Factors in Vocabulary Acquisition

through Reading

YUNJUNG YOU
Purdue University

This study explores the factors that affect vocabulary acquisition during
reading. Two purposes guide this article: reviewing the literature that
investigated the incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading
and exploring what factors affects vocabulary acquisition. With these
purposes, the literature and three themes were identified: 1) nature
of vocabulary development, 2) definition of incidental vocabulary
acquisition, and 3) factors in vocabulary acquisition through reading.
This literature review revealed that several factors in reading
significantly contribute to vocabulary acquisition. Specifically,
repetition, explanation, and L1 translation support more effective
vocabulary acquisition. Dictionary use and marginal glosses help a
learner better grasp word meaning. Additional visual input and oral input
presented with the target words positively affect gain and retention of
words. A learner can differently learn and acquire words due to personal
variables such as the level of text comprehension, motivation, and L2
proficiency. Finally, a model of vocabulary acquisition through reading,
which the author develops based on the factors above, is suggested.

Vocabulary acquisition is one of the important features in estimating one’s

language proficiency (Henriksen, 1999; Huckin & Coady, 1999; Laufer &
Hulstijn, 2001; Paribakht & Wesche, 1996). Many researchers have explored
the process of vocabulary acquisition. Henriksen (1999) investigated three
dimensions of vocabulary development. Aitchison (1994) found that a learner
goes through three stages in vocabulary learning: labeling, packaging, and
network building. Paribakht and Wesche (1996) presented that a classification
scheme for new vocabulary acquisition is activated through reading. Also,
incidental vocabulary acquisition takes place through written input (Huckin &
Coady, 1999) or oral input (Brown, Sagers, & Laporte, 1999).
As written input, reading has been examined as an effective method for
vocabulary acquisition (Krashen, 1989; Tekmen & Daloglu, 2006). Learners
encounter a variety of familiar and unfamiliar words during reading, and those
words can be stored, elaborated, and retained by a learner, depending on various
conditions during reading. If reading is a great source for vocabulary acquisition,
then, a few questions arise: what kind of factors can affect a learner to acquire
Vocabulary Acquisition 43
a new word through reading? In what condition does vocabulary acquisition
take place more effectively through reading? Are there any internal variables
of a learner that influence on vocabulary acquisition?
In order to explore these questions, this study reviews the literature
that investigated the vocabulary acquisition through reading and explores what
factors affect vocabulary acquisition. With these purposes, I review 1) the nature
of vocabulary development and 2) the factors in vocabulary acquisition through
reading, and then summarize the factors in category 2. Based on the literature
review, I develop a model of vocabulary acquisition through reading. Lastly, I
discuss the limitations and questions found through the literature review.

NATURE OF VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT

Henriksen (1999) investigated three dimensions of vocabulary development,

relationships among those dimensions, and the way they function in word
learning and practice. His study reveals that three dimensions involved in
lexical competence are “partial to precise knowledge,” “depth of knowledge,”
and “receptive to productive use ability” (p. 304). The dimension of partial to
precise knowledge is the concept related to the size of vocabulary words in which
the distinct levels of vocabulary knowledge is put into operation. The second
dimension, the depth of knowledge, refers to how profound one’s knowledge
of vocabulary is. It suggests the concept that one’s level of understanding a
word meaning is related to the syntactic and morphological knowledge. The
receptive to productive use ability, the third dimension, starts at the distinction
of a learner’s ability between comprehension and production. According to
Aitchison (1994) who investigated the process of how a learner acquires a
vocabulary word, a learner goes through three stages in vocabulary learning:
labeling, packaging, and network building. Specifically, at the labeling stage, a
learner maps word meanings onto form. Packaging, the second stage, involves
the process of categorizing the acquired words under one group, while network
building as the third stage functions as grasping the relationship between the
words (as cited in Henriksen, 1999, p. 308)
L2 learners go through a classification scheme for new vocabulary
acquisition through reading (Paribakht & Wesche, 1996). According to Gass
(1988), whose theory was one of the theoretical foundations in Paribakht
and Wesche’s paper, the classification scheme shows a hierarchy of mental
processing that a learner requires during vocabulary exercises. In this paper,
Paribakht and Wesche (1996) developed five steps of vocabulary exercise types:
selective attention, recognition, manipulation, interpretation, and production. In
selective attention, as a first step, the emphasis is on focusing learners’ attention
on targeted vocabulary words. The major goal, in recognition exercises, is
that learners recognize the target vocabulary items introduced in the selective
attention step. Learners are expected to know the partial meaning or knowledge

