Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in the Foreign Language Classroom

Abstract

This paper is based on ongoing research on a recent low-dose, late partial English immersion (IM) program in Germany. The evaluation compares English language outcomes of IM groups, groups from non-IM schools, and non-IM groups from the same school as the IM groups, at various points of their development. This paper focuses on whether English vocabulary learning occurs incidentally while students are learning history or geography, or both, taught in English and whether there is evidence to suggest that the learning abilities activated in the IM classroom are the same as those found in traditional foreign language teaching and in naturalistic (untutored) L2 acquisition. The data derive from a communicative group test. It is shown that some of the lexical items cannot have come from the textbook or from other kinds of teaching materials used during regular foreign language instruction in the program. This leaves the teacher's oral use of English as the most likely source. Several implications for L2 acquisition theory and teaching practice are discussed.

Incidental and Intentional Learning

“…These studies claim substantial vocabulary gains through reading. Wode (1999) conducted a pilot study of incidental learning of productive vocabulary over a seven-month period in a grade-7 immersion program in a German high school (English L2, German L1). One immersion class was compared with two control groups.…”

Enhancing ESL Learners’ Vocabulary Learning of Metaphorically-used Words

“…Its centrality has driven burgeoning research into several areas such as the interplay between vocabulary and incidental learning (e.g. Huckin & Coady, 1999;Wode, 1999), vocabulary learning and extensive reading (e.g. Nation, 2015), the rate of vocabulary learning and retention (e.g.…”

The Impact of Incidental and Intentional L2 Vocabulary Learning on Depths and Breadth Dimensions of Vocabulary Knowledge

“…After Schmidt, Gass (1999) recommended her elaborated meaning for incidental learning as the learning of grammatical structures without exposure to the samples of these structures. Wode (1999) carried out a pilot study of incidental learning of productive vocabulary with a duration of seven months in a grade seven immersion program in a German high school that is, using English as their L2 and German as their L1. In this study, one immersion class which had, one subject taught in English that provides an extensive reading for students, in addition to regular English-as-a-subject lessons, was compared with two control groups.…”