Rights statement: © 2014 The Authors. The Modern Language Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Learning and retaining specialized vocabulary from textbook reading
T2 - comparison of learning outcomes through L1 and L2
AU - Gablasova, Dana
N1 - © 2014 The Authors. The Modern Language Journal published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations, Inc. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - This study investigated the acquisition of specialized vocabulary from L1 and L2 textbook reading by 64 Slovak high school students who were intermediate or advanced users of English. The students were divided into two groups: One group read the academic texts in their L1, the other group in their L2. In a posttest and a delayed posttest, they were asked to orally recall the meanings of 12 technical words that appeared in the texts. The word meanings recalled by the students immediately after reading and 1 week later were examined in terms of their breadth and depth. Results showed that although the L2-instructed students acquired the meanings of the specialized vocabulary items to a considerable degree, they still differed significantly from their L1-instructed counterparts in several respects: They could recall fewer word meanings after the reading; they acquired the words to a lesser depth; and after a week, their knowledge of the words faded more rapidly than that of the L1-instructed participants. The significance of the findings for L2 vocabulary acquisition and bilingual education is discussed.
AB - This study investigated the acquisition of specialized vocabulary from L1 and L2 textbook reading by 64 Slovak high school students who were intermediate or advanced users of English. The students were divided into two groups: One group read the academic texts in their L1, the other group in their L2. In a posttest and a delayed posttest, they were asked to orally recall the meanings of 12 technical words that appeared in the texts. The word meanings recalled by the students immediately after reading and 1 week later were examined in terms of their breadth and depth. Results showed that although the L2-instructed students acquired the meanings of the specialized vocabulary items to a considerable degree, they still differed significantly from their L1-instructed counterparts in several respects: They could recall fewer word meanings after the reading; they acquired the words to a lesser depth; and after a week, their knowledge of the words faded more rapidly than that of the L1-instructed participants. The significance of the findings for L2 vocabulary acquisition and bilingual education is discussed.
KW - incidental vocabulary acquisition
KW - vocabulary learning
KW - specialized vocabulary
KW - reading to learn
KW - L1 and L2 users
U2 - 10.1111/modl.12150
DO - 10.1111/modl.12150
M3 - Journal article
VL - 98
SP - 976
EP - 991
JO - Modern Language Journal
JF - Modern Language Journal
SN - 0026-7902
IS - 4
ER -