44 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1

of the target words. Manipulation exercises require deeper comprehension of
a target word than the previous level. The main purpose in these exercises is
that students reach the level of morphology and grammatical knowledge. In
interpretation exercises, learners are asked to grasp a semantic and syntactic
role of a target word. In other words, interpretation exercises require learners
to recognize the relationship between the target words in different contexts.
Lastly, production exercises involve recall and reconstruction of the target
words. As students develop their vocabulary knowledge through the previous
stages, students are required to apply the knowledge in given contexts, producing
appropriate expressions with the target words.
Noticing, elaboration, motivation, or need play an essential role in
L2 vocabulary acquisition (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001). Attempting to show
how those factors are operationalized in vocabulary acquisition, Laufer &
Hulstijn proposed a construct of involvement, in which three components are
combined: Need, Search, and Evaluation. The need component is considered
a motivational dimension which affects a learner’s desire for achievement.
As the need becomes stronger, it positively affects the outcome of vocabulary
acquisition. The search component refers to an actual activity or attempts to grasp
the target word. For instance, a learner can use a dictionary or ask an instructor
to seek a word meaning. In the evaluation component, learners go through a
more complicated process in which they compare a word meaning in different
contexts or evaluate if an appropriate word is used in a context or not. The
authors argue that “involvement load is defined here as the combination of the
presence or absence of the involvement factors Need, Search, and Evaluation”
(p.15). In this article, it is assumed that a learner will better retain a word
meaning in a higher involvement load than a lower involvement load. In the
same manner, the authors argued that tasks which induced a higher involvement
load are more powerful in retaining the vocabulary words than the tasks with
a lower involvement load.
The actual mechanism of incidental vocabulary acquisition has been
investigated as an area of great importance in vocabulary acquisition (Huckin &
Coady, 1999). Huckin and Coady (1999) reveal that incidental learning does not
automatically take place with the exposure to target words. That is, the process of
incidental acquisition needs a learner’s amount of attention to the target words.
The degree of attention and the effectiveness of learning depends on the contexts,
the purpose of a task, and the learner’s previous background knowledge. Also
the authors argue that “incidental vocabulary acquisition depends on multiple
exposures to a word in different context” (p.185). Effective word guessing
requires the flexible application of a variety of processing strategies.

FACTORS IN VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

THROUGH READING

Vocabulary Acquisition 45
Effect of Repetition and L1 Lexicalization

The effects of repetition of words in reading on a learner’s L2 acquisition and of

L1 lexicalization on the acquisition of meaning have been investigated in the L2
reading field. Chen and Truscott (2010) studied 72 Mandarin-speaking freshmen
whose levels in English as a foreign language (EFL) were all intermediate.
The results of this study revealed that repetition positively affects language
acquisition including word retention, productive knowledge, orthographic
knowledge, and semantic knowledge. That is, as the frequency of exposure to
the target words increased, a learner not only better retains the word meanings
but also more easily uses target words in speech. Also, it was found that L1
lexicalization greatly helps learners not only immediately understand the word
meanings but also better retain the target words. That is, students show better
results in L2 vocabulary acquisition, when they attempt to translate the target
words to their L1.

