Direct Teaching of Vocabulary after Reading: Is It Worth the Effort?
Abstract
This experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of direct teaching of new vocabulary items in reading passages. The study compared vocabulary learning under a reading only condition (incidental learning) to learning that is aided by direct communication of word meanings (explicit learning). Three levels of vocabulary knowledge (form recall, meaning recall, and meaning recognition) were assessed using three tests (completion, L1 translation, and multiple choice, respectively). Incidental learning plus explicit instruction was found to be more effective than incidental learning alone for all three levels. The results also showed that direct instruction is especially effective in facilitating the deepest level of knowledge, i.e. form recall. These findings demonstrate the value of the time and effort spent on direct teaching of lexical items in EFL reading classes.
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An uninstructed, incidental approach to L2 vocabulary acquisition does result in lexical gains, but they are modest.
“'an uninstructed, incidental, approach to L2 vocabulary acquisition does result in lexical gains, but they are modest'”
From The Effect of Multiplayer Video Games on Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning: The Case of Among Us (2021) · cites this paper as [61]
Encountering new words, if not in combination with vocabulary-related tasks, does not foster their retention, and direct instruction may be needed to add value to the learning process and lead to greater vocabulary gains.
“This may lead to the conclusion that encountering new words, if not in combination with vocabulary-related tasks, does not foster their retention [52] and that direct instruction may be needed to add value to the learning process and to lead to greater gains in vocabulary [61].”
From The Effect of Multiplayer Video Games on Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning: The Case of Among Us (2021) · cites this paper as [61]
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Eckerth, J., & Tavakoli, P. (2012) · Language Teaching Research · doi:10.1177/1362168811431377 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING IN SLA: EFFECTS OF FREQUENCY, AURAL ENHANCEMENT, AND WORKING MEMORY
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Calvo-Ferrer, J. R., & Belda-Medina, J. (2021) · Multimodal Technologies and Interaction · doi:10.3390/mti5120080 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
“This may lead to the conclusion that encountering new words, if not in combination with vocabulary-related tasks, does not foster their retention [52] and that direct instruction may be needed to add value to the learning process and to lead to greater gains in vocabulary [61].”
BackgroundResultInfluential
- Authors
- Sonbul, S., & Schmitt, N.
- Venue
- ELT Journal
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-08-28
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 253-260
- ISSN
- 0951-0893 (ISSN-L)
- 1477-4526
- OpenAlex
- W2148110767
- Cited by
- 170
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 32 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 30 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 5.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ELT Journal (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Second Language Acquisition and Learning
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
- Keywords
- vocabulary teaching, incidental vocabulary learning, explicit vocabulary instruction, reading comprehension, EFL reading, meaning recall, meaning recognition, lexical items
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