he purpose of this study was to determine the effects of one approach to vocabulary instruction on the reading and writing vocabulary of fourth grade students in an individualized reading program. The vocabulary instructional approach used student-selected vocabulary words as well as instruction in vocabulary strategies such as context clues, structural analysis, and definition strategies. The twelve week study exposed one fourth grade classroom to vocabulary instruction in a Reading Workshop setting. Major components of the program were mini-lessons, which often involved vocabulary strategies, the silent reading of self-selected books, one-on-one researcher/student interactions, and the self-selection of vocabulary words. The research design is descriptive in nature and used both qualitative and quantitative research methods. Qualitative data included student interviews, teacher interviews, student writing samples, and field note observations. Quantitative data included vocabulary test scores from two groups of students, Group A and Group B. Group A participated in the self-selected vocabulary approach and received vocabulary instruction from the researcher acting as participant observer. Group B received some vocabulary instruction from their classroom teacher, but did not participate in the same program. The test was constructed weekly from a class (Group A) generated list of ten words. Results from vocabulary tests indicate that the vocabulary instruction was effective in helping Group A learn vocabulary. Multiple exposures to words as well as use of vocabulary words in context influenced student performance on tests. Results from qualitative data indicate that students attend to vocabulary words in their print environment. In addition, students used vocabulary words in expressive language, including writing and speaking. The results of this study support opportunities for wide reading, implementation of a variety of vocabulary strategies, repeated exposures to vocabulary words, and opportunities for student choice of vocabulary, as ways to enhance vocabulary learning.

With respect to reading vocabulary knowledge and deafness, this article addresses two broad questions: (1) Why is vocabulary knowledge related to reading comprehension ability? (2) How is reading vocabulary (i.e., word meanings) acquired? The article argues that the answers to these questions are best addressed by a vocabulary acquisition model labeled the knowledge model. In essence, this model asserts that both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge are critical. It is necessary to teach vocabulary, especially to poor readers, who are not likely to derive many word meanings from the use of context during natural or deliberate reading situations. On the basis of theoretical and research syntheses, the article offers implications for vocabulary instruction for deaf children and adolescents.

We describe two experiments related to learning new words in context. We study two types of new words: metaphors (for whom a related meaning already exists) and artiicial words. The new words were used anaphorically to refer to past objects in the text. For anaphoric metaphors, subjects showed an initial bias to adopt a literal interpretation, which shifted as the experiment progressed. Subjects learned the meaning of the metaphors more rapidly and more accurately. After repeated exposure to the words in appropriate contexts, metaphoric sentences were processed comparably with the sentences made only of familiar words, whereas artiicial-word sentences maintained a slight disadvantage. Results suggest that participants used context matching to understand and learn new words. We present a computational model that captures the essential trends in the data obtained from the two experiments.

VOCABULARY ACQUISITION IS CONSIDered by many to be the single most important aspect of foreign language learning. Not only do the majority of students studying foreign languages cite vocabulary as their number one priority (16; 50; 71), but it is often considered a priority by teachers as well. As Candlin asserts, "The study of vocabulary is at the heart of language teaching in terms of organization of syllabuses, the evaluation of learner performance, and the provision of learning resources" (viii). Nevertheless, while most first and second level courses emphasize vocabulary knowledge through their textbooks, courses with authentic texts often lack this emphasis (16; 24; 56). It appears that when the pedagogical focus shifts from medium to message, when students study literary texts instead of language texts, that the pedagogical assumption regarding vocabulary learning also shifts in emphasis from intentional to incidental. Vocabulary is no longer a primary classroom focus, something to be taught and tested; but rather, something to be acquired incidentally by the student while reading. Although one popular theory of second language acquisition (SLA) is based on this premise of incidental vocabulary acquisition as the result of comprehensible input (37; 38), does this actually happen? Do students acquire unknown words incidentally while reading? If so, how many and to what degree? An additional concern is dictionary use. Although many students express reliance on dictionaries (5; 69), many educators and researchers discourage the practice, advising students to guess at word meaning and to use the dictionary only as a tool of last resort (27; 48; 63). The primary concern is that looking up words frequently interferes with short term memory and thus disrupts the comprehension process. Empirical evidence to substantiate these assertions and corresponding pedagogical practices, however, is lacking (13; 43). Some of the unanswered questions that this study explores are: 1) Do students indeed acquire a significant amount of vocabulary while reading? 2) Are more words learned by guessing from context or by looking them up in a dictionary? 3) Does dictionary use affect reading comprehension? 4) Does dictionary use help some students more than others (i.e., those of higher or lower verbal ability levels)?

