1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics
  4. Volume 155, Issue 1
  5. Article
Volume 155, Issue 1
  • ISSN 0019-0829
  • E-ISSN: 1783-1490
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

This article presents the results of a CALL-experiment in which reading material is selected dynamically, based on the “fit” between the vocabulary proficiency of individual students and the relative difficulty of texts. The texts were analysed, selected and presented online, together with a personalized electronic dictionary with words that were assumed to be unknown. In a pre-test – treatment – post-test design in which 32 Dutch L2-students took part, the vocabulary learned implicitly while reading the texts was measured. The relation between user-initiated noticing and word retention was also examined.

We found an average word-learning improvement of 10.8%. On the basis of the non-significant differences between various proficiency groups, we concluded that the method we propose for the automated adaptive selection of reading texts ensures that learners of different proficiency levels receive linguistic input that is best fitted to their abilities. Using frequency information for both automated analysis of texts and the compilation of a personalized dictionary has great potential for more user-centred task selection and guidance. We also found a relation between user-initiated dictionary use and word retention, which was strong for the lowest proficiency level. With respect to the words looked up in the dictionary, a strong correlation was found between noticing and retention.

© 2008 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.2143/ITL.155.0.2032362
2008-01-01
2024-10-04

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.2143/ITL.155.0.2032362
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Brown, J.D. , Hudson, T. , Norris, J.
    , & Bonk, W.J. (2002) An investigation of second language task-based performance assessments. Manoa, HI: Second language teaching & curriculum center at University of Hawai’i.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Burgess, J. , & Etherington, S.
    (2002) Focus on grammatical form: explicit or implicit?System, 30, 433–358.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Burnage, G.
    (1990) CELEX - A Guide for Users. Nijmegen: Centre for Lexical Information, University of Nijmegen.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Bygate, M. , Skehan, P. , & Swain, M.
    (2001) Researching pedagogic tasks: second language learning, teaching and testing. Harlow: Longman.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Chun, D.M. , & Plass, J.L.
    (1996) Effects of multimedia annotations on vocabulary acquisition. The Modern Language Journal, 80, 183–198.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Cohen, J.W.
    (1988) Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Colpin, M.
    et al. (Red) (2000) Een taak voor iedereen. Perspectieven voor taakgericht onderwijs. Apeldoorn/Leuven: Garant.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. De Milliano, I. , Vermeer, A. , Hootsen, G. , & Van der Werf, R.
    (2008) Affix-informatie, woordenboekgebruik en transfer bij tweede-taalverwervers in een adaptieve elektronische leeromgeving. Pedagogische Studiën, 85, 1, 16–31.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Doughty, C.
    (2005) Instructed SLA: constraints, compensation, and enhancement. In C. Doughty . & M. Long (Eds.), The handbook of second language acquisition (pp.256–310). Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Ellis, N.C.
    (1994) Implicit and explicit learning of languages. London: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Ellis, R.
    (2003) Task-based language learning and teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Ghadirian, S.
    (2002) Providing controlled exposure to target vocabulary through the screening and arranging of texts. Language Learning & Technology, 6, 147–164.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Goossens, G.
    (2000) Explicieter dan je denkt! De rol van focus on form in taakgericht taalvaardigheidsonderwijs. In M. Colpin et al. (Red.), Een taak voor iedereen. Perspectieven voor taakgericht onderwijs (pp. 85–105). Apeldoorn/Leuven: Garant.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Groot, P.J.M.
    (2000) Computer assisted second language vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning & Technology, 4, 60–81.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Hazenberg, S.
    (1993) Tekstdekking: goochelen met cijfers?Levende Talen, 476, 10–15.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. (1994) Een keur van woorden. De wenselijke en feitelijke receptieve woordenschat van anderstalige studenten. Amsterdam: Vrije Universiteit.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Hegelheimer, V. , & Chapelle, C.A.
    (2000) Methodological issues in research on learner-computer interactions in CALL. Language Learning & Technology, 4, 41–59.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Hill, M. , & Laufer, B.
    (2003) Type of task, time-on-task and electronic dictionaries in incidental vocabulary acquisition. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 41, 87–106.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Hu, M. , & Nation, I.S.P.
    (2000) Vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language15, 1, 403–430.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Hulstijn, J. H. , Hollander, M. , & Greidanus, T.
    (1996) Incidental vocabulary learning by advanced foreign language students: the influence of marginal glosses, dictionary use, and reoccurrence of unknown words. The Modern Language Journal, 80, 327–339.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Hulstijn, J.H. , & Laufer, B.
    (2001) Some empirical evidence for the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning, 51, 539–558.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Jones, L.
