This study investigated whether or not there is any difference in the extent to which incidental vocabulary learning takes place according to the presence of background knowledge. Along with background knowledge, three other variables such as reading comprehension ability, reading strategies, and knowledge of words were examined to determine how each variable contributes to incidental vocabulary learning. The data from two groups of 60 second grade students in a Korean middle school was analyzed in this research, and the followings were measured: the use of reading strategies, reading comprehension ability, knowledge of passage sight vocabulary, background knowledge on a text, and knowledge of target words. The findings revealed that the participants inferred the meaning of unknown words better when they had more background knowledge. Each of the four variables was a significant predictor of their incidental vocabulary learning and played a facilitative role in the lexical inferencing process. The results are discussed in terms of the conditions for efficient incidental vocabulary learning through reading.

I. INTRODUCTION
II. BACKGROUND
III. RESEARCH DESIGN
    1. Subjects
    2. Material
    3. Measurement
    4. Procedure
IV. RESULTS
V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

• Hye Jin Hwang(Department of English Language Education Korea University)