Does Reading Literary Texts Have Any Impact on EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Retention?

Abstract: This study seeks to find out whether EFL learners’ exposure to literary texts is in any way different from their exposure to nonliterary texts with respect to their ability to deal with related vocabulary items. Furthermore, the present study also sets out to examine whether EFL learners perform differently on reading comprehension tests derived from literary texts compared with those derived from nonliterary ones. The analysis of the data brought to light the fact that exposure to a plethora of literary texts does not imperatively bring any significant gain in the comprehension of literary or nonliterary texts. Even so, it is concluded that exposure to vocabulary items in literary texts may, in point of fact, help EFL learners to build up solid vocabulary knowledge. Key words: Extensive Reading; Literature; Reading Comprehension; Vocabulary Acquisition Résumé: Cette étude cherche à découvrir s’il y aurait des différences aux niveaux des résultats en comparant avec l’exposition des étudiants d'EFL aux textes littéraires et des étudiants d’EFL qui sont exposes aux textes non littéraires en ce qui concerne de leur capacité de traiter les articles relatifs de vocabulaire. En outre, la présente étude également mise à examiner si les étudiants d'EFL exécutent différemment sur des essais de compréhension de lecture dérivés des textes littéraires comparés à ceux dérivés de les non littéraire. L'analyse des données a mis en évidence le fait que l'exposition à une pléthore de textes littéraires n'apporte impérativement aucun gain significatif dans la compréhension des textes littéraires ou non littéraire. Néanmoins, on le conclut que l'exposition aux articles de vocabulaire en textes littéraires peut, en effet, aider des étudiants d'EFL à accumuler la connaissance solide de vocabulaire. Mots clés: Lecture étendue; Littérature; Compréhension de lecture; Acquisition de vocabulair

The effects of exposure to literary texts on reading comprehension and vocabulary retention: literature-majors vs translation-majors

This study attempts to examine the impact of reading literary texts on vocabulary retention of learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Some Iranian undergraduate students (n=140) randomly selected from among senior students of English literature and English translation participated in this investigation. The results of one-way ANOVAs brought to light the fact that exposure to a plethora of literary material does not necessarily bring about any significant gain in literature majors’ comprehension of literary or nonliterary texts. Even so, as reading literary texts improves the retention of vocabulary items, a literature-based methodology for teaching vocabulary is recommende

The impacts of manipulating task complexity on EFL Learners’ Performance

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of manipulating the cognitive complexity of tasks on EFL learners’ narrative task performance in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency of their production. To this aim, by drawing upon Robinson’s (2007) Triadic Componential Framework (TCF), four levels of task complexity were operationalized. Sixty- five Iranian students studying English as a foreign language at the intermediate level participated in this research. The obtained results revealed that manipulating different dimensions of task complexity exerts differential effects on complexity, accuracy, and fluency of learners’ narrative task performance. Additionally, it was shown that keeping tasks simple along the resource-dispersing dimension, while making them more demanding along the resource-directing dimension results in a simultaneous increase in complexity and accuracy, a finding which conforms to predictions based on Robinson’s Cognition Hypothesis. These findings suggest that task complexity can be used as a robust basis for making grading and sequencing decisions in task-based syllabi