Incidental L2 lexical acquisition in reading: the role of L2-gloss frequency and learner proficiency

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to investigate the effects of gloss use, L2-gloss frequency and learner proficiency on incidental L2 lexical acquisition. A total of 163 university students in China were assigned to one of the three reading conditions: no gloss (NG), higher frequency L2 gloss (HFLG) and lower frequency L2 gloss (LFLG). The participants read a text for the purpose of comprehension, and then completed immediate and delayed post-tests for recall and recognition. We then surveyed the participants’ views on gloss use and L2-gloss types. The results showed that the glossed groups significantly outperformed the NG group in immediate recall and recognition. The gloss advantage, however, was absent in delayed recall but retained in delayed recognition. The gloss-frequency effect was not observed with higher proficiency participants, but among lower proficiency participants, HFLG was superior to LFLG on immediate recall. The questionnaire results revealed that learners favoured HFLG for the ease of encoding and comprehending. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications are advanced for supporting incidental L2 lexical acquisition within formal educational contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• L2 gloss
• vocabulary learning
• retention
• word frequency
• learner proficiency

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The lower frequency L2 glosses (LFLGs) had been acquired by the participants.

2. IELTS consists of four sections: listening, writing, reading, and speaking. It takes approximately three hours to complete the whole test. As commented by Stoynoff (2009), IELTS has been empirically demonstrated to have validity, reliability, impact, and practicality. The speaking test was conducted one to one in a quiet room with a qualified and trained examiner. Each IELTS component was scored out of nine bands, and then averaged and rounded to the nearest whole or half band.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Teaching Development Fund of Beijing Jiaotong University, P. R. China.