A study was conducted to investigate incidental learning of word meanings from context during normal reading. Subjects were 129 third grade, 85 fifth grade, and 138 seventh grade students of differing comprehension ability who first completed a vocabulary checklist containing target words and distractors, then read either expository or narrative…

It is unclear how children develop the ability to learn words incidentally (i.e., without direct instruction or numerous exposures). This investigation examined the early achievement of this skill by longitudinally tracking the expressive vocabulary and incidental word-learning capacities of a hearing child of Deaf adults who was natively learning…

Three fifth grade students with learning disabilities were taught to recognize multisyllabic basal vocabulary words using constant time delay in a small-group instructional arrangement and were assessed on ability to recognize, spell, and define both their own target words and observational words. The procedure was effective in establishing…

This follow-up study of a classroom experiment with university English-as-a-Second-Language students that demonstrated incidental acquisition of new lexical knowledge through the reading of thematically-related texts explores how vocabulary knowledge may be acquired as a by-product of reading for comprehension. Findings are interpreted in terms of…

This study compared factors contributing to Quick Incidental Learning of new vocabulary by 50 5-year olds with specific language impairment (SLI) and 2 comparison groups. Although SLI children exhibited a robust representational mapping ability, performance was modulated by a minimum input constraint and apparent problems with storage into…

Compares English acquisition of German students in English immersion (IM), non-immersion, and non-IM groups from the same school as the IM groups. Examines whether English vocabulary learning occurs incidentally while students are learning history or geography taught in English and whether learning abilities activated in the IM classroom are the…

This study examined the relationship between learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition and their level of proficiency, and between acquisition and word frequency in a text. Participants were Turkish learners of English at three proficiency levels. One reading text and four vocabulary tests were administered over a two-week period. Analyses of…

Five children (27 to 47 months old) with mild to borderline levels of mental retardation were given a milieu language intervention program of 3 or 4 small group training sessions weekly. Results indicated the training had a clear facilitative effect on the acquisition and generalized use of common nouns and verbs by four of the subjects.…

Whilst the communicative approach advocates the use of the target language and implicit/incidental learning in vocabulary teaching, recent literature suggests that there is a need for these methods to be reconsidered. This is motivated by studies which suggest that for effective vocabulary learning process to occur explicit learning should be…

Presents a hypothesis-generating study of advanced university English-as-a-Foreign-Language learners' incidental vocabulary acquisition from oral and written dialogue journals over a semester. Teacher and student entries were analyzed and transcribed using WordCruncher (1993). Analyses compare characteristics of the input to the learners in the…

A study investigated children's natural learning of word meanings while reading. Subjects, 447 American and Chinese children in third and fifth grades, read one of two cross-translated stories and then completed a test on the difficult words in both stories. Results indicated: (1) significant incidental learning of word meanings in both grades in…

This study examines the effectiveness of teachers' incidental focus on form on vocabulary learning. Seventeen 45-minute audio-recorded teacher-led conversation, 204 learners' diaries (17 sessions x 12 learners) reporting what the participants had learned after each conversational class, 204 post-test translations, and 204 delayed post-test…

Examines whether students spontaneously focus on and acquire meanings for unknown words encountered in text. Indicates that, while the intentional learning group made the greatest gains, the incidental learning group acquired some knowledge and confidence. Shows that the control group gained little in either case. Provides support for incidental…