HOW DOES MODE OF INPUT AFFECT THE INCIDENTAL LEARNING OF COLLOCATIONS?

• Published in: Studies in second language acquisition Vol. 44; no. 1; pp. 35 - 56
• Main Authors: Webb, Stuart, Chang, Anna C.-S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Classrooms; College students; Collocations; Comparative Analysis; English (Second Language); English as a second language learning; Foreign Countries; Incidental Learning; Knowledge; Language Tests; Learning; Learning Processes; Listening; Listening comprehension; Listening Skills; Phrase Structure; Reading; Reading materials; Research Article; Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Second language vocabulary learning; Teaching Methods; Undergraduate Students; Vocabulary Development; Taiwan
• ISSN: 0272-2631; 1470-1545
• DOI: 10.1017/S0272263120000297

There has been little research investigating how mode of input affects incidental vocabulary learning, and no study examining how it affects the learning of multiword items. The aim of this study was to investigate incidental learning of L2 collocations in three different modes: reading, listening, and reading while listening. One hundred thirty-eight second-year college students learning EFL in Taiwan were randomly assigned to three experimental groups (reading, listening, reading while listening) and a no treatment control group. The experimental groups encountered 17 target collocations in the same graded reader. Learning was measured using two tests that involved matching the component words and recalling their meanings. The results indicated that the reading while listening condition was most effective while the reading and listening conditions contributed to similarly sized gains. The findings suggest that listening may play a more important role in learning collocations than single-word items.