The Effect of Extensive Reading through MoodleReader on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition of EFL Learners in Iran

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION———————————————————————— 1

        1.0. Introduction————————————————————————————– 1

        1.1. Importance of Vocabulary in ESL Learning———————————————– 1

        1.2. Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Learning—————————————– 3

        1.3. ER and Incidental Vocabulary Learning————————————————— 5

        1.4. Extensive Reading Programs—————————————————————– 7

                1.4.1. The Accelerated Reader————————————————————— 8

                1.4.2. The MoodleReader——————————————————————— 9

        1.5. Vocabulary Learning Strategies————————————————————– 11

        1.6. Objectives—————————————————————————————– 14

        1.7. Research Questions—————————————————————————– 15

        1.8. Significance of the Study———————————————————————- 15

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW————————————————————— 17

        2.0. Introduction————————————————————————————– 17

        2.1. Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition———————————————— 18

                2.1.1. Intentional Vocabulary Learning—————————————————- 18

                2.1.2. Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition————————————————- 19

                2.1.3. Reading and Incidental Vocabulary Learning———————————— 21

        2.2. Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition and Extensive Reading—————————- 25

                2.2.1. Graded Readers————————————————————————- 29

        2.3. ER Promoting Programs———————————————————————– 32

                2.3.1. On-line Programs———————————————————————– 33

                2.3.2. The Accelerated Reader————————————————————— 34

                2.3.3. The MoodleReader——————————————————————— 36

        2.4. Language Learning Strategies—————————————————————- 38

                2.4.1. Vocabulary Learning Strategies—————————————————– 38

                2.4.2. Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaires——————————— 42

CHAPTER 3 METHOD———————————————————————————– 45

        3.0. Introduction————————————————————————————– 45

        3.1. Participants————————————————————————————— 45

        3.2. Materials and Instruments——————————————————————— 45

                3.2.1. Nation’s Production/Recognition Vocabulary Levels Tests——————- 46

                3.2.2. The Oxford Placement Test———————————————————- 46

                3.2.3. Vocabulary Learning Strategies Questionnaire———————————– 47

                3.2.4. The MoodleReader Website———————————————————- 47

                3.2.5. Penguin, Oxford, and Cambridge Graded Readers—————————– 48

        3.3. Data Collection Procedure——————————————————————– 48

        3.4. Data Analysis———————————————————————————— 50

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS—————————————————- 51

        4.0. Introduction————————————————————————————– 51

        4.1. Results——————————————————————————————— 51

                4.1.1. Does involving foreign language learners in extensive reading by the MoodleReader promote their incidental vocabulary acquisition?—————————————————————- 51

                4.1.2. What kind of knowledge is affected more by involving foreign language learners in ER through the MoodleReader, vocabulary recognition or production?—————————————- 57

                4.1.3. Does students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies influence their incidental vocabulary learning?——————————————————————————————————- 59

        4.2. Discussion—————————————————————————————– 62

                4.2.1. The Effect of Using the MoodleReader on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition—————————————————————————————————- 62

                4.2.2. The Impact of Involving Foreign Language Learners in ER through the MoodleReader on Vocabulary Recognition and Production————————————————————— 69

               4.2.3. The Effect of the Students’ Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies on Their Incidental Vocabulary Learning————————————————————————————— 70

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION————————————————————————— 74

        5.0. Introduction————————————————————————————– 74

        5.1. Summary and Conclusions——————————————————————– 74

        5.2. Pedagogical Implications of the Study—————————————————– 75

        5.3. Limitations of the Study and Suggestions for Further Research———————- 77

REFERENCES———————————————————————————————- 79

APPENDIX 1 Nation’s Recognition Vocabulary Levels Test (Version A)——————– 92

APPENDIX 2 Nation’s Recognition Vocabulary Levels Test (Version B)——————— 101

APPENDIX 3 Nation’s Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (Version A)———————- 109

APPENDIX 4 Nation’s Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (Version B)———————- 114

APPENDIX 5 Revised Learning Strategies Questionnaire—————————————- 119

APPENDIX 6 The Oxford Placement Test———————————————————– 124

 

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Descriptive Statistics for the two groups’ pre- and post tests results—————- 52

Table 4.2 Independent Sample t-tests comparing the two groups’ vocabulary recognition and their vocabulary production at the beginning and at the end of the study——————————————- 53

Table 4.3 Paired Sample t-tests comparing the two groups’ vocabulary recognition scores obtained at the beginning and at the end of the study—————————————————————— 55

Table 4.4 Paired Sample t-tests comparing the two groups’ vocabulary production scores obtained at the beginning and at the end of the study—————————————————————— 56

Table 4.5 Descriptive Statistics for the experimental group’s vocabulary gains results——- 57

Table 4.6 Paired Sample t-test comparing the experimental group’s vocabulary recognition and production gains—————————————————————————————————————— 58

Table 4.7 ANOVA table for the relationship between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and the control group’s vocabulary recognition————————————————————————— 59

Table 4.8 ANOVA table for the relationship between the control group’s vocabulary production and their use of vocabulary learning strategies————————————————————————- 60

Table 4.9 ANOVA table for the relationship between the experimental group’s vocabulary recognition and their use of vocabulary learning strategies——————————————————————– 60

Table 4.10 ANOVA table for the relationship between the experimental group’s vocabulary production and their use of vocabulary learning strategies————————————————————- 61

Table 4.11 Model summary for the regression test on the relationship between the experimental group’s vocabulary production and their use of learning strategies—————————————– 61

Table 4.12 Coefficient table for the effect of vocabulary learning strategies on the experimental group’s vocabulary production————————————————————————————– 61