Incidental Vs. intentional vocabulary acquisition: An investigation on input enhancement and word-focused tasks

The present study was designed to investigate the roles and effectiveness of enhancement and word-focused activities in the vocabulary learning through reading. Specifically the study investigated whether typographical input enhancement and word focused tasks are favorable as compared to input only when reading for comprehension.The analyses showed that all of the treatments have an effect on learner scores and results when learning an unknown word. One of the aims of the study was to explore which way? reading only, input enhancement and word-focused tasks? would promote word learning when learners read an L2 text for comprehension. Participants who carried out word-focused tasks outperformed the other two groups in the number of words recognized both in the form and meaning. Completing vocabulary activities appeared to have contributed to WFT group?s significantly better performance than IE and IO groups on form-recognition and meaning-recognition tests. Completing a variety of vocabulary exercises seemed to have tapped different levels of processing capabilities such as recognition and interpretation. WFT group completed a variety of exercises during the instructional period so; they had more opportunities to consciously go through an elaborated mental processing of these words.