| Incidental vocabulary acquisition (IVA) has for a few years been an increasingly interesting topic for researchers involved in second language vocabulary acquisition. Among all the relevant studies, the study of IVA through reading draws greatest attention and many researchers at home and abroad have investigated several factors that may affect IVA in extensive reading. However, they find that the impact of reading conditions (for example, reading with marginal glosses, reading with consulting dictionaries, etc.) has not been comprehensively examined, and that the relationship between vocabulary level and the gain and retention in incidental vocabulary learning (IVL) still requires further study. In the present study, by partly imitating Hulstijn, Hollander and Greidanus'research (1996) and making some changes to it, the difference in the IVL gains and retentions of Chinese intermediate non-English sophomores under different reading conditions (reading with marginal glosses, reading with looking up new words in a dictionary and reading without any aid) is closely examined. The impact of vocabulary level on their IVL is additionally investigated.Three groups of 121 non-English majors took part in this research conducted in their third academic term in college. The subjects, randomly assigned to the three groups (Marginal Glosses group, Dictionary group and Control group), were tested on their vocabulary gains and retentions of ten target words by taking two vocabulary tests after finishing a reading task. A vocabulary level test was also arranged to assess subjects'vocabulary level. Subjects'vocabulary level is based on the textbook New Horizon College English (Books1,2 and 3, second edition) and the vocabulary measurement in College English Curriculum Requirements. The data from the experiments and tests were analyzed quantitatively by SPSS V17.0.The findings of the current study are summarized as follows:(1) Under the three reading conditions, reading with marginal glosses is the most effective way in promoting IVL gain. However, the incidence of IVL for readers who use the dictionary is even better than that when they read with marginal glosses given. These results conform to those of Hulstijn, Hollander and Greidanus'study (1996). (2) The IVL retentions of the three groups are not as significantly different as their IVL gains. Just as the retention rate is concerned, the Dictionary group and the Control group remain better incidental vocabulary retentions than the Marginal Glosses group. That is, words guessed or words looked up in dictionaries can be remembered better than words with meanings directly given. (3) Learners'vocabulary level plays a positive role in IVL performance:learners with larger vocabulary size obtain and remember more words.There are also some practical pedagogical implications in the current study. For the purpose of improving learners'efficiency of IVL gains and retentions, teachers should impart the strategies of inferring meanings from context to students and cultivate their good reading habits. It is also advisable for teachers to help students, especially those with small vocabulary, to integrate incidental and intentional learning in vocabulary studies. |
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