This study investigates the claim that task-induced involvement load has an effect on vocabulary learning and examines the effect of task types and word concreteness on intentional vocabulary learning in the Korean EFL context. This study aims at testing whether productive word-focused tasks lead to equally effective vocabulary learning when the total involvement load index is equal but the distribution of index levels of each component (need, search, and evaluation) is different. The three productive word-focused task types are gap-fillig, sentence writing, and gap-filling through word transformation. In addition, in order to investigate the effect of word concreteness on vocabulary learning, two groups of target words were selected based on the level of word concreteness. In sum, the results of this study generally supported involvement load hypothesis (Laufer & Hulstijin, 2001) and test types and proficiency levels proved to be important variables that affect vocabulary learning. Moreover, the findings also indicated that word concreteness was not a major factor in vocabulary learning. The pedagogical implications and further suggestions are discussed.

Corporations, governments, and non-profits across the world have implemented proenvironmental campaigns to promote sustainable practices. To better understand crosscultural differences in environmental persuasion, we draw on research on self-conscious emotion (Tangney & Dearing, 2002), construal level theory (Trope & Liberman, 2010), and cultural psychology (Ratner, 2000). The current research examines how the emotions of guilt and shame cause people from Eastern and Western cultures to differently perceive green advertising messages that are framed concretely or abstractly. Two hundred fifty-five undergraduate students were randomly assigned to a 2 (emotion priming: guilt vs. shame) x 2 (construal message frame: abstract vs. concrete message) x 2 (nationality: Americans vs. Koreans) between-subjects design. The results indicate that message concreteness effect is present among guilt-primed Americans and shame-primed Koreans (culturally relevant), but absent among shame-primed Americans and guilt-primed Koreans (culturally irrelevant). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed for developing global green advertising message strategies.