Assessing the Effects of Word Exposure Frequency on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition from Reading and Listening

词汇出现频率对阅读与听力过程中词汇附带习得的影响研究（英文）

This study investigated the effects of the frequency at which English as a foreign language （EFL） students were exposed to words from the input modes of reading and listening. Accordingly, 15 words of three frequency groups were selected. A total of 60 Chinese EFL students were recruited. The four test types of recall of form, recognition of form, recall of meaning, and recognition of meaning were administered to measure participants＇ ability in building a form-meaning link. Immediate posttests were administered for assessing vocabulary development, and delayed posttests were administered two weeks later for assessing retention. The results revealed that new words could be learned incidentally in both modes, but more word knowledge was gained in reading. The effect of word exposure frequency on incidental vocabulary gains was significant for the four test types in both of the two modes. Since only partial word knowledge was acquired by both modes, it appeared that for the two modes to be a valuable source for incidental vocabulary learning, not only word exposure frequency, but also elaborate woM processing is needed. Relevant implications for teaching and learning vocabulary are discussed.

本研究探讨词汇出现频率对阅读与听力过程中词汇附带习得的影响。参与者为以英语为外语学习的中国学生。本次实验涉及3个词汇出现频率,共15个新词,参与学生为60人。为了检验学生对新词的形式与含义的掌握程度,一共设计了四个测试,分别为词形回想、词形辨别、含义回想、含义辨别。实验结束后共进行两次测试。第一次于实验后,主要用于测试词汇掌握程度。第二次为实验结束两周后,主要用于测试词汇的短期记忆能力。实验结果显示:阅读与听力这两种模式均能促进新词的掌握,但是阅读更具优越性。词汇出现频率对两种模式的词汇附带习得都具有极大影响。由于结果只显示了部分词汇的习得,意味着如要发挥这两种模式的作用,不仅要考虑词汇出现频率,同时仍需考虑学生对词汇的处理能力。本研究最后对词汇的教与学提出了新见解。