Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study

By Maria Pigada, N. Schmitt. Reading in a Foreign Language, 2006

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A number of studies have shown that second language learners acquire vocabulary through reading, but only relatively small amounts. However, most of these studies used only short texts, measured only the acquisition of meaning, and did not credit partial learning of words. This case study of a learner of French explores whether an extensive reading program can enhance lexical knowledge. The study assessed a relatively large number of words (133), and examined whether one month of extensive reading enhanced knowledge of these target words' spelling, meaning, and grammatical characteristics. The measurement procedure was a one-on-one interview that allowed a very good indication of whether learning occurred. The study also explores how vocabulary acquisition varies according to how often words are encountered in the texts. The results showed that knowledge of 65% of the target words was enhanced in some way, for a pickup rate of about 1 of every 1.5 words tested. Spelling was strongly enhanced, even from a small number of exposures. Meaning and grammatical knowledge were also enhanced, but not to the same extent. Overall, the study indicates that more vocabulary acquisition is possible from extensive reading than previous studies have suggested.

Subfields: Artificial Intelligence, Developmental and Educational Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3692d1c5e36145a5783135f3f077f6486e263d23

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Citations in the corpus

Principles guiding vocabulary learning through extensive reading (2015, background): “In addition, as Pigada and Schmitt (2006) have shown, guessing from context can strengthen and enrich knowledge of partially known words.”
Review article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning (2008, background): “Pigada and Schmitt (2006) studied the learning of spelling, meaning, and grammatical characteristics during a one-month extensive reading case study.”
Research into practice: Vocabulary (2011, background): “However, this evidence needs to be treated with caution because studies such as those by Waring & Takaki (2003) and Pigada & Schmitt (2006) demonstrate the different strengths and kinds of vocabulary learning that can occur incidentally, leading us to suspect that earlier studies using single…”
INCIDENTAL L2 VOCABULARY ACQUISITION FROM AND WHILE READING (2015, background): “Pigada and Schmitt ( 2006 ) also found that by about 10+ exposures, there was a considerable increase in vocabulary learning.”
Incidental vocabulary acquisition: The effects of task type, word occurrence and their combination (2011, background): “In a 1-month case study, Pigada and Schmitt (2006) traced the acquisition of three aspects of knowledge: spelling, grammatical behaviour, and meaning of 133 target words.”
Beyond raw frequency: Incidental vocabulary acquisition in extensive reading (2008, methodology): “http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl Second language vocabulary can be learned incidentally while the learner is engaged in extensive reading or reading for meaning, inferring the meaning of unknown words (Huckin & Coady, 1999; Hulstijn, 1992; Krashen, 1993; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006).”
Picking up polysemous phrasal verbs: How many do learners know and what facilitates this knowledge? (2016, methodology): “The PHRASE List compiled by Martinez and Schmitt (2012), which includes many PVs, was fundamentally based on this assumption.”
Effects of extensive reading on reading attitudes in a foreign language (2013, background): “…Fujita & Noro, 2009; Iwahori, 2008; Lao & Krashen, 2000; Matsui & Noro, 2010), vocabulary (Grabe & Stoller, 1997; Horst, 2005; Lao & Krashen, 2000; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006; Poulshock, 2010), grammar (Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Yang, 2001), writing (Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Hafiz & Tudor, 1989,…”
The effects of word exposure frequency and elaboration of word processing on incidental L2 vocabulary acquisition through reading (2012, background): “However, although some studies report relatively high word learning and retention rates (Horst, 2005; Pigada and Schmitt, 2006), the overall picture is that learning new words by reading only is a ‘slow and error-prone process’ (Peters et al., 2009, p. 114) with a low word pick-up rate (Horst et…”
Extensive reading in a challenging environment: a comparison of extensive and intensive reading approaches in Saudi Arabia (2009, result): “This is congruent with the results of Pigada and Schmitt (2006), who found that their case-study participant G improved his knowledge of the spelling, meaning, and grammatical behavior of 133 French target words after a month of reading.”
Incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading, reading-while-listening, and listening to stories (2008, positive): “There has been a reasonable amount of research on incidental vocabulary learning from extensive reading (e.g., Day et al., 1991; Dupuy & Krashen, 1993; Grabe & Stoller, 1997; Hayashi, 1999; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006; Pitts, White, & Krashen, 1989; Waring & Takaki, 2003).”