Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Research in Teaching and Education
Year: 2024
DOI:
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The Impact of Context on the Incidental Acquisition of L2 Vocabulary under the Guidance of Categorization Theory — An Empirical Study Based on Regression Analysis
Zhaoding Ye
ABSTRACT:
This study, informed by the theory of categorization, aims to investigate the influence of context on incidental acquisition of L2 vocabulary among learners in high school English teaching, and to validate its effects through experimental results. The experiment compares the learning outcomes of polysemous words in different contexts as well as the effects of learning vocabulary at various hierarchical levels of categorization. In the experiment, 40 second-year students from a regular high school in China first read three reading materials (varying contexts) containing the same target word, or read the same reading material three times (repeated context), for a total of 36 reading materials. They then took part in both semantic generation and cloze tests. The results indicate that varied contexts have a positive impact on the acquisition of polysemous words, thereby enhancing learners’ cognitive and critical thinking abilities. Moreover, educators should delve into the cognitive mechanisms underlying polysemous words in teaching, guiding students to explore the associations between vocabulary items, establish semantic networks, and utilize varied contexts for extracurricular reading. Furthermore, in accordance with the hierarchical theory of categorization, vocabulary learning should progress from the basic level to superordinate and then to subordinate category words, with particular emphasis on the significance of basic-level category words in effective vocabulary instruction.
keywords: categorization theory; context; vocabulary acquisition