| Vocabulary is an essential part of a language. To enlarge the learner's vocabulary is important, yet difficult. Incidental vocabulary acquisition(IVA),proposed by Nagy, Herman, and Anderson in 1985, is considered an important part of a native or a foreign language acquistion.Incidental vocabulary acquisition is a way of learning new words as a by-product during meaning-focused language activities, with the help of various forms of exposures in various contexts. Gloss has been accepted by the scholars as a facility for the learner's acquisition of the target words, and therefore, useful to enhance the input and quality of memory. Researches have confirmed that the learner can gain vocabulary unconsciously through reading. However, the influence of different types of glosses on incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading is still controversial.The present study explores the influence of different glossing forms and glossing languages on enhancing incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading, hoping to draw more reliable and logical conclusions through stricter control of the experimental variables, and to provide valid and practical suggestions for English vocabulary teaching and learning. Three questions are mainly discussed in this study:(1) Which one glossing language(Chinese or English) and which one glossing form(single gloss or multiple-choice gloss) is more favored by the Chinese Senior High School students?(2) Which glossing form, single gloss or multiple-choice gloss, is more effective in reinforcing incidental vocabulary acquisition during reading on both word-gain and memory retention ?(3) Which glossing language, English or Chinese, is more effective in reinforcing incidental vocabulary acquisition during reading on both word-gain and memory retention?These research questions were answered through the results of both theoretical analysis and experimental studies, where involved were 160 senior high schoolstudents of Grade Two, whose vocabulary sizes were not less than 2500. They were randomly divided into four groups with 40 students each, and their results of recent mid-term examination were used as referential criteria, to ensure the approximate English level of each group. These four groups were asked to read the same text but differently glossed in any one of the following glossing types: Single Chinese Gloss(SC), Multiple-Choice Chinese Gloss(MCC), Single English Gloss(SE),Multiple-Choice English Gloss(MCE). After they had read the reading material focusing on the context, they were asked to finish a comprehension test, and followed with an unexpected immediate vocabulary test. The reading comprehension test was specially designed to create the circumstance for an incidental vocabulary acquisition.Seven days later, an unexpected delayed vocabulary test and questionnaires were conducted. Informal interviews were administered after the completion of all tests. All of the results were collected, analyzed(SPSS20.0), and discussed. The final conclusions were arrived at the answering of the three research questions.The results from the experiment and analysis showed that the high school students involved were not only in favor of gloss, but had also gained incidental vocabulary with the help of it. In addition, on the aspect of glossing language,Chinese gloss was significantly better at both word gain and word retain. While on the aspect of glossing form, single form was better than multiple-choice form in vocabulary gain; but multiple-choice form was better than single form in vocabulary retain.The significance of the present study mainly lies in:(1) enriching the research on glosses and incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading;(2) providing some useful suggestions on vocabulary teaching and learning. |
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