Type of Tasks and Dictionary Use

The relationship among the type of tasks, the frequency of dictionary use, and the
retention of the target words have also been a topic of interest in recent research
(Hill & Laufer, 2003). Hill and Laufer (2003) investigated 128 university
students who lived in Hong Kong. All subjects’ first language was Cantonese or
Mandarin, and English was their foreign language. They were asked to complete
three different types of tasks: a form-oriented production task, a form-oriented
comprehension task, and a message-oriented task. All tasks were given on
paper, but all information needed for completing the tasks were presented on the
computer screen. Participants could use the electronic dictionary on the computer
screen, and the frequency of dictionary use was recorded and tracked in three
different tasks. The form-oriented task was more effective in retaining the target
words than the message-oriented task. The authors argued that it was because
the form-oriented tasks required students to know more exact word meanings
to complete the tasks so that they naturally accessed the electronic dictionary. It
led them to better retain the target words. On the other hand, students used the
dictionary less during the message-oriented task, because, the authors analyzed,
they could solve the tasks without the exact word meanings, as just guessing
and it caused less retention of the target words. The authors argued that the use
of dictionary positively affected students’ vocabulary acquisition in two ways:
1) by using the dictionary, students could have a chance to translate the target
word in their L1, and 2) the more use of dictionary caused the effect of repetition
or more exposure to the target word. The authors concluded that “an important
factor determining task effectiveness for vocabulary learning is the amount of
word-related activity that the task induces.”

46 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1

Marginal Glosses and Dictionary Use

The relationship between the frequency of target words and the provision
of word meanings through marginal glosses or dictionary use was examined
(Hulstijin, Hollander, and Greidanus, 1996). The participants were 78 Dutch
university students who lived in France, and their level of French was considered
advanced. They were distributed into three groups which had different conditions
in reading a given text: Marginal Glosses (providing L1 translations of unfamiliar
words), Dictionary Use (free to use a dictionary for searching a word meaning),
or Control (neither marginal glosses nor dictionary use). Sixteen target words
were designed to occur once or three times in the given text. After the treatment
of reading a text in each group, participants administered a test to evaluate their
comprehension of the target words. The results revealed that frequency of the
target words was more effective in acquiring the new words when students
encountered the meaning of unfamiliar words through marginal glosses or
dictionary use, in comparison to when there was no dictionary use or no provision
of word meaning through marginal glosses. Also, it was found that students
better acquire and retain the word meanings in marginal glosses than a dictionary
use. The authors explained that it was because learners usually did not try to
use a dictionary for searching word meaning during reading passages, trying
to grasp a main message. The authors argued that if learners use a dictionary to
look up the meaning of unfamiliar words, it will more strongly affect incidental
vocabulary acquisition than the case of marginal glosses.

Influence of Instruction and Synonym Generation

How the activity of synonym generation affects L2 vocabulary learning during

reading has been studied (Barcroft, 2009). Two different learning contexts were
examined in this study: incidental and intentional vocabulary learning contexts.
The subjects were 114 Spanish-speaking university students who were learning
English as a foreign language at a large university in Mexico City. Fifty nine
of those were in low-intermediate level and 55 in high-intermediate level. One
of four different conditions was randomly given to each participant. 1) In the
incidental condition, the only thing that participants were asked was to read the
meaning of some target words. 2) In the intentional condition, the participants
were required to read meaning like the incidental condition. Additionally, they
were instructed to learn the target words with an attempt to translate them into
their L1 and asked to take the test after learning. 3) In the incidental-semantic
condition, reading a word meaning and generating synonyms in their L1 were
assigned to the participants. 4) In the intentional-semantic condition, participants
were given instructions to learn the target words by trying to translate them into
L1 and asked to take a test after learning and to perform synonym generation
(p.89). After the experiment, all participants took two types of post-tests to
recall the meaning of the target words: first language (L1) to second language
Vocabulary Acquisition 47
(L2) and L2 to L1. The results revealed that intentional methods were more
effective to learn new words in L2 than incidental method. In other words,
providing instruction on the target words and attempting to translate them into
L1 positively affected the acquisition of the new words, while only reading
a word meaning was less effective. Also, the activity of synonym generation
was found to negatively affect vocabulary acquisition in both incidental and
intentional conditions. The author argues that the process of synonym generation
functions as semantic elaboration, which refers to “a focus on the semantic
properties or the meaning of a word (p.79).” He also claims that the process
of a word form (e.g. memory for new L2 word forms) or mapping (connecting
form to meaning) is essential for vocabulary acquisition. However, the process
of semantic elaboration including synonym generation deteriorates the process
of a word form or mapping so that a learner cannot fully focus on memorizing
the form of a target word (a word form) or connecting the word to meaning,
which causes less effective vocabulary acquisition.

