Incidental vocabulary gains show retention problems, with losses over time moderated by feedback timing and topic interest¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2019 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Retention studies show all groups lose some gains in the long run, and a short study-test lag combined with delayed feedback leads to better word retention than immediate feedback. → Zou 2019 q2 i? Vocabulary growth from passages with interesting topics tends to last over time. → Zou 2019 (2)

Evidence¶

Zou 2019¶

Zou, F., & Yan, X. (2019). Incidental English Vocabulary Acquisition Through Reading: A Review in the Last Two Decades. English Language Teaching, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v12n12p39

q2 · i? · review · r?

The review reports, citing Lin (2018), a study of participants from different majors controlling retention interval, finding a short study-test lag with delayed feedback produced better vocabulary retention. No effect size is printed.

"The results revealed that combination of a short study-test lag and delayed feedback lead to better word r etention and delayed feedback is better than immediate feedback with respect to vocabulary retention."

Zou 2019 (2)¶

Zou, F., & Yan, X. (2019). Incidental English Vocabulary Acquisition Through Reading: A Review in the Last Two Decades. English Language Teaching, 12(12). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v12n12p39

q2 · i? · review · r1

The review reports, citing Lee and Pulido (2017), that vocabulary growth from passages with interesting topics tended to persist over time. No effect size is printed.

"Lee and Pulido (2017) also confirm ed that vocabulary growth increased from the passage with interesting topic tends to last over time."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Vocabulary Knowledge Grows Incrementally With Repeated Encounters In Varied Contexts — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• A review reports that pretesting helps paired-associate learning only when correct-answer feedback is immediate, but helps trivia-fact learning even when feedback is delayed up to 24 hours — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Combining intentional and incidental vocabulary learning produces greater gains and better retention than either mode alone — related
• Digital game-based learning supports long-term retention of second-language vocabulary — reports the opposite
• Reading and listening yield similar proportions of incidental vocabulary learning, with reading ahead only on some immediate posttests — related
• Intentional vocabulary learning yields higher, faster gains and better retention than incidental learning through reading — related
• Vocabulary knowledge gained from eight encounters persisted over two weeks, with no significant immediate-to-delayed test differences — related
• Immediate Elaborated Feedback in a formative assessment game significantly improved students' programming knowledge, interest, and problem-solving versus systems without immediate feedback — related