The Effects Of Modified Input On Incidental Vocabulary Learning Through Chinese Reading

One method of cultivating language learners’vocabulary is to incidentally learn vocabulary through reading. Modified input helps improve the efficiency of incidental vocabulary learning(IVL), thus contributing to learners’reading comprehension and vocabulary cultivation. At present, few studies on modified input have been conducted in the field of Teaching Chinese as Second Language. Besides, researchers pay more attention to the effects of oral input than of reading input.The present study adopted the experimental research method and interviews, aiming to discuss the different effects of no modified input, premodified input and interactionally modified input on Chinese reading comprehension and IVL. The results were analyzed both in qualitative and quantitative way and the following questions were discussed:(1)the effects of modified input on Chinese reading comprehension; (2)the effects of modified input on IVL; (3)the effects of cognitive styles on Chinese reading comprehension and IVL; (4)the effects of reading materials on Chinese reading comprehension and IVL; (5)the correlation between Chinese reading comprehension and IVL.The findings of the present study are as follows:(1)both premodified and interactionally modified input have positive effects on Chinese reading comprehension; (2)both premodified and interactionally modified input have positive effects on IVL; (3)cognitive styles and modified input have no interaction effects on Chinese reading comprehension and IVL; (4)material factors such as context clues and Chinese characters may have effects on Chinese reading comprehension and IVL; (5)the correlation between Chinese reading comprehension and IVL is positive. Therefore, the combination of premodified and interactionally modified input was proposed. On this basis, specific teaching suggestions focusing on both teaching materials and teachers were put forward.