A“How Does Prior Word Knowledge Affect Vocabulary Learning Process in an Extensive Reading Program?”

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The article under discussion is devoted to the experimental study of the prior vocabulary’s influence on the successful enlargement of a linguistic stock via extensive reading. The following research is primarily focused on the second language learners of different levels. The research is aimed at identifying the efficiency of extensive reading in terms of a word stock’s extension. The value of this research is determined by the shortage of experimental studies in the relevant field.

The participant base was represented by sixty students at the age of sixteen years. They took part in the same program that implied studying through extensive reading. All of them were asked to pass two tests that were supposed to identify their level. The results of a pretest were compared with the grades in the final test to find out the interconnection between the initial linguistic stock and the volume of the vocabulary after the course.

The presence or the absence of such relation was to become either the hypothesis’s validation or its refutation (Webb and Chang 7). The materials’ base used throughout the course was represented by the books from Oxford series along with their audio variants. Thus, the participants did not choose the texts on their own but were offered to read the similar literature (Webb and Chang 8).

The targeted word stock was determined with the help of a quasirandom sampling method. The dependent measures were calculated via the two matching tests both at the beginning and at the end of the reading course (Webb and Chang 10).

The research course lasted for four months including unexpected cancelations and schedule changes. The experience showed that the participants were likely to experience a lot of difficulties at the first stages of their extensive reading. No particular focus was made on the targeted vocabulary; instead, the instructor encouraged the students to concentrate on the stories’ plot.

However, after completing four books, most of the students began showing sincere interest as they were more involved in the process and less embarrassed by the linguistic complexity. Over the period of the course, the participants were offered to complete various post-reading tasks, although they were not presented as obligatory and could be chosen according to one’s interests. The targeted vocabulary was searched through dictionaries or explained in class (Webb and Chang 11).

The data analysis was performed with the help of the SPSS and took place in stages. First of all, the pretest results enabled the researchers to classify the students into three groups basing on their knowledge level. Webb and Chang were mostly focused on the analysis of the relative gains rather than the actual gains. In order to obtain the most accurate results, the multiple comparisons were used at this stage of the research.

The next step implied the usage of the paired samples aimed at comparing how varied were the results provided by the groups belonging to different knowledge levels. In the end, the researchers applied Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients in the interest of estimating the character of the word stock change (Webb and Chang 12).

The thorough examination of the gathered data allowed the researchers to come to several conclusions. First of all, it turned out that the participants with the initially high knowledge level showed better relative gains than the low-level students. The members of the intermediate group provided average results, as it was assumed in the beginning. Therefore, the successful performance of the high-level students served as an evidence of the extensive reading efficiency.

The comparison of the gains within a particular group revealed the fact that the amount of the vocabulary acquired via extensive reading depended significantly on the personal peculiarities of a participant. Thus, students were apt to show a considerable shift in the word stock extension irrespective of their knowledge level.

Finally, the research proved the existence of an evident correlation between the prior vocabulary and the potentially obtained linguistic stock. It can be logically explained by the students’ stronger intention to read when they understand at least half of the material and their larger potential to learn new words when they know the meaning of the neighboring phrases (Webb and Chang 12).

The researchers suggest that the outcomes identify three pedagogical challenges. To begin with, it is crucial that a teacher appropriately selects the group targeted for extensive reading. Moreover, one is to perform a considerable preparatory work to facilitate the reading process for low-level students. Lastly, it is highly necessary to improve the system that would allow students to progress from one level to another in a precise timeframe and on the specific conditions (Webb and Chang 21).

In conclusion, one should point out that the discussed research and the gathered results can represent considerable value for pedagogical application and methodology planning. The collected data proves the efficiency of the extensive reading for the second language learning students of all the levels.

The data collection methods were chosen in accordance with the type of the research and its design. Nevertheless, one might presume that the research hypothesis was not precise enough and implied several profound questions that would, probably, be better examined if they had been considered separately.

Works Cited

Webb, Stuart and Anna C.-S. Chang. “How Does Prior Word Knowledge Affect Vocabulary Learning Process in an Extensive Reading Program?” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 36.2 (2015): 1-25. Print.

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A“How Does Prior Word Knowledge Affect Vocabulary Learning Process in an Extensive Reading Program?”

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