This study reports on the results of an experiment designed to test the effectiveness of collaborating incidental vocabulary learning and text-based vocabulary instruction in reading class by comparing the vocabulary gains of the two groups of the students who received slightly different treatments. The first group, i.e. Control Group, was exposed to the target vocabulary through reading texts only. On the other hand, the second group which was called Experimental Group studied the vocabulary not only through reading texts, but also through carrying out text-based vocabulary exercises.
This study has three essential objectives. First it aimed to find out if the students, learning the target vocabularies either by reading texts or reading texts and the vocabulary exercises, gained knowledge of vocabulary. Second, it also attempted to see if there are differences in quality and quantity of the vocabulary knowledge development made by the students in the two researched groups. Third, it investigated whether reading activity combined with vocabulary exercises is more influential in promoting students' vocabulary depth and size. Following those three objectives, this study was directed to answer two other minor objectives. First, it intended to get students' responses on the usefulness of various types of vocabulary exercises given using a set of questionnaire. Second, it expected to explore the kinds of vocabulary exercises which were the most and the least useful for them.
This study was conducted within three theoretical frameworks: Vocabulary Acquisition Hypotheses, Depth of Processing Model, and Generative Model of Learning which is firstly proposed by Wittrock (1974). The number of the vocabulary learned and the depth of vocabulary knowledge acquired from the researched groups will be compared and analyzed using Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) by Paribakht and Wesche (1993).
The results revealed that the two groups exhibited gains in vocabulary knowledge and in the size of the learned words. Yet, the finding showed that reading combined with text-based vocabulary exercises led to gains in second language vocabulary knowledge and amount that were superior to those obtained from a reading instructions involving multiple texts. The learners' responses on the usefulness of the text-based vocabulary exercises were positive. They considered the exercises given after reading helpful in learning the target words, especially the exercises which represent recognition mental processing activity such as matching words with their L1 synonyms or definitions. |