A Study On The Effects Of Vocabulary Glosses On English Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition Of Junior Middle School Students

Incidental vocabulary acquisition means that students complete additional tasks(such as reading)while acquiring vocabulary incidentally.Glosses can provide explanations for new words and help learners avoid making mistakes in guessing words during English vocabulary learning or reading.The current research focus has shifted from whether glosses can promote incidental vocabulary acquisition,to which glosses has better effect on incidental vocabulary acquisition.This research uses the Theory of Deep Processing,Involvement Load Hypothesis and Noticing Hypothesis as the theoretical framework.Through research tools such as immediate vocabulary test and delayed vocabulary test,the four vocabulary glosses are compared to the width,depth and retention of vocabulary acquisition of junior middle school students effect.Specifically,three research questions are involved as following:1.What is the attitude of junior middle school students to different vocabulary glosses,such as no gloss,textual glosses,pictorial glosses,and text-picture glosses?2.In the immediate vocabulary test,how effective are the different vocabulary glosses for incidental vocabulary acquisition of junior middle school students?3.In the delayed vocabulary test,how effective are the different vocabulary glosses for incidental vocabulary acquisition of junior middle school students?In this study,120 students in the second grade of a middle school in Yueyang City,a control class,and three experimental classes were used as the research objects,and a six-week experiment was carried out.The experimental classes adopt various vocabulary glosses,and the control class adopts no gloss.Statistical analysis is conducted by SPSS23.0 for data collected from vocabulary level tests,English vocabulary test,questionnaire and interview.The study finds that students perform differently in terms of emotional attitude,cognitive level and behavioral preferences for different types of glosses.Vocabulary glosses are more popular than no gloss.Text-picture glosses are the most popular among students.In the immediate vocabulary test,the precise and attractive text-picture glosses have a better effect on the width and depth of incidental vocabulary acquisition.In the delayed vocabulary test,the textual glosses work best.Students incidentally acquire more vocabulary,deeper understanding of vocabulary,and longer vocabulary retention.