A preliminary study on the effects of an E-gloss tool on incidental vocabulary learning when reading Chinese as a foreign language
Frederick J. Poole | Utah State University
To become proficient readers of Chinese, learners must identify characters quickly and accurately. Learners who are able to recognize characters rapidly are able to focus on the overall message rather than the meaning of individual characters. However, the complex orthography of Chinese makes decoding characters difficult. E-gloss tools such as Dim Sum have been highly touted as solutions to ease this burden for second language learners of Chinese (Shen & Tsai 2010; Xie & Tao 2009). Research has shown that when learners use these tools, reading speeds and comprehension scores improve; however, no research has investigated the effect of such tools on incidentally-learned vocabulary. This study compared incidental vocabulary gains by 19 students in two different Chinese courses, reading four texts with an e-gloss tool and four texts in a traditional paper format. Although a significant difference between the two reading formats was not found, simple comparisons of learning gains by individual learners in both reading formats suggest that students’ learning and reading styles may impact the effectiveness of reading with or without the e-gloss tool.
Keywords: vocabulary, E-gloss tools, Chinese as a foreign language
Published online: 02 February 2017
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.51.3.03poo
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.51.3.03poo
References
Azari, F
2012 “Review of Effects of Textual Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning.” International Journal of Innovative Ideas 12(2): 13–24.
The Chinese Reading World
Craik, F.I., and E. Tulving
1975 “Depth of Processing and the Retention of Words in Episodic Memory.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 104(3): 268–294. 
Dim Sum
2008 Dim Sum. (Version 0.7.9.1)[Software]. Available from http://www.mandarintools.com/dimsum.html
Everson, M
1994 “Towards a Process View of Teaching Reading in the Second Language Chinese Curriculum.” Theory into Practice (Winter) 4–9.
Everson, M.E
1998 “Word Recognition among Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language: Investigating the Relationship between Naming and Knowing.” The Modern Language Journal 82(2): 194–204.
2009 “Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language.” In Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, edited by M.E. Everson and Y. Xiao, 97–111. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company.
Fan, K.Y., J.Y. Gao, and X.P. Ao
1984 “Pronunciation Principles of the Chinese Character and Alphabetic Writing Scripts.” Chinese Character Reform 31: 23–37. (In Chinese)
Feldman, L.B., and W.W. Siok
1999 “Semantic Radicals in Phonetic Compounds: Implications for Visual Character Recognition in Chinese.” In Reading Chinese Script: A Cognitive Analysis, edited by J. Wang, A.W. Inhoff, and H. -C. Chen, 19–35. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gettys, S., L.A. Imhof, and J.O. Kautz
2001 “Computer-Assisted Reading: The Effect of Glossing Format on Comprehension and Vocabulary Retention.” Foreign Language Annals 34(2): 91–106.
Grabe, W., and F.L. Stoller
2002 Teaching and Researching Reading. Harlow: Longman.
Hayes, E.B
1988 “Encoding Strategies Used by Native and Non‐Native Readers of Chinese Mandarin.” The Modern Language Journal 72(2): 188–195.
Hong, W
1997 “Multimedia Computer-Assisted Reading in Business Chinese.” Foreign Language Annals 30(3): 335–344.
Horst, M., T. Cobb, and P. Meara
1998 “Beyond A Clockwork Orange: Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary through Reading.” Reading in a Foreign Language 11(2): 207– 223.
Hong, X
2010 “Review of Effects of Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension.” Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 33(1): 56–73.
Horst, M
2005 “Learning L2 Vocabulary through Extensive Reading: A Measurement Study.” Canadian Modern Language Review 61(3): 355–382.
Huckin, T., and J. Coady
1999 “Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21(2): 181–193.
Hulstijn, J.H
1993 “When do Foreign‐Language Readers Look up the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words? The Influence of Task and Learner Variables.” The Modern Language Journal 77(2): 139–147.
Krashen, S.D
2004 The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Lee-Thompson, L.C
2008 “An Investigation of Reading Strategies Applied by American Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Foreign Language Annals 41(4): 702–721.
Liu, N., and I.S.P. Nation
1985 “Factors Affecting Guessing Vocabulary in Context.” RELC Journal 161, 33–42.
Nagata, N
1999 “The Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Interactive Glosses.” Foreign Language Annals 32(4): 469–479.
Nation, I.S.P., and J. Coady
1988 “Vocabulary and Reading.” In Vocabulary and Language Teaching, edited by R. Carter and M. McCarthy, 97–110. London: Longman.
Nist, S.L., M.L. Simpson, and S. Olejnik
1985 “The Relationship between Six Study Strategies and Test Performance.” Paper presented at the
meeting of the National Reading Conference
, San Diego, CA.
Pigada, M., and N. Schmitt
2006 “Vocabulary Acquisition from Extensive Reading: A Case Study.” Reading in a Foreign Language 18(1): 1–28.
Rahmani, M., and K. Sadeghi
2011 “Effects of Note-Taking Training on Reading Comprehension and Recall.” Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal 11(2): 116–128.
Shen, H.H., and X. Jiang
2013 “Character Reading Fluency, Word Segmentation Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension in L2 Chinese.” Reading in a Foreign Language 25(1): 1- 25.
Shen, H., and C.H. Tsai
2010 “A Web-Based Extensive Reading Program and its Assessment System.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association 45(2): 19–47.
Taraban, R., M. Kerr, and K. Rynearson
2004 “Analytic and Pragmatic Factors in College Students’ Metacognitive Reading Strategies.” Reading Psychology 25(2): 67–81.
Tsui, A.B., and J. Fullilove
1998 “Bottom-up or Top-down Processing as a Discriminator of L2 Listening Performance.” Applied Linguistics 19(4): 432–451.
Wang, H., Chang, B.R., Li, Y.S., Lin, L.H., Liu, J., & Sun, Y.L
1986 Xiandai hanyu pinlu cidian [Dictionary of the frequency of vocabulary in modern Chinese]. Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press.
Wang, J
2009 “Electronic Strategies to Improve Chinese Reading Skills.” In Handbook of Research on e-learning Methodologies for Language Acquisition, edited by R.D.C. V. Marriott and P.L. Torres, 237–252. London: Information Science Reference.
2012 “The Use of e-gloss Tool to Read e-text by Intermediate and Advanced Learners of Chinese.” Computer Assisted Language Learning 25(5): 475–487.
Wang, J., and T. Upton
2012 “The Impact of Using a Pop-up Dictionary on the Reading Process of Beginning Learners of Chinese.” Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Association 41(1): 23–41.
Xie, T., and T. Yao
2009 “Technology in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning.” In Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, edited by M. Everson and Y. Xiao, 151–172. Boston: Cheng & Tsui.
Xu, X
2010 “The Effects of Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in Reading.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research 1(2): 117–120.
Xu, X., and A.M. Padilla
2013 “Using Meaningful Interpretation and Chunking to Enhance Memory: The Case of Chinese Character Learning.” Foreign Language Annals 46(3): 402–422.
Yoshii, M
2006 “L1 and L2 Glosses: Their Effects on Incidental Vocabulary Learning.” Language Learning & Technology 10(3): 85–101.
Zhao, A., Y. Guo, and J. Dynia
2013 “Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Chinese as a Foreign Language in the United States.” The Modern Language Journal 97(3): 764–778.