The Effects Of Different Input Modes On Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

Vocabulary plays a very important role in second language acquisition. It’s been proved by many scholars that incidental vocabulary acquisition is an effective way of learning vocabulary from context. A large number of studies on incidental vocabulary acquisition in the foreign language typically involved subjects in extensive reading. Recently, researchers focus gradually on incidental vocabulary acquisition in listening. Meanwhile, reading while simultaneously listening has also been proved to be an effective way of facilitating second language acquisition and increasing learners’overall language proficiency. Knowing the benefits of different input modes on incidental vocabulary acquisition respectively, would more vocabulary be learnt in listening-only, reading-only or reading-while-listening mode?In this research, second-year non-English major students from three natural parallel intact classes of Zhixing College of Hubei University were allocated to the listening-only, reading-only and reading-while-listening treatments respectively with16target words from two texts. The data were collected from the pretest, immediate test and delayed test. The pretest was conducted in the first week for measuring the subjects’vocabulary knowledge of the target words two weeks before the immediate test. The immediate test was conducted in the third week immediately after the treatment (the input in three different modes). The delayed test was two weeks after the immediate test.According to the statistic analysis of data collected from the three tests through SPSS13.0, the subjects could acquire vocabulary knowledge incidentally in all three different input modes, but not all the vocabulary knowledge acquired incidentally in the three input modes could be retained for two weeks. Different input modes had different influences on incidental vocabulary acquisition and comprehension. Reading-while-listening mode was far more effective than listening-only mode; reading-while-listening mode was comparatively more effective than reading-only mode; Reading-only mode was comparatively more effective than listening-only mode in vocabulary gain. There’s no significant difference of word retention among three input modes. The subjects could comprehend significantly better in reading and reading-while-listening modes than in listening-only mode. In listening-only mode, subjects gained and retained comparatively more words in text with high topic familiarity than in text with low topic familiarity; in both reading-only and reading-while-listening modes, subjects gained and retained comparatively less words in text with high topic familiarity than in the text with low topic familiarity. In text with low topic familiarity, listening-only mode was the least effective mode for word gain and retention among the three input modes. In text with high topic familiarity, reading-while-listening was the most effective mode for word gain.The results prove the possibility of incidental vocabulary acquisition and suggest that it’s far more difficult for subjects to gain words from listening-only mode. It might due to subjects’difficulties in listening-only mode and affective factors such as anxiety in listening process. It suggests that reading-while-listening may be a better way for learners to gain more vocabulary and help them to practise reading and listening in meaningful sense groups.