The Effects Of Two Types Of Annotations Used In Pre-reading, While-reading, And Post-reading Periods On Reading Comprehension And Vocabulary Learning

Based on the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Cognitive LoadTheory, this thesis investigates the effectiveness of two annotation types---text-onlyand text-picture---on vocabulary learning as well as the effects of three readingperiods in annotation use---pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading---onvocabulary learning and reading comprehension of high school students through anempirical study. Given the scarce research on annotation types, especially with highschool students, as well as the lack of studies examining reading periods in annotationuse, it’s necessary to carry out the present study.The subjects chosen for the present study are three intact classes of Grade Onehigh school students from Nanfang High School in Zhuzhou. The total number of thesubjects is105. Three treatment groups are included in the study, namely, thepre-reading annotation use group, the while-reading annotation use group, and thepost-reading annotation use group. Each treatment group contains35students. Bothtext-only and text-picture annotations are given to all the students, while the readingperiods in annotation use are different according to the treatment. The experimentaldata are collected from two sources: posttests and questionnaire. SPSS13.0is used toanalyze the results of each posttest, and the data of the questionnaire are calculated bypercentage. Finally, the main findings are obtained and presented as follows:1) Among three reading periods in annotation use, the while-reading annotationuse results in the best reading comprehension.2) Among three reading periods in annotation use, the pre-reading annotation useresults in the best vocabulary learning in terms of immediate production. Thepre-reading annotation use and post-reading annotation use result in relatively thesame and the best vocabulary learning in terms of delayed recognition and bothimmediate and delayed recognition. The post-reading annotation use has the bestvocabulary retention rate.3) When comparing the two annotation types, the text-picture annotations weremore effective than the text-only annotations on improving vocabulary learning interms of production and recognition.4) There was no obvious interaction effect between annotation types and readingperiods in annotation use.The above findings indicate that the right use of annotations in the right reading period will substantially promote the reading comprehension and vocabulary learning.It sheds some light on the research on annotation, reading comprehension andvocabulary learning and provides implications on vocabulary instruction and teachingmaterials design.