Word-Focus Tasks in L2 Reading to Vocabulary Acquisition

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of integration word-focused tasks to L2 vocabulary acquisition and retention in reading class. To this end, two L2 reading approaches-narrow reading and reading plus word-focused tasks-were conducted in freshman English course. One hundred and nine students from two intact classes took part this quasi-experiment. One class (the control group) received the narrow reading instruction while the other (the experiment group) the reading plus word-focused tasks. The Vocabulary Knowledge Scales were administered right before the treatment, immediate after the treatment and three weeks later to access students' knowledge of eight target words. The results indicated that the reading plus word-focused group significantly outperformed the narrow reading group on the acquisition test, and demonstrated significantly more vocabulary knowledge on the acquisition test. Nevertheless, as to the retention of gained words, no significant differences were found between these two reading treatments.