Effect of Word Class

The frequency of exposure to target words is essential in vocabulary acquisition

(Chen & Truscott, 2010). That is, increasing exposure to target words leads to
better outcomes in L2 vocabulary acquisition. Kweon and Kim’s study (2008),
however, shows the possibility that some factors such as a word class can play a
more important role than the frequency of exposure to the target words. Twelve
Korean-speaking university students in an intermediate English reading course
in Korea participated in this study. All students were asked to take a pre-test of
their knowledge of the target words. Then, in a reading treatment for 5 weeks,
they were assigned to extensive reading activities for the target words. On the
last day of the treatment, all participants took a post-test 1 (immediate), and
after one month, a post-test 2 (delayed). All participants showed a significant
gain between the pre-test and post-test 1, but no significant difference between
post-test 1 and post-test 2. The students had a higher gain in a post test of the
target words to which they had had more exposure. That is, more frequency of
exposure to the target words increases the retention of the target words. Also,
it was found that students retained nouns easier than verbs and adjectives. The
authors interpret this result as “nouns are relatively simple entities in the mental
lexicon, whereas verbs encode dependent word classes with directed connections
to their noun arguments.” (p. 208)

Effect of Contextual Clues

How the context of the target words in a reading text affects vocabulary
acquisition especially on knowledge of form and meaning has been studied
(Webb, 2008). Fifty Japanese-speaking university students who had learned

48 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1

English as a foreign language participated in the experiment. The participants
were randomly separated into two groups, an experimental and a comparison
group, and 10 target words were given in short contexts to both groups. The
short context comprised of one or two sentences. The experimental group was
assigned to the context where they had more informative clues for the target
word than the comparison group. After the treatments, participants in both
groups administered a vocabulary quiz that evaluated recall of form, recognition
of form, recall of meaning, and recognition of meaning. The result revealed
that context – whether it contains enough contextual clues to guess the target
word – plays a significant role in understanding and recalling a word meaning.
However, it was found that the context does not significantly affect recognizing
and recalling a word form.

Learner Proficiency Level and Word Frequency

Tekmen & Daloglu (2006) studied the effect of a learner’s proficiency level
and word frequency on incidental vocabulary acquisition. Participants were
99 university students whose first language was Turkish, as English was a
foreign language. They were divided into three groups - intermediate, upper-
intermediate, and advanced levels - based on their test results in an English
placement test. A pre-test and a post-test were administered at the beginning
and the end of every class for two weeks. A delayed post-test was taken one
week later. As treatments, they read and studied a chosen novel, The Golden
Fleece, during class sessions. No dictionary use was allowed because the authors
wanted to focus on only the factor of incidental vocabulary learning through
reading, eliminating the effect of other sources on vocabulary acquisition. The
results in this study showed that 1) Students obviously had a benefit to acquire
new vocabulary words from reading. 2) The higher proficiency group showed
better results in vocabulary acquisition than the lower proficiency group. 3)
Generally, as the frequency of exposure to the target words increased, the learners
acquired more target words. 4) However, the frequency had stronger effect on
vocabulary acquisition for the students in the lower proficiency group than for
those in the higher level group. Based on these results, the authors argue that
“the true benefits of reading for lexical acquisition may not lie in the immediate
acquisition of the word, but in preparing students to acquire a new word or in
increasing their depth of knowledge of a previously acquired word”(p.237).

Text Comprehension and Topic Familiarity

Pulido (2007) investigated how the level of text comprehension affects intake,
gain, and retention of new vocabulary and whether topic familiarity is related
to the process of vocabulary acquisition – intake, gain, and retention or not.
The participants were 99 Spanish-speaking university students taking
three distinct university courses and the first language for all of them was
Vocabulary Acquisition 49
English. All participants completed a survey and a test regarding topic familiarity
and text comprehension before and after the treatments of vocabulary learning
activities through reading passages. Also, the participants administered the tests
that evaluated intake, gain, and retention of the target words. The results of this
study demonstrated that as the level of text comprehension increased, learners
had more benefit in intake, gain, and retention of the new vocabulary. The
author argued that “increases in passage comprehension were accompanied by
increases in gain and retention of the target unfamiliar words that appeared in
passages” (p.181). The author assumed that this is because the working memory
connected to the process of vocabulary acquisition is more operationalized.
The more actualized working memory holds more information encountered
through the reading passages. Regarding the effect of topic familiarity, there
was no strong co-relationship between topic familiarity and lexical intake, gain,
and retention. However, results showed that topic familiarity is significantly
co-related to lexical intake, “where average intake scores were higher, when
participants read within more familiar stories, in comparison to less familiar
stories” (p.175).