Two studies investigated the ability to use contextual information in stories to infer the meanings of novel vocabulary by 9-10-year-olds with good and poor reading comprehension. Across studies, children with poor reading comprehension were impaired when the processing demands of the task were greatest. In Study 2, working memory capacity was related to performance, but short-term memory span and memory for the literal content of the text were not. Children with poor reading comprehension were not impaired in learning novel vocabulary taught through direct instruction, but children with both weak reading comprehension and vocabulary were. Implications for the relation between vocabulary development and text comprehension are discussed.

Two accounts have been given for the formation of idiom transparency intuitions. For most researchers, an idiom is transparent to the degree that a link can be found between its form and meaning. Cognitive linguists agree with the aforementioned view, but claim there is an additional source of transparency intuitions. They claim that transparency is partly the degree to which features inherent in an idiom (e.g., conceptual metaphors that are considered to underlie it) are seen as contributing to the idiom's meaning even before someone learns it. This article reports the results of an experiment which examines whether the cognitive linguistic claim about a hybrid source of idiom transparency intuitions is correct. Advanced second language learners of English guessed at the meaning of unknown idioms presented in or out of context. The results are congruent only with the hybrid view of idiom transparency. They indicate that idiom-inherent features contribute to the formation of transparency intuitions. In particular, although the idioms were unknown to participants, (1) high-transparency idioms received a significantly smaller number of interpretation types (not tokens) than low-transparency idioms in both context conditions, and (2) a significantly higher-than-chance number of correct idiom interpretations was given to high- rather than low- transparency idioms. However, the definition of transparency as the extent to which the meaning of an idiom can be guessed correctly, which is supported by some cognitive linguists, is not supported here: (a) the level of association between transparency and correct interpretations was low, and (b) when context was provided, the difference in the number of correct definitions between high- and low-transparency idioms was not significant.

This thesis is dedicated to my late mother, Marjorie L. Kirchgassner, for her incredible love and support and to my wonderful husband, Colin Abbott, who enabled me to complete this project. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am most grateful to my committee chair, Dr. Clemens Hallman, who provided dependable assistance over the years it took to complete this project. A special note of thanks is owing to Dr. Sebastian Foti, a member of my supervisory committee, for his creative and unique perspective on issues concerning virtually every aspect of my research. I am thankful to Dr. Lee Mullally, another member of my supervisory committee, for his wonderfully detailed editorial advice and encouragement. I also appreciate the help of my other committee members, Dr. Douglas Dankel and Dr. Roger Thompson, who were willing to give of their time and offer sound guidance. My sincere appreciation goes to Dean Linda Crocker for her wise preparatory advice and excellent critique of my proposal. also provided invaluable advice during the formative phase of this project, and I owe them many thanks. I am indebted to Ruth Henderson and the staff of the English House in Gainesville for the use of their facilities and for providing me with an opportunity to interact with the target population of this study. If it were not for Ruth's support of English as a Second Language (ESL) research, this study would not have been possible. Finally, I wish to thank Brad Moulder for his patient and skillful assistance with quantitative data analysis and SPSS.

This study investigated young children's ability to use narrative contexts to infer the meanings of novel vocabulary items. Two groups of 15 seven- to eight-year olds participated: children with normally developing reading comprehension skill and children with weak reading comprehension skill. The children read short stories containing a novel word and were required to produce a meaning for the novel word, both before and after its useful defining context. The proximity of the novel word to this context was manipulated. The results supported the hypothesis that children with weak reading comprehension skills are impaired in their ability to integrate information within a text, particularly when that information is non-adjacent and the processing demands are, therefore, high. Analysis of the error data revealed a similar pattern of types of errors for both groups: children with poor reading comprehension were not more likely to produce a thematically inappropriate response than their skilled peers.

