The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge

This study examined the rate at which depth of vocabulary knowledge was learned and retained from reading a 300-headword graded reader, The Star Zoo. A total of 30 tertiarylevel students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in China volunteered to take part in a reading program. Incident...

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Main Author:	Teng, Feng
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016
Online Access:	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/1/11596-43158-1-PB.pdf

id	ukm-10161
recordtype	eprints
spelling	ukm-101612017-02-27T08:47:28Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/ The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge Teng, Feng This study examined the rate at which depth of vocabulary knowledge was learned and retained from reading a 300-headword graded reader, The Star Zoo. A total of 30 tertiarylevel students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in China volunteered to take part in a reading program. Incidental learning and retention of the depth of vocabulary knowledge was measured, complementing previous research along this line. The depth of vocabulary knowledge was examined by using 36 test items within six bands of frequency (more than 20 times to only once). The target words were substituted with pseudo-words. Two tests were employed to measure receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. This study was completed in three sessions: Students read the book for the first time and finished tests; students read the book for the second time seven days later, and finished tests; finally, retention tests were completed three months later. The findings showed that incidental vocabulary learning through reading was very limited, and this learning was largely based on a high frequency of word occurrence, that is, the higher the frequency level was, the better the learners’ word-learning was. The number of times that Chinese EFL learners needed to encounter a word to recognize vocabulary knowledge was 14 times, and at least 18 times were needed for productive vocabulary knowledge. This study shows that attention to building knowledge of known words instead of solely introducing new words should be paid, and that both word exposure frequency and elaborate word processing are important as part of successful vocabulary development. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2016-10 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/1/11596-43158-1-PB.pdf Teng, Feng (2016) The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge. GEMA: Online Journal of Language Studies, 16 (3). pp. 53-70. ISSN 1675-8021 http://ejournal.ukm.my/gema/issue/view/863
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	Universiti Kebangasaan Malaysia
building	UKM Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
description	This study examined the rate at which depth of vocabulary knowledge was learned and retained from reading a 300-headword graded reader, The Star Zoo. A total of 30 tertiarylevel students who learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in China volunteered to take part in a reading program. Incidental learning and retention of the depth of vocabulary knowledge was measured, complementing previous research along this line. The depth of vocabulary knowledge was examined by using 36 test items within six bands of frequency (more than 20 times to only once). The target words were substituted with pseudo-words. Two tests were employed to measure receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge. This study was completed in three sessions: Students read the book for the first time and finished tests; students read the book for the second time seven days later, and finished tests; finally, retention tests were completed three months later. The findings showed that incidental vocabulary learning through reading was very limited, and this learning was largely based on a high frequency of word occurrence, that is, the higher the frequency level was, the better the learners’ word-learning was. The number of times that Chinese EFL learners needed to encounter a word to recognize vocabulary knowledge was 14 times, and at least 18 times were needed for productive vocabulary knowledge. This study shows that attention to building knowledge of known words instead of solely introducing new words should be paid, and that both word exposure frequency and elaborate word processing are important as part of successful vocabulary development.
format	Article
author	Teng, Feng
spellingShingle	Teng, Feng The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
author_facet	Teng, Feng
author_sort	Teng, Feng
title	The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
title_short	The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
title_full	The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
title_fullStr	The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
title_full_unstemmed	The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
title_sort	effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge
publisher	Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
publishDate	2016
url	http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/ http://journalarticle.ukm.my/10161/1/11596-43158-1-PB.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T19:56:42Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T19:56:42Z
_version_	1777406576942907392

The effects of word exposure frequency on incidental learning of the depth of vocabulary knowledge

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