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 and three experimental groups representing different reading conditions. Over a period of seven weeks, the experimental groups engaged in two reading sessions to read their assigned texts accompanied by output tasks and input enhancement. The participants’ receptive and productive vocabulary gains were measured with an immediate posttest and a delayed posttest to assess retention. Results revealed significant impacts of text genres on L2 incidental vocabulary learning and retention. Processing twin texts and expository texts yielded significantly greater vocabulary gains than processing narrative texts alone. These effects might be due to different processing mechanisms required for texts structured in distinct ways. Expository texts are informative and explanatory in nature, providing explicit and contextually rich information for word comprehension and retention.

Few dictionary studies have examined the effectiveness of freely available online dictionaries (FAOD) offered by search engine companies. This experimental study examines the effectiveness of one FAOD, Naver.com, as an aid to vocabulary acquisition for a group of 87 intermediate-level Korean university students aged 19 to 28 (mean 21.9). The VKS and two multiple choice tests administered after a written recall task, and again one month later, measured vocabulary acquisition. MANOVA using treatment type (Online, Gloss, or Control) as the independent variable and test results as the dependent variables compared vocabulary acquisition. A second line of inquiry examined effects of topical familiarity on vocabulary acquisition. Findings suggest that FAODs are equally effective as a written gloss, and that both significantly outperform using context clues. Evidence is presented that unfamiliar topics may lead to slightly better vocabulary gains over reading familiar topics. Ways these findings can assist learners and teachers are discussed.

The study investigates the effect of different types of visual images, i.e., static images versus dynamic images, on English vocabulary learning. Eighty-four students in the fourth grade of an elementary school participated in this study, and they were divided into two experimental groups and a control group. One of the experimental groups utilized static images, and the other group, videos as dynamic images in vocabulary learning. The control group was provided with the definition or the explanation of each target word in L1. The results of the study manifested that the static image group showed higher scores for the post test than the dynamic image group. The comparison of the pre and post affective tests demonstrated that the static image group showed an improvement in confidence in language learning and the dynamic image group showed positive change in the attitude of all three areas: interest, confidence, and aroused motivation. The analysis of the open-ended questionnaires showed that many participants in the static image group tended to use pictures as retrieval cues to remember vocabulary.

This study investigates the effects of working memory capacity (WMC) and the types of vocabulary learning, i.e., explicit vs. implicit, on the acquisition of English multi-word verbs. For this purpose, a total of 60 middle school students, divided into two groups (control and experimental), participated in the study. The participants in the control group were taught multi-word verbs in a traditional and explicit manner, whereas the participants in the experimental group were exposed to multi-word verbs with short passages. The results manifested that both of the instructional styles had positive effects on the learners’ acquisition of multi-word verbs in the short-term. Although there was not a significant interaction between WMC and the overall scores on the immediate post-test, according to the scores on the gap-fill tasks which tested learners’ productive knowledge, there were significant differences between the low-WMC and high-WMC groups. High-WMC students learned more target multi-word verbs than low-WMC students on average. The results also showed that WMC and the two different learning types did not affect the students’ acquisition of multi-word verbs in the long-term. Further, the interaction effect between WMC and learning type in the long-term was not significant.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of using and authoring web-based vocabulary learning tasks on Korean EFL learners' vocabulary acquisition. The subjects of the study were seventy-seven EFL college students in Korea. They were divided into three groups: a traditional control group, and two experimental groups using and authoring the web-based vocabulary tasks, respectively. The major results of the study were as follows: first, the two experimental groups performed significantly better on the vocabulary recognition and use posttest than the control group did. This result indicates that both the use of the web-based tasks and the participation of students in authoring the web-based tasks are more effective in vocabulary acquisition than the use of traditional vocabulary learning methods. Second, both the experimental groups performed significantly better on the delayed posttest than the control group did. This result provides evidence that using and authoring web-based vocabulary tasks are effective in helping students retain newly acquired words in the long-term memory. Third, the learners' responses of the two experimental groups prove to be positive with respect to the use of the web-based task authoring tools in vocabulary learning. Based on these results, some pedagogical suggestions should be made on the effective use of the web-based task authoring tools in Korean English classroom settings.

본 연구의 목적은 미얀마인 어머니를 둔 다문화가정 미취학 자녀 의 한국어 어휘 습득 양상을 살펴보는 것이다. 본 연구에서는 이 아동들을 대상으로 어떠한 어휘 습득이 지체되었고, 이러한 어휘들의 특징은 어떠한 지 살펴 문제의 뿌리를 파악하고 그 해결점을 찾고자 하였다. 이를 위해 아동들의 수용어휘력 검사를 시행하였고 그것을 바탕으로 어휘의 발달 양상을 분석하였다. 조사 결과, 이러한 양상은 어머니의 한국어 습득 미완 결이 근본적인 이유로 간주되어 이를 보완하기 위해 결혼하여 한국으로 이민 온 미얀마인 여성들을 위한 보조 교육을 실행하는 방안을 채택하였다.