This study explored the effects of instruction in morphemic analysis (select prefixes) and contextual analysis (select context clue types). Four classes of fifth-grade students were assigned to a morphemiconly, context-only, or combined morphemic-context experimental group or to an instructed control group. Following twelve 50-minute lessons, students were tested on their ability to recall the meanings of words used to teach the morphemic and contextual analysis skills (lesson words), to infer the meanings of uninstructed words that contained taught morphemic elements or words that were embedded in text that included taught context clues (transfer words), and to comprehend text containing transfer words. The results indicated that (a) there was an immediate and delayed effect of morphemic and contextual analysis instruction for lesson words; (b) there was an immediate effect of morphemic and contextual analysis instruction for transfer words; (c) there was no evidence that instruction in morphemic or contextual analysis, either in isolation or combination, enhanced students' text comprehension; and, (d) students were generally just as effective at inferring word meanings when the morphemic and contextual analysis instruction was provided in combination as when the instruction was provided separately. Este estudio exploro los efectos de la ensenanza de analisis morfologico (seleccionar prefijos) yanalisis contextual (seleccionar pistas contextuales). Cuatro cursos de estudiantes de quinto grado fueron asignados a tres grupos experimentales: morfologico, contextual o morfologico-contextualcombinado, o a un grupo de control. Luego de 12 clases de 20 minutos, se evaluo a los estudiantes en la capacidad para recordar los significados de las palabras usadas para ensenar habilidadesde analisis morfologico y contextual (palabras de la leccion), para inferir los significados de palabras no ensenadas que contenian elementos morfologicos ya vistoso palabras contenidas en textos que incluian pistas contextuales ensenadas (palabras de transferencia) y por ultimo, comprender textos que contenian palabras de transferencia. Los resultados indicaron que (a) hubo un efecto inmediato y diferido de la ensenanza de analisis morfologico y contextual para las palabras de la leccion, (b) hubo un efectoinmediato de la ensenanza de analisis morfologico y contextual para las palabras de transferencia, (c) no se obtuvo evidencia de que la ensenanza de analisis morfologicoo contextual, ya sea en forma aislada o combinada, mejorara la comprension de textos y (d) los estudiantes fueron igualmente eficaces para inferir los significados de las palabras cuando la ensenanzade analisis morfologico y contextual se impartio en forma aislada, que cuando se realizo en forma combinada. Diese Studie untersuchte die Unterrichtsauswirkungen in morphemischerAnalyse (Vorwort-Auswahl) und kontextualer Analyse (Kontexthinweis-Auswahl). Vier Klassen der funften Stufe wurden entweder nur morphemischen, nur kontextualen, oder einer kombiniert morphemisch-kontextualenExperimentier-Gruppe oder einer Anweisungen befolgenden Kontrollgruppe zugeteilt. Nach 12 jeweils 50-Minuten dauernden Unterrichtsstunden wurden die Schuler auf ihre Fahigkeit uberpruft, sich an Bedeutung und Sinn der zuvor im Unterricht benutzten morphemischen und kontextualen Analysekenntnisse (Unterrichtsworter) zu erinnern, auf die Bedeutung nicht erklarter Worter zuschliesen, welche die unterrichteten morphemischen Elemente enthielten, oder die im Text verankerten Worter, die unterrichtete Zusammenhangshinweise (Transferworter) enthielten, zu erkennenund Text mit Transferworter inhaltlich zu verstehen. Die Ergebnisse liesen darauf schliesen, das (a) es einen sofortigen und verzogerten Effekt der morphemischen und kontextualenAnalyseanweisung fur Unterrichtsworter gab; (b) es einen Sofort-Effekt der morphemischen und kontextualen Analyseanweisung fur Transferworter gab; (c) es keinen Beweis gab, dasdie Anweisung in morphemischer oder kontextualer Analyse entweder in der Isolation oder als Kombination das Textverstandnis der Schuler verbesserte; und, (d) die Schuler allgemein ebensoerfolgreich beim Einfugen von Wortbedeutungen waren, wenn die morphemische und kontextuale Analyseanweisung als Kombination vorgegeben wurde, genau wie bei der separaten Vorgabe der Anweisung. Cette etude explore les effets de l'enseignement de l'analyse morphemique (selection de prefixes) et de l'analyse contextuelle (selection de types d'indices de contexte). Ona assigne quatre classes de d'eleves de 5° annee a un groupe experimental, soit morphemique uniquement, soit contextuel uniquement, soit presentantune combinaison de morphemique et de contextuel, soit a un groupe controle avec enseignement. Apres 12 lecons de 50 minutes, les eleves ont etetestes sur leur capacite a rappeler la signification des mots utilises pour enseigner les competences d'analyse morphemique et contextuelle (mots des lecons),a inferer la signification de mots non enseignes mais contenant des elements morphemiques ou de mots inseres dans un texte comportant les indicescontextuels en seignes (mots transfert), et de comprendre un texte contenant les mots transfert. Les resultats montrent a) un effet immediat et differe de l'enseignementde l'analyse morphemique et contextuelle pour les mots des lecons; b) un effet immediat de l'enseignement de l'analyse morphemique et contextuelle pour les mots transfert; c)qu'il n'y a pas de preuve que l'enseignement de l'analyse morphemique et contextuelle, isolee ou combinee, facilite la comprehension de texte par les eleves; et, d) que les eleves sont en general aussi efficaces pour inferer la signification de mots apres un enseignement de l'analyse morphemique et contextuelle conduitde facon isolement qu'en combinaison.

