The Effects of Meaning-inferred Gloss and Meaning-given Gloss on Incidental Vocabulary Learning

[[abstract]]ABSTRACT The purpose of the current study is to examine whether meaning-inferred multiple-choice gloss (MI) can enhance more mental processing of the new words through decision-making process and thus generate more positive effects on vocabulary learning than meaning-given gloss (MG) can. Whether or not learners’ proficiency will affect their vocabulary learning in different gloss conditions will also be explored. The participants in the study were 175 students from four classes in Changhua Senior High School located in central Taiwan. In order to differentiate proficiency levels, two classes were selected from the first grade as the participants of low proficiency and the other two classes were from the third grade as the participants of high proficiency. The study was comprised of three phases. In the first phase, all participants received a vocabulary pre-test to measure their prior knowledge of the target words. In the second phase, one class from the first grade and one from the third grade were assigned to MI group and the other two classes, including one from the first grade and one from the third grade, were assigned to MG group. All of the participants were assigned two reading passages in the second phase. New words in MG group were glossed by providing L1 translations, while those in MI group were presented in the form of multiple-choice gloss, consisting of three L1 alternatives. The participants in the MI group had to finish the multiple-choice gloss by making choices of word meanings based on the context in the reading passage. After reading each passage, all of the participants finished four reading comprehension questions and took an immediate vocabulary post-test test. The third phase was a delayed post-test on target words administered two weeks after the reading tasks. After the three phases, scores of the pre-test, the immediate post-tests and the delayed post-test were analyzed. The findings of the current study reveal that both meaning-inferred gloss and meaning-given gloss are beneficial for incidental vocabulary learning and that the effects of meaning-inferred gloss is greater than the effects of meaning-given gloss because of more mental efforts exerted in the decision-making process while learners are trying to finish the meaning-inferred gloss. Besides, it also finds that learners’ proficiency level is not a determining factor in learners’ incidental vocabulary learning. It is the gloss types that influence the effects of their incidental vocabulary learning.