Conclusion
The results of this study point to several things. Firstly, the data support the notion that words
can be learned incidentally from context. However, these data suggest that few new words
appear to be learned from this type of reading, and half of those that are learned are soon lost.
Secondly, the test type affects the gain scores that are shown from the reading. Therefore,
researchers should be particularly cautious about selecting multiple-choice tests to validate the
learning of vocabulary. Thirdly, previous research that used a multiple-choice test format rather
than a translation test most probably has overstated learning gains. Fourthly, those studies that
did not have vocabulary retention data almost certainly will have overstated natural learning too.
Thus, the results here suggest that studies that had both these elements in their design, appear to
have substantially overstated their natural vocabulary gains. This should be borne in mind when
interpreting their results.
However, we have to be cautious when saying that very little vocabulary can be learned from the
reading. This study only looked at the learning of new words from the reading. This study did
not attempt to study a myriad of other forms of word knowledge which include lexical access
speed gains; the noticing of collocations, colligations or patterns within text; the recognition of
new word forms yet to be learned; an increase in the ability to guess from context; a
confirmation that a previously guessed word's meaning is probably correct; recognition of new
word associations; the raising of the ability to recognize discourse and text structure; an increase
in the ability to 'chunk' text; the development of saccadic eye movements and so on, and so on.
The jury is still out on these. Research into what effect reading in a foreign language has on
these elements of the reading puzzle is welcomed. However, it is our contention that ultimately
learners do not learn a lot ofnew words from graded reading, but in fact graded reading helps to
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deepen and consolidate already known language. The data presented here should not be
interpreted as a case against the need for graded reading.
Also it must not be forgotten that the data have been gathered from the reading of only one
graded reader. Clearly, graded readers are not supposed to be used as a one-off learning
experience with the vague hope that some new words or language will be learned.
Unfortunately, all too often this is the case as graded readers are subjected to the 'supplementary'
shelf of the teacher's armory. This research points ever more clearly to the need for repeated and
consistent exposure to graded readers if words are going to be acquired and especially if the aim
is to learn new words.
However, there are clear implications for the recycling of vocabulary for the series editors of
graded readers. These data suggest three possible courses that a series editor could take for the
rate of repetition within a single graded reader, or within a level, or series. Firstly, a graded
reader series editor could largely ignore the vocabulary requirements (in terms of volume of
text, rate of repetition, and the chance of learning) in favour of letting the story control the
vocabulary. A second option would be relevant if the series editor wishes to aid the learning of
new vocabulary. This could be done by identifying certain target words which may need to be
highlighted and repeated over ten to twenty times within a book, or certainly within a level. This
seems like an unnecessarily hard constraint on both authors and series editors of graded readers
as the naturalness of a book may be distorted by vocabulary requirements. However, at least
from the perspective of learning new words from graded reading, considerable care should be
taken to ensure that the headwords chosen for a particular reader level are be recycled throughout
the level, even if not within a particular title. It is not necessary to ensure that all the headwords
appear a minimum number of times with each title, but it seems to be necessary within each
level. Not doing so will mean that there is a high chance that new words will be forgotten. At
the early levels of graded reader series, this is rather easier to do because the word lists are
rather small and self-contained. However, at the later levels, it becomes more difficult as the
range of words an author may wish to incorporate into a graded reader will be much wider. The
third choice is for the series editor to not be overly concerned with presenting new vocabulary
but provide a rich input of already known vocabulary in various contexts and with a variety of
collocations and colligations. The tension among these three choices will remain with us in
perpetuity but each has its own implications for the syllabus design of the graded readers.
While this study has given us a few more insights into what kinds of vocabulary are learned from
reading, and the rate at which words need to be met in order to learn them, there are still several
unanswered questions. Firstly, we are still not clear whether increasing the number of
occurrences of target items will lead to higher acquisition rates. If the subjects had met the target
items say 25 or 30 times we can presume that more of them would have been learned, but this is
not clear. Another unanswered question concerns whether it is due to the nature of graded
reading itself (where the focus is on understanding the message rather than on the learning of
new vocabulary) that certain words cannot be learned easily in this way. It may be that the type
of cognitive effort expended depending on whether the subject is focused on word learning or on
the message may be part of the explanation. This fruitful research area may also investigate
whether certain types of words are best learned from reading than others, or whether they are
best learned out of context. Other questions relate to how much vocabulary is learned by
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reading, say, all the titles of one level of a graded reader series, in order to determine just how
many titles need to be read to master the vocabulary at that level.
In conclusion, the results of this study seem to support Nation and Wang's (1999) research that
recommends a high volume of reading (a book a week at the learner's reading level), or more. If
this amount of reading were done, the rather disappointing forgetting rate evident from reading
only one book would be reduced to some degree. The data also support Nation and Wang's
contention that graded readers might be best used for recycling already known vocabulary than
for introducing new words. This is because the results of this and other studies suggest that few
new words seem to be learned from graded reading. As has been mentioned elsewhere,
vocabulary growth is not the main aim of graded or extensive reading (e.g., Day and Bamford,
1998, 2002; Waring, 1997; Waring and Takahashi, 2000; Prowse, 2002). Teachers and learners
alike would be best advised to be aware of this and not to expect too many new words to be
learned from their graded readers. However, learners should be encouraged to read them for the
other informational and enjoyable aspects of reading in a foreign language, as well as the many
language learning and affective benefits they offer.
Acknowledgement
We thank Nick Bullard of Oxford University Press for his kind permission to allow us to use a
digital version of A Little Princess.
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