The degree of freedom of reader choice and second language incidental vocabulary learning

• Main Authors: Yi-Ling Bai, 白宜靈
• Other Authors: David Wible
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/99628621870905862427

碩士 === 國立中央大學 === 學習與教學研究所 === 99 === The main concern of this study is to investigate whether second language incidental vocabulary learning from reading is affected by whether the learner is allowed to choose the reading material as opposed to being assigned the material to read. It also examines effects of students’ level of interest in the reading material on their incidental vocabulary learning. Two experiments are reported in the thesis: study 1 and study 2. In both study 1 and study 2, participants were divided into a self-choice group and a system-assigned group. Students of the self-choice group could choose reading materials freely. Students of the system-assigned group were assigned passages. The result of study 1 shows that the incidental vocabulary learning of the students of the self-choice group was better than that of the system-assigned group. Also, students’ interest level of self-choice group was stronger than those of the system-assigned group. However, the results of study 2 shows that students of two groups were not significantly different in terms of not only target word tests but also interest levels in reading materials. Interest might be the main factor that causes the inconsistent results in two studies. The study provides suggestions and some directions for future research to explore this issue further.