Effects Of Morphological Knowledge Training On High School Students' Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition Through English Reading

Vocabulary learning is the foundation of English learning.A lot of studies indicate that incidental vocabulary acquisition is one of the effective ways for learners to learn English vocabulary.Though there have been many studies on the topic of incidental vocabulary acquisition,the research concerning the effect of teaching intervention on it is not adequate.This research aims at exploring the influence of morphological knowledge training on senior high students' incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading.The research questions in this thesis are as follows:(1)Does morphological knowledge training have influence on senior high students'incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading?If so,what are those aspects of influences?(2)Is there any difference between male and female students in the influences of morphological knowledge training on their incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading?If so,what are the differences?(3)Is there any difference between higher and lower students in the influences of morphological knowledge training on their incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading?If so,what are the differences?To answer the above questions,both quantitative and qualitative research methods were adopted in this study.Three classes from Huai'an Senior High School were chosen as the subjects.Students in Senior One Class(7)were asked to confirm the target words in the English reading materials for the vocabulary tests.Class(8)was the experimental class and Class(9)was the control class.Before the experiment,a vocabulary pre-test was conducted in Class(8)and Class(9).After the two-month experiment,immediate and delayed vocabulary post-tests were conducted sequentially in the two classes again.The qualitative research in this study is a semi-structured interview.We interviewed in Chinese four students of higher English proficiency(two boys and two girls)and four of lower English proficiency(two boys and two girls as well)from Class(8).Finally,all the collected data were analyzed with SPSS 20.Through analysis of the collected data,the following conclusions can be drawn:Firstly,morphological knowledge training has a significantly positive effect on students'incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading.There is no significant difference between the control and experimental classes in their incidental vocabulary acquisition before the morphological knowledge training.After the two-month training,students in the experimental class perform significantly better than those in the control class in their immediate incidental vocabulary acquisition.To be specific,the training may improve the immediate incidental acquisition of words with prefix and root and those with root and suffix.However,the positive effect of morphological knowledge training on incidental vocabulary acquisition does not last long.Secondly,morphological knowledge training has a significantly more positive effect on female students' incidental vocabulary acquisition than on male students'.Before the training,there is no significant difference between their incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading.After the training,females perform significantly better than males in their immediate incidental vocabulary acquisition.To be specific,morphological knowledge training may have a more positive effect on female students' immediate incidental acquisition of some words with root and suffix.However,similarly,the more positive effect on female students'incidental vocabulary acquisition is fading as time passes by.Thirdly,morphological knowledge training has a significantly more positive effect on higher achievers' incidental vocabulary acquisition than on lower achievers'.Before the training,there is no significant difference between their incidental vocabulary acquisition through English reading.After the training,higher achievers perform significantly better than lower achievers in their immediate incidental vocabulary acquisition.To be specific,morphological knowledge training may have a more positive effect on higher achievers' immediate incidental acquisition of words with prefix and root,compound words and some words with root and suffix.However,similarly,the more positive influence on higher achievers' incidental vocabulary acquisition is fading as time passes by.This study has important pedagogical implications.Teachers should make students realize the importance of morphological knowledge and extensive reading for vocabulary acquisition,and pay special attention to some males and lower level students.However,this study is only preliminary,and future studies can choose more samples and last longer to find out more about the effect of morphological knowledge training on incidental vocabulary acquisition.