A Study On The Effect Of Reading Tasks Based On Involvement Load Hypothesis On Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition In Junior Middle School

Vocabulary acquisition is an important part in the second language acquisition,and it is closely concerned with listening,speaking,reading and writing.Therefore,the study on the second language vocabulary acquisition becomes a hot topic for scholars(Coady,1997),who put forward the concept of incidental vocabulary acquisition,which refers to acquiring new words when performing other tasks.To acquire vocabulary through extensive reading has been advocated abroad,while a number of domestic researchers begin to explore the field.Therefore,on the basis of the relevant theoretical foundations and research status of incidental vocabulary acquisition,the current research makes an effort to investigate the effects of the three different reading tasks on the immediate memory and the long retention of the words for junior middle school learners.To be more specific,the research is aimed to answer the three following questions:Question 1: Among the three tasks,multiple choice,gap filling and sentence writing,which one is the most beneficial to the immediate memory of words?Question 2: Among the three tasks,multiple choice,gap filling and sentence writing,which one is the most beneficial to the retention of words?Question 3: Among the three tasks,multiple choice,gap filling and sentence writing,which task has the best effect on the immediate memory and the retention of words based on the participants’ different vocabulary levels?In the research,the participants are 132 Grade Two junior middle school students who come from three parallel classes in Dandong NO.12 Middle School.They are divided into three groups: multiple choice group;gap filling group and sentence writing group.All the participants are assigned to reading the passage and to finish the reading tasks respectively and then to take part in the immediate test as well as the delayed test.And the data collected is analyzed by SPSS.The statistical data based on the first two research questions indicate that the sentence writing task is the most beneficial to the immediate memory and long retention of the words.The statistical data based on the third research question show that among the students of three different levels,the results are all the same: the sentence writing task also has the best effect on the immediate memory and the retention of words.In the light of the above findings,some feasible and effectivesuggestions are present for both teachers and students to improve incidental vocabulary acquisition and the limitations of the current study are also discussed for future study in the field.