teachers. Results of relevant studies have shown that FFI is beneficial to languageacquisition, not only to grammar learning but to vocabulary learning. In the review bySpada and Lightbown (2008), isolated and integrated FFI were primarily classified; in thestudy by File and Adams (2010), they compared the effects between FFI (isolated&integrated) and no focus on form instruction on vocabulary acquisition in reading classmeanwhile relative studies were summarized according to the two types: some studiesshowed integrated FFI was more helpful to vocabulary learning than isolated FFI; othersindicated isolated FFI was more effective on vocabulary learning than integrated FFI. Fewstudies compared effects of the two types of FFI on vocabulary acquisition inclassroom-based teaching context, especially in reading lessons.Based on File and Adams’(2010) research and in view of the theories of FFI and thepractice, the present study makes a comparison of effects between the two types of FFI andincidental learning on vocabulary acquisition in Chinese College English reading class;two research questions are accordingly addressed in this study:1. Can form-focused vocabulary instruction bring about more vocabulary learningand retention than incidental vocabulary learning in College English readingclass? If yes, to what extent?2. Which type of form-focused vocabulary instruction (isolated and integrated)can produce more vocabulary learning and retention in College English readingclass? Subjects in this study were40non-English majors from two freshmen classes in auniversity in Suzhou. Before the experiment, two classes received a pre-test of the targetwords; then two extra-reading materials were taught in the two classes with different typesof FFI. After the class instruction, all subjects received an immediate post-test(immediately after the teacher finished explaining the reading material) and a readingcomprehension test. Then a delayed post-test was provided two weeks after the immediatepost-test. The major findings are summarized as follows:Firstly, the two types of FFI are much more effective on vocabulary learning andretention than incidental learning in College English reading class.Secondly, isolated FFI tends to promote more vocabulary learning and retention thanintegrated FFI in College English reading class, with no significant difference.This study thereby offers some pedagogical implications for vocabulary instruction inCollege English reading course: an integrated reading class might cover both form-focusedvocabulary instruction and incidental vocabulary learning within it; isolated FFI prior tothe reading can be used to identify potentially difficult words to be encountered in thefollowing reading while integrated FFI can be used to address possible vocabularyobstacles to reading comprehension during learners read; and incidental learning can beused by learners to acquire some high-frequency words by inferring under contexts.