In a one-month case study of one learner of French, extensive reading enhanced knowledge of about two-thirds of 133 target words, with gains varying by how often a word was encountered¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q1 · n=1
Currency · newest study 2006 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q1 i? A one-month case study of a single learner of French found knowledge of 65% of 133 target words enhanced in some way, spelling strongly and meaning and grammatical knowledge less so; gains varied with how often words were encountered. → Pigada and Schmitt 2006

Evidence¶

Pigada and Schmitt 2006¶

Pigada, M., & Schmitt, N. (2006). Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study. Reading in a Foreign Language, 18(1), 1-28. doi:10.64152/10125/66611

q1 · case study · i? · no effect size reported · n=1 · causal · r?

Case study of one 27-year-old learner of French who read simplified texts for one month. Knowledge of 133 target words' spelling, meaning and grammatical characteristics was assessed in one-on-one interviews. Knowledge of 65% of the target words was enhanced in some way (about 1 of every 1.5 words tested); spelling was strongly enhanced, even from a few exposures, while meaning and grammatical knowledge were enhanced to a lesser extent. The study examined how acquisition varied with how often words were encountered in the texts. With one learner and no comparison condition, it describes what was learned rather than testing a cause.

This entry was first ingested from Jafarpour (2014), Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 5(3), doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.5n.3p.162, whose literature review summarises this case study; Jafarpour's own study is a different one (see the related lexical-depth claim). The finding is Pigada and Schmitt's, so it is cited to them.

"This case study of a learner of French explores whether an extensive reading program can enhance lexical knowledge. ... The results showed that knowledge of 65% of the target words was enhanced in some way, for a pickup rate of about 1 of every 1.5 words tested. Spelling was strongly enhanced, even from a small number of exposures. Meaning and grammatical knowledge were also enhanced, but not to the same extent."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Reading and Language — outcome: instruction changes it
• Vocabulary — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• The more often learners meet a word while reading, the more likely they are to learn it incidentally; a meta-analysis of correlational studies finds a moderate correlation — a broader claim this one bears on
• Extensive reading improves vocabulary acquisition and spelling through repeated meaningful exposure — a broader claim this one bears on
• Vocabulary Knowledge Grows Incrementally With Repeated Encounters In Varied Contexts — related
• Incidental vocabulary exposure produces reliable learning, but learners pick up only a small share of the unknown words they meet — related
• Reading times for unknown words decrease significantly after three to four encounters, and by eight encounters unknown words are read like known words — related
• Single exposures yield partial word knowledge, and repeated encounters in varied contexts build complete word meaning (fast mapping then full mapping) — related
• The L1-L2 distinction in incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading lies in the rate, not the ultimate outcome, of the acquisition process — related
• Incorporating the extensive reading approach into vocabulary instruction significantly improves high-intermediate EFL learners' lexical depth — related