Modality effects in vocabulary acquisition

It is unknown whether modality affects the efficiency with which humans learn novel word forms and their meanings, with previous studies reporting both written and auditory advantages. The current study implements controls whose absence in previous work likely offers explanation for such contradictory findings. In two novel word learning experiments, participants were trained and tested on pseudoword - novel object pairs, with controls on: modality of test, modality of meaning, duration of exposure and transparency of word form. In both experiments word forms were presented in either their written or spoken form, each paired with a pictorial meaning (novel object). Following a 20-minute filler task, participants were tested on their ability to identify the picture-word form pairs on which they were trained. A between subjects design generated four participant groups per experiment 1) written training, written test; 2) written training, spoken test; 3) spoken training, written test; 4) spoken training, spoken test. In Experiment 1 the written stimulus was presented for a time period equal to the duration of the spoken form. Results showed that when the duration of exposure was equal, participants displayed a written training benefit. Given words can be read faster than the time taken for the spoken form to unfold, in Experiment 2 the written form was presented for 300 ms, sufficient time to read the word yet 65% shorter than the duration of the spoken form. No modality effect was observed under these conditions, when exposure to the word form was equivalent. These results demonstrate, at least for proficient readers, that when exposure to the word form is controlled across modalities the efficiency with which word form-meaning associations are learnt does not differ. Our results therefore suggest that, although we typically begin as aural-only word learners, we ultimately converge on developing learning mechanisms that learn equally efficiently from both written and spoken materials

Orthographic facilitation in oral vocabulary acquisition

An experiment investigated whether exposure to orthography facilitates oral vocabulary learning. A total of 58 typically developing children aged 8-9 years were taught 12 nonwords. Children were trained to associate novel phonological forms with pictures of novel objects. Pictures were used as referents to represent novel word meanings. For half of the nonwords children were additionally exposed to orthography, although they were not alerted to its presence, nor were they instructed to use it. After this training phase a nonword-picture matching posttest was used to assess learning of nonword meaning, and a spelling posttest was used to assess learning of nonword orthography. Children showed robust learning for novel spelling patterns after incidental exposure to orthography. Further, we observed stronger learning for nonword-referent pairings trained with orthography. The degree of orthographic facilitation observed in posttests was related to children's reading levels, with more advanced readers showing more benefit from the presence of orthography

A computational simulation of children's performance across three nonword repetition tests

The nonword repetition test has been regularly used to examine children’s vocabulary acquisition, and yet there is no clear explanation of all of the effects seen in nonword repetition. This paper presents a study of 5-6 year-old children’s repetition performance on three nonword repetition tests that vary in the degree of their lexicality. EPAM-VOC, a model of children’s vocabulary acquisition, is then presented that captures the children’s performance in all three repetition tests. The model represents a clear explanation of how working memory and long-term lexical and sub-lexical knowledge interact in a way that is able to simulate repetition performance across three nonword tests within the same model and without the need for test specific parameter settings

Exploring learner factors in second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading

This study examined the predictive role of several learner factors in second language (L2) incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading, including: L2 proficiency, motivation, anxiety, and mastery of strategies. Participants were 129 English learners in a comprehensive university in China. Participants read two English texts and were given an unannounced vocabulary test to assess their incidental vocabulary acquisition. Their levels of motivation, anxiety, and mastery of strategies were measured by three specifically designed instruments that targeted incidental vocabulary acquisition. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that L2 proficiency, anxiety, and mastery of strategies were positive and significant predictors of incidental vocabulary acquisition, although motivation was not. This confirms the role that learners’ linguistic, affective, and cognitive features play in L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition

Review on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition through Reading

The teaching and research of vocabulary acquisition, after having been neglected for decades in the arena of second language teaching and learning, has assumed its rightful place as a fundamentally important part of language development. Much research has been done on second language vocabulary acquisition. Among them plenty of studies have been conducted to find out how to enhance incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. In the present paper, related research has been reviewed and evaluated, providing helpful information for future research

Profiling vocabulary acquisition in Irish

Investigations into early vocabulary development, including the timing of the acquisition of nouns, verbs and closed-class words, have produced conflicting results, both within and across languages. Studying vocabulary development in Irish can contribute to this area, as it has potentially informative features such as a VSO word order, and semantically rich prepositions. This study used a parent report adapted for Irish, to measure vocabulary development longitudinally for children aged between 1;04 and 3;04. The findings indicated that the children learned closed-class words at relatively smaller vocabulary sizes compared to children acquiring other languages, and had a strong preference for nouns

ESL preschoolers' English vocabulary acquisition and story comprehension from storybook reading

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston UniversityThis experimental study examined the effects vocabulary acquisition strategies and story discussion styles on the English vocabulary acquisition and story comprehension of ESL preschoolers. Eighty preschool-aged, typically-developing, native speakers of Portugese who are also second language learners of English were pretested in L1 (Portugese) receptive vocabulary and L2 (English) receptive and expressive vocabulary to determine a baseline of vocabulary knowledge in each language. Matched according to age, gender, and pretest L2 receptive vocabulary scores, subjects were assigned to experimental or control groups. Subjects in the experimental group heard eight stories read three times with rich explanations of target vocabulary words and with several discussion questions within either a didactic-labeling style of discussion (i.e., explicit questions requiring children to recall basic facts or to recite text) or a performance-oriented style of discussion (i.e., implicit questions requiring children to analyze and integrate information within the text). Subjects in the control group heard eight stories read three times without explanation of target vocabulary words and without discussion questions. Parents of all participants returned questionnaires about children's home reading experience. Results for target vocabulary acquisition showed a strong and significant effect of treatment (i.e., rich explanation of new vocabulary) on ESL preschoolers' target vocabulary acquisition. Regression analyses showed that treatment, initial L2 receptive skill, home reading practices, and story comprehension accounted for 69% of the variance in target vocabulary scores. Initial Ll skill did not have a significant effect on target vocabulary acquisition. Results for story comprehension showed a weak but significant effect of the performance-oriented discussion style on children's story comprehension. Regression analyses showed that L2 receptive skill, treatment (i.e., performance-oriented style of discussion), L2 expressive skill, target vocabulary acquisition, and home reading practices accounted for 60% of the variance in story comprehension scores. Initial Ll skill did not have a significant effect on story comprehension. In conclusion, L2 skills are paramount to children's vocabulary acquisition and story comprehension. Moreover, the supportiveness of adult input (i.e., rich explanations and cognitively challenging discussion questions) and home reading practices make important contributions to ESL preschoolers' English vocabulary acquisition and story comprehension

ELL vocabulary acquisition: How improvement measurements are affected by text type, English reading ability, and assessment methods

Vocabulary acquisition is a crucial part of language learning. This study seeks to determine what textual and student factors affect vocabulary acquisition rates from reading English texts for high school students for whom English is a second language, as well as how assessment factors affect the measurement of vocabulary acquisition. In this study, vocabulary acquisition was measured by comparing the differences between pre-test and post-test scores from before and after reading different texts. Text type did not affect student outcomes, but the improvement rates were affected by students\u27 pre-test scores, students\u27 English reading ability, and the types of assessment questions. This study indicates that targeted reading can be a great tool to help students acquire specific vocabulary, and that targeted reading is beneficial for students with different English reading abilities. The results also indicate that teachers who serve English language learners should pay close attention to the assessment methods they use and be aware that different assessment methods measure learning differently