REAP Study on Highlighting Target Vocabulary to Focus Learner Attention
Contents
REAP Study on Personalization of Readings for Increased Interest
Logistical Information
| Contributors | Maxine Eskenazi, Alan Juffs, Michael Heilman, Le Zhao, Juan Pino, Jamie Callan |
| Study Start Date | September 11, 2007 |
| Study End Date | November 16, 2007 |
| Learnlab Courses | English Language Institute Reading 4 & 5 (ESL LearnLab) |
| Number of Students | 52 |
| Total Participant Hours (est.) | 350 |
| Data in Datashop | no |
Abstract
Glossary
Highlighting: (in the context of REAP) altering visual characteristics of a target vocabulary word--such as color, font-weight, and underlining--in a way that makes that word more visually salient in order to draw the learner's focus attention to that word.
Research questions
Does highlighting target vocabulary words in practice readings improve second language vocabulary acquisition in a vocabulary tutoring system?
Does highlighting of target vocabulary words have any additional effects on reading behaviors? For example, do students spend less time reading a text when words are highlighted because they ignore anything that isn't highlighted?
Dependent variables
Normal post-test scores, corrected for guessing
Evidence of Transfer: sentence production tasks for target words.
Independent variables
Highlight of target vocabulary words in practice readings. In the control condition, students see a practice reading as is from the original source (the web). In the experimental condition, students see practice readings with target words highlighted in blue and underlined--that is, as hyperlinks commonly appear. Students in both groups have access to dictionary definitions for all words, and after each reading work through vocabulary practice exercises for target words.
Hypotheses
Highlighting will improve acquisition of target vocabulary words.
Findings
We *expect* to find that students will learn more when target vocabulary words are highlighted. Students in the highlighting condition will pay more attention to the context around highlighted words and also be more encouraged to look up dictionary definitions for target words. In general, for students working with REAP, there are many unknown words that appear in the text. Students may be able to process all the new words in a shallow manner, but robust learning is unlikely. Students choose particular words to focus on and concentrate their efforts on those words. When target words are not highlighted, students may or may choose to focus on the target vocabulary words. Thus, highlighting target words may focus student attention on the specific goals of the instructional activity. The focused attention will lead to more robust learning of target vocabulary words.
We also expect to find that students without highlighting will look up more non-target vocabulary, and perhaps spend more time reading texts. Thus, highlighting may decrease learning of knowledge components that are not directly related to the specific goals of the instructional activity. However, we believe that more efficient learning will occur when the efforts of students are aligned with the purpose and goals of the instructional activity. Thus, highlighting should be considered beneficial.
Explanation
Students in REAP must coordinate multiple sources of information about target vocabulary words, including dictionary definitions, feedback from practice exercises, and the particularly contexts in which target words appear during practice readings. This study examines the effect of attempting to focus student attention on the target words during the practice reading. This may encourage coordination of information from the definitions (conceptual meaning) and context (grammatical constraints, collocational information, word associations, stylistic constraints, meaning in particular contexts).
Further Information
There were two pilot versions of this study with small sample sizes and insufficient statistical power. These were conducted in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 in Reading 5.
Also, this study allowed students to access dictionary definitions during practice exercises. This is similar to providing hints in a cognitive tutor. Previously, a student could only access the dictionary after answering an exercise and receiving feedback on the correctness of his or her response.
Annotated bibliography
De Ridder, I. (2002). Visible or Invisible Links: Does the Highlighting of Hyperlinks Affect Incidental Vocabulary Learning, Text Comprehension, and the Reading Process? Language, Learning & Technology, Vol. 6, 2002
Knight, S. (1994). Dictionary use while reading: The effects on comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for students of different abilities. The Modern Language Journal, 78, 285–299.
