This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Newton, J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Task-based interaction and incidental vocabulary learning: a case study

Victoria University of Wellington

This case study examines the vocabulary gains made by an adult learner of English as a second language as a result of performing four communication tasks. Gains were measured on comparisons of pre- and post-tests of vocabulary from the worksheets from the four tasks. These gains are discussed in relation to the interactional processes involving unfamiliar vocabulary. Explicit negotiation of word meaning appeared less deterministic of post-test improvements than use of words in the process of completing the task. While this result may to some extent be an artifact of test design, it is also true that when the group actively used vocabulary which was unfamiliar to the subject of this study, the embedding of this vocabulary in the context of the task and its interactive use are likely to have provided not only important information about word meaning but also the conditions whereby that meaning could be acquired. The placement of a word on task worksheets and the nature of a task, whether a split information task or a shared information task, both had a strong effect on use and acquisition of new vocabulary.

Second Language Research, Vol. 11, No. 2, 159-176 (1995)
DOI: 10.1177/026765839501100207


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. D. Keating Task effectiveness and word learning in a second language: The involvement load hypothesis on trial Language Teaching Research, July 1, 2008; 12(3): 365 - 386. [Abstract] [PDF]