This study examined the hypothesis that new vocabulary knowledge can be acquired through incidental learning of word meanings from context. Fifth graders of two reading abilities read passages containing unfamiliar words. Students were randomly assigned to different numbers of context presentations: 0, 2, 6, or 10 passages read over several days. Half of the unfamiliar words were informally taught before their appearance in the passages. Word meanings were learned from context, and more frequent presentation in context increased learning. Also, better readers profited more from context than did less skilled readers, and prior exposure (informal teaching) resulted in greater learning. Vocabulary effects were also observed on a measure of reading comprehension. Whether incidental learning accounts for vocabulary growth is discussed.

This study examined how vocabulary knowledge, the familiarity of concepts, and analytic reasoning affect sixth-grade students' ability to learn word meanings from the context of natural passages in a basal reading textbook. The results indicated that students with higher levels of general vocabulary knowledge learned relatively more, even though they had less room for improvement. Low students were at a disadvantage not only because they initially knew fewer words but also because they understood words less well. Also among low vocabulary students, words representing familiar concepts were more likely to be learned than those representing unfamiliar concepts. The study suggested that general and passage specific vocabulary knowledge are important variables influencing learning from context. General analytic reasoning was not a significant factor.

This study compared the effectiveness of computer video display tube, videotape, and live adult reading modes of instruction in teaching children vocabulary. The same pictured story was implemented in three modes, computer VDT display of still story pictures in color with an accompanying sound track, videotape presentation of the fully animated story, and a picture book whose pictures and narrative matched those of the VDT-computer mode. 78 normal preschool children were presented the story in one of three modes of instruction. The novel words to be learned were embedded in the story as nouns, verbs, and affective state adjectives. Postexposure tests of word recognition showed a small but significant advantage for live voice reading for two of three recognition tests. The VDT and videotape modes did not differ from each other in effectiveness.

This quasi-experimental study compared the effects of morphemic and contextual analysis instruction (MC) with the effects of textbook vocabulary instruction (TV) that was integrated into social studies textbook lessons. The participants were 157 students in eight fifth-grade classrooms. The results indicated that (a) TV students were more successful at learning textbook vocabulary; (b) MC students were more successful at inferring the meanings of novel affixed words; (c) MC students were more successful at inferring the meanings of morphologically and contextually decipherable words on a delayed test but not on an immediate test; and (d) the groups did not differ on a comprehension measure or a social studies learning measure. The results were interpreted as support for teaching specific vocabulary and morphemic analysis, with some evidence for the efficacy of teaching contextual analysis.

This paper reports a meta-analysis of studies concerned with the effects of vocabulary instruction on the learning of word meanings and on comprehension. This analysis was used to examine two questions: Does vocabulary instruction have a significant effect on children’s comprehension of text? What types of vocabulary instruction are most effective? In response to the first question, a mean effect size of .97 could be attributed to vocabulary instruction for comprehension of passages containing taught words and of .30 for global measures of comprehension, both of which are significantly different from zero. For the second question, it was suggested that the most effective vocabulary teaching methods included both definitional and contextual information in their programs, involved the students in deeper processing, and gave the students more than one or two exposures to the to-be-learned words. In addition, the mnemonic keyword method was found to have reliable effects on recall of definitions and sentence comprehension.

