Vocabulary Exercises With Different Involvement Load After Reading in a University EFL Reading Class

Abstract

This study aimed to explore whether the type of vocabulary exercises with different involvement loads in the form of supplementary work after reading influences the vocabulary learning and retention of Korean EFL learners at two different proficiency levels. To this end, this study employed sentence writing and sentence blank filling as vocabulary exercises in English reading classes with 72 Korean-speaking EFL learners in a South Korean university. The students randomly carried out one of two vocabulary exercises after reading. Immediate and delayed posttests were conducted to assess whether the two different vocabulary exercises with different involvement loads made any difference in the vocabulary learning and retention of the Korean EFL learners at two different proficiency levels. The result showed that the type of vocabulary exercises had no effect on the vocabulary learning and retention of the students across proficiency levels as there appeared to be no significant difference between the two exercise groups even though the sentence writing group scored slightly higher than the sentence blank filling group on both immediate and delayed posttests. Instead, there appeared to be a significant influence of proficiency levels on vocabulary learning and retention. This result provides some insight into vocabulary learning and retention in an EFL reading class.