Abstract
Research on L2 vocabulary acquisition shows that under the right conditions, incidental learning can take place through reading. It is also known that the likelihood of such learning can be enhanced through effective instructional intervention, mainly in the form of reading glosses. Compared to English and other European languages, relatively little is known about glossing and vocabulary acquisition in the context of Chinese as a second language. In this study, we focus on incidental vocabulary acquisition in Chinese and investigate the relative effectiveness of three kinds of glosses: paper-based glosses (PB); e-dictionary glosses (ED), Pop-up glosses (PD). As a related issue, we also consider whether there are differences in learning style and learning preferences between adult learners and teenage learners with specific reference their use of different kinds of glosses. Regarding the effectiveness of different kinds of glossing, it is found that glossing (of different varieties) is generally useful in bringing about some positive outcome. While no significant differences were found generally between different kinds of glosses, it is found that paper-based glosses performed at least as well as CLL-based ones for the adult learners. Adult learners also differ from the younger group in long-term retention rates. Several possible reasons are offered to explain these differences which relate to the learning styles and preferences of different age groups.
Acknowledegment
The research reported in this paper was enabled by a Singapore MOE Academic Research Grant (Ref No: 2016-T1-001-194), whose support is hereby gratefully acknowledged. The author would also like to acknowledge NTU IRB’s approval of the research protocol, without which this research could not have been carried out (Ref No: IRB-2018-10-028). My student helper Ying Haojiang was instrumental in running all the statistical tests that informed the analysis, whose assistance is much appreciated.
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Filling gaps or code choice? Code-switching across generations in colloquial Singapore Mandarin
- The effect of glossing on incidental vocabulary acquisition in the learning of Chinese as a second language
- “古、方、普、外”——论全球华语研究的四个视角
- 试析流行构式 “X一把” ——兼论流行构式形成过程中体现的当代特色
- 海峡两岸连词 “并” 对比分析
- 《全球華語大詞典》在兩岸詞彙應用上的意義與值
- 试论华语语音教学系统的构建及实施
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Filling gaps or code choice? Code-switching across generations in colloquial Singapore Mandarin
- The effect of glossing on incidental vocabulary acquisition in the learning of Chinese as a second language
- “古、方、普、外”——论全球华语研究的四个视角
- 试析流行构式 “X一把” ——兼论流行构式形成过程中体现的当代特色
- 海峡两岸连词 “并” 对比分析
- 《全球華語大詞典》在兩岸詞彙應用上的意義與值
- 试论华语语音教学系统的构建及实施