This paper investigates the role of definitional information versus contextual information in computer‐assisted vocabulary instruction. A group of 58 advanced ESL students participated in the main data‐collection phase. The results revealed that context‐embedded vocabulary exercises facilitate better long‐term retention of words that exist in context. This finding is noteworthy in that the context‐embedded condition is the natural vocabulary condition commonly observed in reading. Students seldom encounter direct definitions or a series of related synonyms in the natural passage condition. Definitional knowledge, however, appears to be important in developing a basic concept of a given word in the initial phases of vocabulary development.

This article reviews research on vocabulary interventions involving students with learning disabilities. The purpose of the review was to summarize the findings of vocabulary intervention research and to present implications for vocabulary instruction. The studies were analyzed based on the following intervention research variables: word selection procedure, materials, instructional design and procedures, duration of the intervention, mastery criterion, measures of vocabulary learning (word knowledge level and reading comprehension), maintenance, and generalization (reading comprehension). Based on the selection criteria, six articles spanning the period from 1978 to the present were identified. Vocabulary interventions were categorized into four areas, computer-assisted instruction (CAI), fluency-building vocabulary practice activities, mnemonic strategy instruction, and concept enhancement instruction. Overall, positive results were found for the interventions on measures of immediate recall, maintenance, and generalization.

This article reviews 14 studies investigating approaches that aimed at teaching children to be more efficient at learning words from context. In nearly all of the studies reviewed, treatments were effective at improving children's skill in learning words from context compared to a no-treatment control. However, in the 4 studies that included a practice-only treatment, no significant differences were found between the strategy treatment and practice-only groups. These findings suggest that the effects of the treatments were due to the practice rather than to the specific strategies taught. Suggestions are made for improving research examining the effects of context-clue strategies.

This article examines research in the area of instruction in the use of context to infer the meanings of unknown words. This issue is addressed initially from a first language perspective, in which approaches to teaching the use of context fall into three broad categories: general strategy instruction, context clue instruction, and the use of cloze exercises to increase awareness of context. Studies in second language vocabulary acquisition and the instruction of context are then examined, and the conclusion is drawn that, while the existing research demonstrates that students benefit from having their attention drawn to the use of context, the question of how, if at all, they should be taught to deal with context is still unanswered. The article concludes with suggestions for the direction and aims of future research in this area.

This article discusses the relationship between knowledge of multimeaning (polysemic) words and reading comprehension. Many poor readers, including those students in special education programs, may not be aware of the various meanings of many multimeaning words. This paucity of semantic knowledge reflects an inadequate development of the students' prior knowledge and may contribute directly to reading comprehension problems. It is argued that teachers should be more aware of the prevalence of polysemic words in reading materials. Teachers may also need to provide imaginative, direct vocabulary instruction. The authors include examples of teaching techniques most likely to be effective in broadening and deepening students' knowledge of word meanings--- a prime factor in reading comprehension.

There is reliable evidence that new vocabulary is primarily acquired through wide independent reading. However, struggling readers tend to avoid reading, resulting in limited word encounters and inadequate vocabulary growth, and they often have difficulties inferring the meanings of new words from context. While there are no clear solutions to the problem of vocabulary acquisition for older students with reading difficulties, there are instructional approaches that have some evidence of effectiveness for this population. We describe the research base and promising practices related to three aspects of vocabulary instruction: (1) creating a verbal learning environment that fosters word consciousness, (2) selecting and teaching specific words, and (3) teaching an independent word learning strategy through a combination of contextual and morphemic analysis. These instructional approaches are grounded in overarching principles recognized by researchers as being characteristic of effective instruction for students with learning difficulties, including explicit instruction, promoting cognitive and collaborative engagement, and providing many opportunities for practice, including distributed practice, with teacher feedback. Finally, we discuss the possibilities inherent in a cross-content schoolwide approach to vocabulary instruction at the secondary level. We conclude with a call for additional research examining the effectiveness of instructional approaches to vocabulary development for secondary school students with reading difficulties, including a schoolwide collaborative model.