Processing Depth Effects On Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition For Young Learners

Incidental vocabulary acquisition has attracted the attention of many second language researchers. However, few studies have focused on young learners'second language incidental vocabulary acquisition. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different processing depth on incidental vocabulary acquisition through listening to stories for Chinese young learners. Three research questions were examined in the present study: 1) Can Chinese young learners incidentally acquire English new words when they listen to English stories? 2) Do different processing conditions have any effects on their vocabulary learning? 3) If the answer to the second question is positive, what specific effects do processing levels have on their vocabulary learning? Based on the Depth of Processing Theory, the research was designed. The participants who were 88 pupils in Grade Six of Shuren Primary School of Chongqing, were divided into four groups and each group listened to English stories under one of the four different processing conditions as following: a) listening to stories with meanings and spellings of the target words provided (the Formal and Semantic group); b) listening to stories with meanings of the target words (the Semantic group); c) listening to stories with spellings of the target words (the Formal group); and d) without presenting meanings and spellings of the target words (the Control group). The listening materials were three self-written English stories. Acquisition and retention of the target words was measured by the immediate vocabulary test and the delayed vocabulary test. And the data were analyzed by the software SPSS 10.0. Results indicated that the subjects were able to acquire English new words incidentally through listening. The Formal and Semantic group and the Semantic group performed significantly better than the Formal group and the Control group. Further, no difference was observed between the Formal and Semantic group and the Semantic group both in the immediate vocabulary test and the delayed vocabulary test, and between the Formal group and the Control group, either. Findings were interpreted in terms of the Depth of Processing theory. Pedagogical implications were also drawn for Chinese young learners of English and suggestions were made for EFL listening comprehension in China.