Effect of word-focused activity on reading and learning of L2 vocabulary: A self-paced reading study

Abstract

Many researchers suggest that text-reading should be followed by an activity that requires learners to use the new vocabulary, before they read the text again. This article demonstrates the benefits of post-reading word-focused activity on vocabulary learning
in an environment when there is no instructor support, particularly for second language (L2) high-intermediate learners compared with monolingual native speakers. But how exactly does this help? Does the post-reading activity make learners aware of gaps in
their knowledge of the new vocabulary? If it does, this may lead them to pay more attention to those words in a subsequent reading, ultimately resulting in vocabulary uptake. To address this question, the current study employed a self-paced reading task to examine the reading behaviors during the rereading of a text following a word-focused activity. The results suggested a potential benefit of engaging with target items during the word-focused activity for retaining the novel word’s meaning (p = 0.06). However, this word-focused activity did not result in increased attention to reading target items during the rereading task.