L1 Translation Method

The translation method is effective to learn words specifically in the recall

and retention of vocabulary meaning by ESL learners at the beginning level of
language proficiency (Ramachandran & Rahim, 2004). The translation method
was compared to a non-translation method in which delivering word meanings in
the L2 itself is emphasized. Sixty ESL learners aged 16 from a secondary school
in Penang, Malaysia, participated in this study and their performances were
collected and analyzed by using three types of instruments: testing instruments,
reading materials, and teaching instruments. Learners were better at recalling
the word meanings in the translation method than the non-translation method
and they better retained the words in the translation method. That is, the study
showed that the translation method has a positive effect on vocabulary learning,
especially for beginners.

Effect of Multimedia Annotations

The effect of multimedia on vocabulary acquisition was studied (Chun & Plass,
1996). The experiment in this study was designed to compare three different
conditions of word exposure: (1) text definition only, (2) text + picture, and
(3) text + video. Participants were 103 German students who were attending a
university in California to study English as a second language. The experiment
required all participants to read a short article using special multimedia designed
so that participants were exposed to 82 target words. Those target words were
programmed to be shown on the screen in three different conditions: definition

50 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1

only; text and picture; and text and video. After the treatment, students took a
vocabulary test with 36 words; one third for the condition of definition only,
one third for the condition of text and pictures, and one third for the condition
of text and video. Results showed that students remembered the most words in
pictures and text. The way of text and video was more effective in vocabulary
learning than text definition only, but less than the condition of pictures and
text. The results of this study indicate that exposure to the target words with
multimedia annotations such as pictures or videos is more effective in vocabulary
acquisition than exposure to text definition only. These results regarding the
effectiveness of pictorial annotations for vocabulary acquisition were also
supported by Shahrokni’s study (2009).

Reading-While-Listening

The different effects of three modes on vocabulary acquisition were investigated:

reading, reading-while-listening, and only listening to stories (Brown, Raring, &
Donkaewbua, 2008). Thirty Japanese-speaking university students in Kyushu,
Japan, participated in this study. They were divided into three groups and
assigned to one of three conditions: reading, reading-while-listening, and only
listening. After the treatments, participants administered two types of post-tests
using multiple choice and translation from L2 to L1 a total of three times: 1)
immediate post-test, 2) one week delayed post-test, and 3) three months delayed
post-test. Results showed that students gained the highest scores in reading-
while-listening mode. This result was also reflected in a student’s preference
survey that reading-while-listening was chosen as the most preferable style by
students. The least effective mode in vocabulary learning was the listening-only
mode. However, as the results of one week and three months delayed post-tests
indicated, all three modes of reading, reading-while-listening, and only listening
were not effective in regards to retention of words.

Explanation, Initial L2 Vocabulary, and Frequency of Reading

Rich explanation, initial vocabulary, and reading practices positively affects

vocabulary acquisition (Collins, 2010) The participants were 80 preschoolers
whose native language was Portuguese, learning English as a Second language.
The experiment was designed to evaluate different effects of treatment on
target words. Findings showed that rich explanation, initial L2 vocabulary, and
frequency of home reading significantly contributed to vocabulary acquisition.
That is, a learner better acquires the meaning of unfamiliar words when
the meanings of words are fully explained, when a learner has an initial L2
vocabulary pool for effective guessing of the meaning, or when a learner is
frequently exposed to target words through reading.

