A Quasi-Experimental Study of English Vocabulary Teaching Based on Incidental Acquisition

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a phenomenon that major English teachers in China have adopted the traditional teaching pattern, mechanically linking English pronunciations directly with the meaning of Chinese, which gradually dampens learners’ enthusiasm. The chief purpose of this paper was to design one English vocabulary teaching lesson based on incidental acquisition. More specifically, the questions raised are, on the one hand, whether incidental vocabulary teaching imprints differences on the learning outcomes for middle school students, and, on the other hand, whether incidental acquisition results in positive feedback between teachers and students. The technique we applied was referred to as questionnaires and interviews addressed to a sample of 68 students. Focusing on the effect of incidental vocabulary acquisition, the analysis demonstrated that it could enhance students’ vocabulary capacity. In addition, it was interesting to note that excellent students and average students tended to embrace the new teaching style while underachievers were on the opposite side. On this basis, it is recommended for English teachers to design English vocabulary lessons, adopting visual, auditory, oral, reading or writing training. More precisely, they should use phonics rules and patterns, holistic learning, classified vocabulary teaching, visual illustration or multimedia teaching to give lessons effectively and expand learners’ vocabulary.