To identify effective methods for boosting incidental vocabulary learning, this study examines the impacts of two tools--bimodal presentation (BP) and lexical elaboration (LE)--on vocabulary acquisition through repeated encounters with target words during meaning-focused reading. In a quiet and comfortable place conducive to full concentration on…

Retrieval practice of isolated words (e.g., with flashcards) enhances foreign vocabulary learning. However, vocabulary is often encountered in context. We investigated whether retrieval opportunities also enhance contextualized word learning. In two within-subjects experiments, participants encoded 24 foreign words and then read a story to further…

Research shows that meaning-focused reading offers opportunities for incidental grammar acquisition. However, the number of such studies remains limited and none have examined the role of both in-text encounters with grammar structures and reading comprehension in this learning. The present study filled these gaps. Employing a between-group,…

The authors examined the influence of context meaning consistency on incidental vocabulary acquisition during reading. "Context meaning consistency" refers to informational context that reflected the same meaning (i.e., consistent) or different meanings (i.e., inconsistent) across two self-paced reading sessions for a given item (both…

In this quasi-experimental study, 165 learners of English for academic purposes at a university in China were randomly assigned to five experimental groups and a control group. Each experimental group encountered 19 target collocations in the same academic lecture in one of the following input modes: (a) reading, (b) listening, (c) reading while…

The current research investigates the lexical coverage of reading passages required for achieving the minimal and optimal levels of reading comprehension in a foreign language. More specifically, the aim of the study is to identify the word frequency bands within the reading passages in the English tests of The Higher Education Institutions…

We explored whether knowledge building through read alouds of a conceptually coherent (CC) set of texts might support children's incidental acquisition of vocabulary in these texts and listening comprehension of related texts. Eleven classrooms of first (n = 83) and second grade students (n = 112) were randomly assigned to read alouds of either a…

This study investigated the effects of processing three types of texts, namely expository texts, narrative texts, and a combination of both known as twin texts, on incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention in L2 learners. College freshmen (N = 109), who were lower to upper intermediate learners of English, were assigned into a control group…

For elementary learners of Japanese, one of the main difficulties in reading is to distinguish words written in kana. This paper reports on a survey of elementary level learners with two different levels of proficiency to investigate the effectiveness of Japanese graded readers with parts of speech color-coded to distinguish nouns, verbs,…

This study measures the threshold level of depth of word knowledge in L2 incidental learning and reading comprehension. I administered the Word Associates Test (WAT; Read, 2004) to measure depth of word knowledge. Based on participants' scores on the WAT, they were divided into three proficiency groups: high proficiency (HP), intermediate…

This study examined whether the reading passages in the new series of English-language textbooks for high-school students in Vietnam fostered reading comprehension and incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading by looking at four factors: the number of unfamiliar words in the texts, the importance of these words for text comprehension, the…

Student response systems (SRSs) have been applied in a wide array of educational contexts to promote engaging learning. There exists scant empirical evidence about comparing web-based SRS with other modalities of response methods. In the present study, a quasi-experimental research design was undertaken to compare three learning conditions on EFL…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of word-related factors (i.e. frequency, range, dispersion and cognateness) on first-language English (L1E) readers' (n = 20) and second-language English (L2E) readers' (n = 20) incidental acquisition of vocabulary through the reading of an authentic novel.…

Second language (L2) learners comprehend more when they are prepared for novel vocabulary that they encounter in a text. Input-based incremental (IBI) vocabulary instruction (Barcroft, 2012) provides L2 instructors and learners with a means of achieving this goal by (a) presenting optimal input to learners at the right time during a…

This study compared the effects of the reading-while-listening condition and the reading-only condition on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' acquisition of the four dimensions of vocabulary knowledge: form recognition, grammar recognition, meaning recall, and collocation recognition. Accordingly, 24 words within four frequency groups…