    (2004) Testing L2 vocabulary recognition and recall using pictorial and written test items. Language Learning & Technology, 8, 122–143.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Knight, S.
    (1994) Dictionary use while reading: the effects on comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for students of different verbal abilities. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 285–299.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Krashen, S.D.
    (1987) Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall International.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Laufer, B.
    (1989) What percentage of text-lexis is essential for comprehension?In C. Laurén & M. Nordman (Eds.), Special Language: from human thinking to thinking machines (pp. 316–323). Clevedon, Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Laufer, B. , & Hill, M.
    (2000) What lexical information do L2 learners select in a CALL dictionary and how does it affect word retention?Language Learning & Technology, 3, 58–76.
     [Google Scholar]
  27. Long, M.
    (1996) The role of the linguistic environment in second language acquisition. In W. Ritchie & T. Bhatia (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 413–468). >San Diego: Academic Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Long, M. , & Robinson, P.
    (1998) Focus on form: theory, research, and practice. In C. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds.), Focus on form in classroom second language acquisition (pp. 15–41). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Mondria, J.-A.
    (1996) Vocabulaireverwerving in het vreemde-talenonderwijs. De effecten van context en raden op retentie. Groningen: Universiteitsdrukkerij.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Nagy, W.E. , Anderson, R.C. , & Herman, P.A.
    (1987) Learning word meaning from context during normal reading. American Educational Research Journal, 24, 237–270.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Nation, I.S.P.
    (1993) Using dictionaries to estimate vocabulary size: essential, but rarely used, procedures. Language Testing, 10, 27–40.
     [Google Scholar]
  32. (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: CUP.
     [Google Scholar]
  33. Norris, J.M. , & Ortega, L.
    (2000) Effectiveness of L2 instruction: a research synthesis and quantitative meta-analysis. Language Learning, 50, 417–528.
     [Google Scholar]
  34. Paribakht, T.S. & Wesche, M.B.
    (1997) Vocabulary enhancement activities and reading for meaning in second language vocabulary acquisition. In J. Coady . & T. Huckins (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition (pp. 174–200). Cambridge: CUP.
     [Google Scholar]
  35. Paribakht, T.S. , & Wesche, M.B.
    (1999) Reading and “incidental” L2 vocabulary acquisition. An introspective study of lexical inferencing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 195–224.
     [Google Scholar]
  36. Peters, E.
    (2007) Manipulating L2 learners’ online dictionary use and its effect on L2 word retention. Language learning and technology, 11, 2, 36–58.
     [Google Scholar]
  37. Plass, J.L. , Chun, D.M. , Mayer, R.E. , & Leutner, D.
    (1998) Supporting visual and verbal learning preferences in a second-language multimedia learning environment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 25–36.
     [Google Scholar]
  38. (2003) Cognitive load in reading a foreign language text with multimedia aids and the influence of verbal and spatial abilities. Computers in Human Behavior, 19, 221–243.
     [Google Scholar]
  39. Ridder, I. de
    (2002) Visible or invisible links: does the highlighting of hyperlinks affect incidental vocabulary learning, text comprehension, and the reading process?Language Learning & Technology, 6, 123–146.
     [Google Scholar]
  40. Rott, S.
    (1999) The effect of exposure frequency on intermediate language learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention through reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 589–619.
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Schreuder, R. , & Kerkman, H.
    (1987) On the use of a lexical database in psycholinguistic research. In W. Meijs (Ed.), Corpus Linguistics and Beyond. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on English Language Research on Computerized Corpora (pp.295–302). Amsterdam: Rodopi.
     [Google Scholar]
  42. Schrooten, W. , & Vermeer, A.
    (1994) Woorden in het basisonderwijs. 15.000 woorden aangeboden aan leerlingen. Tilburg: Tilburg University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Van den Branden, K.
    (2006), Task-based language education: from theory to practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  44. Vermeer, A.
    (1998) Tekstdekking in groep 5. Woordkennis als oorzaak van het Mattheüs-effect in het basisonderwijs. Toegepaste Taalwetenschap in Artikelen, 3, 9–18
     [Google Scholar]
  45. Vygotsky, L.S.
    (1962) Thought and language. Cambridge: M.I.T. Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  46. Waring, R. , & Nation, P.
    (2004) Second vocabulary reading and incidental vocabulary learning. Angles on the English-speaking world, 4, 11–23.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Watanabe, Y.
    (1997) Input, intake, and retention. Effects of increased processing on Incidental learning of foreign language vocabulary. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 19, 287–307.
     [Google Scholar]
  48. Wesche, M. B. , & Paribakht, T.S.
    (2000) Reading-based exercises in second language vocabulary learning: an introspective study. The Modern Language Journal, 84, 196–213.
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.2143/ITL.155.0.2032362
Loading
  • Article Type: Research Article

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error