An Effect of Setting Target Vocabulary to Learn in the Academic Reading and Writing Classroom

This study looked at the effect of assigning target vocabulary to learn on learners’receptive knowledge of high frequency vocabulary over an academic year. Whetheruniversity language teachers should set target vocabulary is of interest: it may be thatstudents will learn high frequency vocabulary incidentally, or it may be necessary forteachers to ensure opportunities for deliberate vocabulary learning in the classroom.In this regard, this study adds to the literature on incidental vs. deliberate vocabularylearning. Vocabulary scores on the Vocabulary Levels Test are compared betweentwo cohorts; for one cohort (n = 71), vocabulary learning was left up to the learnerswith no guidance from teachers. For the second cohort (n = 88), targeted vocabularylists were provided for each reading text, and receptive knowledge was regularlytested throughout the academic year. Results showed that after 30 weeks of study,knowledge of high frequency vocabulary was better for the second cohort than thefirst, suggesting that targeting and testing vocabulary has a more positive outcome onlearning than leaving students to direct their own vocabulary learning. The authorrecommends that teachers consider identifying vocabulary for their students to learn,and encourage revision with regular testing