The Effect of Self-selected Words on Learning Vocabulary through Reading

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This study investigates the effect of learning self-selected words during reading. In order to provide tasks that increase learners' motivation, the present study tries to examine (1) which method is more effective: learning self-selected words or learning pre-selected words during reading and (2) how text difficulty affects learners' selection of words. Two experiments were conducted with 29 Japanese university students. In experiment 1, they were given a passage and were told to select five unknown words while reading that they wanted to know. Six "pre-selected words" were also presented. They were given two posttests: one directly after reading the passage and one a week later. The results of experiment 1 revealed that learning self-selected words is more efficient than learning pre-selected words. However, the difference was not statistically significant on the second posttest. Moreover, retention of both self-selected words and pre-selected words declined sharply. Therefore, learning self-selected words enhances learning vocabulary through reading, although the effect was short-term. In experiment 2, the participants were given a passage and were told to select four unknown words that they want to know. They were also asked to infer the meaning of the words and write the reasons they chose the words. Three texts were used to examine the difference of selection depending on the text difficulty. The results of experiment 2 revealed that the method of choice and the reasons the participants chose the words were greatly affected by the difficulty of the text. This may indicate that the effect of learning self-selected words would become weak if the text were too difficult for the learners. A pedagogical implication could be that it is beneficial for learners to choose words that they want to know during reading and to infer meanings of unknown words in addition to learning words that they are given. It is reported that inferring unknown words' meanings from the context before memorization is more effective than only memorizing target words(Kawamura, 2004). This method of learning self-selected words could be applicable to classroom situations in this way.

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