Vocabulary Acquisition 51
SUMMARY

The review of the literature shows the following main points:

1. Repetition is significantly effective for vocabulary acquisition: as the

frequency of exposure to the target words increase, a learner not only
better retains the word meanings but also more easily uses the target
words in speech.
2. Marginal glosses and dictionary use have a positive impact on vocabulary
acquisition. Learners acquire new vocabulary words better when they
encounter the meaning of unfamiliar words through marginal glosses or
dictionary use.
3. Instruction of the target words positively affects acquiring new words,
while only reading a word meaning is less effective.
4. Context – whether it contains enough contextual clues to guess the target
word – plays a significant role in understanding and recalling a word
meaning.
5. As the level of text comprehension increases, learners have more benefits
in intake, gain, and retention of the new vocabulary.
6. The level of learner proficiency can be a variable that affects vocabulary
acquisition. For instance, for learners in lower proficiency groups, the
frequency affects vocabulary acquisition less than for those in higher
level groups.
7. Pictorial input added to text definitions makes gain and retention of words
stronger, compared to a text-only condition.
8. Reading-while-listening mode is more effective to gain a new word than
the reading only condition.
9. L1 lexicalization greatly helps learners not only immediately understand
the word meanings but also better retain the target words.
10. Type of tasks of reading can be a matter for vocabulary acquisition. For
example, the form oriented task is more effective in retaining the target
words than the message-oriented task.
11. Word class can be a factor related to the effectiveness of gaining and
retaining a new word: students retain nouns easier than verbs and
adjectives.
12. Semantic elaboration can have a negative impact on vocabulary
acquisition. For instance, the activity of synonym generation negatively
affects vocabulary acquisition.

MODEL OF VOCABULARY ACQUISITION THROUGH READING

Based on this review of the literature, I suggest a model that shows how factors
regarding vocabulary acquisition through reading can be operationalized.

52 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1






Background
 Motivation
 L2


Knowledge
 Proficiency


Learner




Repetition
 Explanation
 L1
Translation


Dictionary
Use
 Pictorial
input

Target
Vocabulary

Marginal
Glosses
 Oral
input




Reading
Material






Figure 1. Model of Vocabulary Acquisition through Reading

The figure shows reading material, target vocabulary, and learner

as the main elements to be taken into consideration in vocabulary learning
process through reading. As a first step, a reading material is chosen, shown
at the base of the figure. The reading material functions as a source of new
vocabulary words, shown in the figure as possible “target vocabulary.”
During reading, a learner is naturally exposed to unfamiliar words
as potential target vocabulary. While a learner encounters the unfamiliar
words, dictionary use, marginal glosses, pictorial input, and oral input assist
a learner not only to grasp the word meaning but also to retain the target
words. At this point, those elements support the learner to better intake
vocabulary words as visual factors.
Then, the target words are more effectively acquired by going
through the process of repetition, explanation, and L1 translation by a
learner. These elements play a role as instructional factors, which come
from the outside, affecting the vocabulary learning process. That is, a
learner better acquires a new vocabulary when a target word is repeatedly
shown, explained, and translated into the learner’s first language. Repetition,
explanation, and L1 translation can take place by a person such as a teacher,
a peer, or even by the learner.
However, even though all other conditions are the same, the
effectiveness of vocabulary acquisition can vary in different learners,
depending on a learner’s background knowledge, motivation, and L2
proficiency, which can be identified as personal factors. In other words, the
Vocabulary Acquisition 53
learning outcome would appear to each individual in different level, as each
learner has a different background and different level of second language
proficiency which affects the learner’s level of grasping the meaning of target
words. Also, a learner’s motivation is associated with the vocabulary acquisition:
the more motivated one is in language learning, the better one focuses on reading.

DISCUSSION AND LIMITATIONS

The literature about the nature of vocabulary development was reviewed and
empirical studies regarding factors of vocabulary acquisition through reading
were explored. Also, a model of vocabulary acquisition through reading was
introduced. However, a few research limitations through the previous studies
were found and will be discussed here.
First, the exact meaning of “incidental” vocabulary acquisition is
unclearly used through the studies. For instance, Barcroft (2009) contrasted
incidental vocabulary learning to intentional vocabulary learning as following:

In incidental vocabulary learning, learners acquire new words from

context without having the intention of doing so, such as when picking
up new words with no intention of doing so during free reading.
Intentional vocabulary learning refers to learning new words while
intending to do so, such as when a learner studies a list of target words
or completes activities in a workbook while working to learn a set of
new target words (p. 85).

