Incidental vocabulary learning in a natural reading context: an eye-tracking study

Abstract

This study responds to the call for more ecologically valid psycholinguistic research (Spivey & Cardon, 2015) by examining how readers incidentally acquire multifaceted vocabulary knowledge while reading a long, authentic text. Using eye tracking, we explore how the processing of unfamiliar words changes with repeated exposure and how the repeated exposure and processing affect word learning. In two sessions, native and non-native English speakers read five chapters of an authentic English novel containing Dari words. After reading, participants received a comprehension test and three surprise vocabulary tests. Growth curve modeling revealed a non-linear decrease in reading times that followed an S shaped curve. Number of exposures was the strongest predictor of vocabulary learning (form and meaning), while total reading time independently contributed to the learning of word meaning. Thus, both quantity and quality of lexical processing aid incremental vocabulary development and may reveal themselves differently in readers’ eye movement records.

Modelling Changes in the Cognitive Processing of Grammar in Implicit and Explicit Learning Conditions: Insights From an Eye‐Tracking Study

“…The pattern of correlations between the learning gains and the TFD and ΔTFD values (see Table ) as well as the fact that there were significant learning effects in both tasks—grammaticality judgment task, t (19) = 4.34, p < .001, and sentence reconstruction task, post hoc Bonferroni test p = .018 (for more details, see Indrarathne & Kormos, )—suggests that the S‐shaped curve in the last session represents not only an attenuation of attention but an observable increase in processing efficiency. The number of exposures after which this high level of processing efficiency seems to be achieved bears very close resemblance to the findings of Godfroid et al.’s () study, where they also detected a sudden drop in TFD between Exemplars 16 and 23.…”

“…The contextual word‐learning studies in more naturalistic contexts by Godfroid et al. () and Elgort et al. () detected a flattening curve at much later points and indicated the need for a higher number of exposures than does Pellicer‐Sánchez's and our research.…”

“…() and Godfroid et al. () have also offered insights into how many exposures might be necessary for the reliable establishment of meaning representations and the elaboration of semantic information. The eye movement patterns of L2 learners in both studies indicated that the first 2 to 10 encounters with novel words embedded in a written text served to strengthen the knowledge of the form of a word, and only after 7 to 10 encounters did learners start linking the form of words with their meaning.…”

Incidental Learning and Long‐Term Retention of New Word Meanings From Stories: The Effect of Number of Exposures

“…Godfroid et al.’s () and Saragi et al.’s () studies demonstrated clear incidental learning in the highly naturalistic context of reading real novels. However, they lacked experimental control over the number of exposures to the target words, which varied greatly in these authentic novels.…”

Simultaneous Acquisition of Words and Syntax: Effects of Exposure Condition and Declarative Memory

“…Extensive research using artificial and natural languages has investigated the incidental and intentional learning of vocabulary (e.g., Sonbul and Schmitt, 2013; Hamrick and Rebuschat, 2014; Khezrlou et al, 2017) and grammar (e.g., Indrarathne and Kormos, 2017; Rogers, 2017; Godfroid et al, 2018). Incidental learning refers to the acquisition of knowledge in the absence of the intention to learn, a learning process that tends to result in the development of implicit (unconscious) knowledge.…”