A Computational Theory of Vocabulary Acquisition

Contextual Vocabulary Acquisition: A Computational Theory and Educational Curriculum

We discuss a research project that develops and applies algorithms for computational contextual vocabulary acquisition (CVA): learning the meaning of unknown words from context. We try to unify a disparate literature on the topic of CVA from psychology, firstand secondlanguage acquisition, and reading science, in order to help develop these algorithms: We use the knowledge gained from the compu...

Task-Induced Involvement in L2 Vocabulary Learning: A Case for Listening Comprehension

The study aimed at investigating whether the retention of vocabulary acquired incidentally is dependent upon the amount of task-induced involvement. Immediate and delayed retention of twenty unfamiliar words was examined in three learning tasks( listening comprehension + group discussion, listening comprehension + dictionary checking + summary writing in L1, and listening comprehension + dictio...

On Situating the Stance of Estrogen in the Acquisition and Recall of L2 Lexical Items: A Biological Look

The present study examined whether the advantage of females on L2 vocabulary recall and acquisition is partly as a result of estrogen secretion or not. In this regard, through volunteer and convenience sampling 15 intermediate EFL female participants aged between 23-31 were selected from the subject pool of 55 participants. The participants were studying at Iranian Language Center located in Ba...

The Effect of Gloss Type and Mode on Iranian EFL Learners’ Vocabulary Acquisition

Vocabulary is an important component of language proficiency which provides the basis for learners’ performance in other skills. But, since vocabulary learning seems to be so demanding, learners tend to forget newly-learnt words quite soon. In order to identify vocabulary learning conditions which can produce a more lasting effect, this study investigated the effect of three kinds of gloss cond...

Vocabulary Acquisition through Frequency Exposure via Reading

No Negotiation, Limited Negotiation, and Extended Negotiation in Proactive Focus on Form in Vocabulary Acquisition

Negotiation, as an interactional strategy and proactive focus on form (FoF) have received increased attention in second language research. The combination of negotiation and proactive FoF, however, has not been examined in relation to L2 vocabulary learning. To address this gap, the present study investigated how the amount of negotiation and proactive FoF impacted learners’ vocabulary knowledg...