According to the comparison above between incidental vocabulary learning

and intentional vocabulary learning, incidental vocabulary learning occurs by
chance with no intention or plan. However, Huckin and Coady (1999) pointed
out that “incidental learning is not entirely ‘incidental’.” Also, in Paribakht and
Wesche’s study (1996) and Hill and Laufer’s study (2003), incidental vocabulary
acquisition can take place through the planned instructions and tasks. That is,
the term “incidental” vocabulary learning or acquisition has been inconsistently
used in previous studies. Therefore, a clear definition of incidental vocabulary
acquisition is needed in additional studies.
Second, the dimension of vocabulary acquisition did not respect the
dimension of oral aspects. Henriksen (1999) suggested three dimensions
involved in lexical competence: (a) partial to precise knowledge, (b) depth of
knowledge, and (c) receptive to productive use ability. Depth of knowledge,
a second dimension, can be explained as one’s knowledge of syntactic and
morphological aspects of a word. This explanation does not contain the concept
of “oral dimension” of a word – phonological knowledge. However, the effect
of oral input on vocabulary acquisition has already been examined. For instance,
Brown, Raring, and Donkaewbua (2008) revealed that reading-while-listening

54 ITJ, 2011, Volume 8, Number 1

mode was effective for retention of vocabulary. In this case, the part of listening
functioned as the additional oral input to affect gaining and retaining new words.
Also, according to Baddeley, Gathercole, and Papagno (1998), the phonological
loop, as component of working memory, functions as a language acquisition
device, assisting to store unfamiliar sound patterns and retaining new words
with the sound patterns. Based on these research results, therefore, oral input or
the phonological dimension should be considered one component of dimensions
of vocabulary development.
Third, there were few research studies that investigated the role of
internal motivation for vocabulary acquisition. Laufer and Hulstijn (2001)
argued that motivation is “a key factor in promoting vocabulary learning”
(p.2). By examining the relationship between the type of tasks and vocabulary
acquisition, Hill and Laufer (2003) maintained that a learner can be motivated
and affected in various degrees in different types of tasks. However, there
are few empirical studies that support the function of personal motivation on
vocabulary acquisition. Motivation, then, should be considered a factor in
additional research studies.

CONCLUSION

A variety of factors affect L2 vocabulary acquisition through reading. Repetition,

explanation, and L1 translation support more effective vocabulary acquisition.
Dictionary use and marginal glosses help a learner better grasp a word meaning.
Visual input and oral input additionally presented with the target words positively
affect the gain and retention of words. Personal variables such as the level of
text comprehension, motivation, and L2 proficiency may affect the acquisition
of words.. The model of vocabulary acquisition through reading proposed in
this article shows how those factors interact and affect each other.
Vocabulary is a key dimension to define the level of reading competency.
The more vocabulary words one has, the faster and more effectively one reads
(Webb, 2008). Then, where does a learner acquire vocabulary words? Reading,
as revealed through the previous studies, is one of the most effective sources
to acquire new words. Huckin and Coady (1999), however, pointed out that
“extensive reading for meaning does not lead automatically to the acquisition
of vocabulary” (p.183). This idea tells us that successful vocabulary acquisition
during reading takes place when it is well planned with clear goals and strategies.
Thus, reading without strategies has limited effects on vocabulary acquisition.
Reading without attention and elaborative strategies for acquiring
vocabulary words gives a message about the reading material. However, reading
with clear attention to grasp the meanings of unfamiliar words gives a learner not
only the message about the reading material but also more vocabulary power,
which will contribute to an increased comprehension of the reading material.
This is why learners and educators should keep in mind what factors make the
reading more effective in intake and retention of words.
Vocabulary Acquisition 55
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yunjung You is a first-year Ph.D student at Purdue University. She is currently

studying Second Language Studies and ESL in the English department at
Purdue University. She received M.A. in educational psychology from Purdue
University and B.A in elementary education from Ewha Woman’s University in
Korea. Her research interests include L2 vocabulary development, vocabulary
development measure, assessment in K-12 ESL, the role of motivation in second
language development, and ESL pedagogy.
Inquiries should be directed to yeyou@purdue.edu

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