Effects of Word Concreteness and Exercise Types on EFL Vocabulary Acquisition

词汇具体性和练习类型对英语学习者词汇习得

1. Introduction

1.1 Background of the research

Vocabulary acquisition is of great significance in EFL learning, yet a big headache for EFL learners. Vocabulary to English listening, speaking, reading and writing is what bricks to the building. Bricks are concrete and touchable; therefore, it#8217;s worthy of delving into the effect of word concreteness on vocabulary acquisition. Also some researchers (Hamilton M. amp; Rajaram S., 2001) proposed that better memory for concrete nouns than abstract nouns. Also many researches (Yu Yuxiu, 2014) show that the more frequently a word appears the deeper it will be kept in your mind. The frequency of learning words has two typical exercise types, one is spaced distribution and another is massed distribution. However, word concreteness maybe correlate with exercise types in a way that they exert a great impact on vocabulary acquisition. No one has ever confirmed this hypothesis. It is worth researching because of the necessity for EFL learners to master comprehensive strategies for better vocabulary acquisition. In the previous studies, scholars focused on psychological effects of linguistic abstractness-concreteness. Concreteness is defined in terms of directness of reference to sense experience and rated on 7-point scales (Paivio A., 1968). The role of frequency in language is incompatible with universal grammar which is believed to be learned inborn. Therefore frequency has been neglected for almost 40 years. Nevertheless, the theory of the spacing effect that information is best learned and retained when reviewed in spaced intervals rather than in massed learning has been proposed in a total constant study time (Miles, S. W. 2014). Miles, S. W. (2014) conducted a research on L2 grammar learning by means of spaced and massed distribution. In this study spaced and massed distribution will be used in researching EFL vocabulary acquisition.

1.2 Purposes of the research

The purposes for this research included three levels. First, the most simple and direct, is to vindicate that word concreteness and exercise types both have a great effect on EFL learners#8217; vocabulary learning. Second, the evidence will be provided that the result from this study can be available to learners in acquiring vocabulary more effectively for English majors and improve their English performance. The last served as the teaching arrangement, which has far-reaching significant and meaningful.

1.3 Organization of the research

This thesis could be divided into five parts. The first chapter served as the general introduction, in which research background, research purposes and the organization of the research were stated. Chapter two was an overview of the literature, including the definitions of EFL vocabulary acquisition, relevant theory and empirical studies on the effect of word concreteness and exercise types on EFL vocabulary acquisition. In chapter three, methodology was adopted in this research, including research questions, experimental design, subjects, variables and operational definitions, instruments and scoring EFL vocabulary acquisition. Chapter four reported the key findings based on the analysis of the research data and a detailed discussion of the major findings. This thesis ended with the summary of the major findings, the theoretical and implications, and limitations and suggestions for the future research in Chapter Five.