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CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
This concluding chapter discusses the results of the present study. Seven major sections are presented as follows. Section 1 addresses the three proposed research questions based on the empirical data collected. Section 2 elucidates the comparisons between the present study and the previous studies. Section 3 discusses the
pedagogical implications for practical applications. Section 4 presents the limitations of the study. Section 5 provides the suggestions for further research. Section 6 elaborates on students’ feedback after the project. Finally, the researcher draws a conclusion of the whole study.
Answers to the Research Questions
This study was carried out to explore the effects of different after-instruction vocabulary exercises, i.e., hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying exercises, on word gains and retention of Taiwanese young learners with different English
proficiency. The major findings pertinent to the three proposed research questions are summarized in this section.
Question 1: Is there any difference in word gains between learners who receive hierarchy vocabulary exercises and those who receive copying exercises?
In terms of word gains, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean
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scores on post-test 1 between learners receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises and those receiving copying exercises. At the beginning, no significant difference existed between the experimental and control groups on the English proficiency and the pre-test, implying that these two groups were homogeneous initially. Yet, the results of post-test 1 revealed that learners who received hierarchy vocabulary exercises significantly outscored those who received copying exercises. Thus, it appears that hierarchy vocabulary exercises elicited greater word gains than copying exercises.
Question 2: Is there any difference in word retention between learners who receive hierarchy vocabulary exercises and those who receive copying exercises?
With regard to word retention, a statistically significant difference existed in the mean scores on post-test 2 between learners receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises and those receiving copying exercises. That is, learners receiving hierarchy
vocabulary exercises significantly retained more target words than those receiving copying exercises one month after receiving the last vocabulary exercises. As a result, it appears that hierarchy vocabulary exercises possessed a greater facilitative effect on word retention than copying exercises.
Question 3: What is the effect of hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying exercises on word gains and retention of high and low English achievers?
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As for the progress of high and low English achievers within each group, not only hierarchy vocabulary exercises but also copying exercises were conducive to both high and low English achievers’ vocabulary growth and retention. More specifically, in terms of hierarchy vocabulary exercises, there was a significant difference not only in high English achievers’ but also in low English achievers’
scores between pre-test and post-test 1 as well as pre-test and post-test 2, yet not between post-test 1 and 2, meaning that, after receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises, both high and low English achievers made significant progress on word gains and retained the target words in a month. Put differently, hierarchy vocabulary exercises prompted the learners of both proficiency levels to acquire and retain the target words. As for copying exercises, similarly, there was a significant difference in both high and low English achievers’ scores between pre-test and post-test 1 as well as pre-test and post-test 2, but not between post-test 1and 2, indicating that both high and low English achievers significantly gained more knowledge about the target words after being involved in copying exercises and retained these words in a month.
In other words, copying exercises also contributed to both high and low English achievers’ word gains and retention. As a result, these two types of vocabulary exercises enabled both high and low English achievers to significantly acquire target words and retain the words in a month.
As for the comparisons of high and low English achievers between the two groups, considering the high English achievers, there was no significant difference in the mean difference of post-test 1 between the two groups, indicating that the effect of hierarchy vocabulary exercises and that of copying exercises on high English
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achievers’ word gains were the same. However, a significant difference existed in the mean difference of post-test 2 for the high English achievers between the two groups, demonstrating that the effect of hierarchy vocabulary exercises was superior to that of copying exercises for high English achievers’ word retention. On the other hand, considering the low English achievers, there was a significant difference in the mean difference of post-test 1 and 2 between the two groups, indicating that low English achievers benefited more from hierarchy vocabulary exercises than from copying exercises on both word gains and retention. In sum, hierarchy vocabulary exercises were shown to be beneficial to both high and low English achievers.
Discussion of the Comparison between the Present Study and the Previous Studies
This section further compared the results of the present study with those of the previous ones from two aspects: the consistent results first, then the new results, coupled with possible explanations for both the consistent and new findings.
Consistent Findings with the Previous Research
The present study investigated the effectiveness of two types of written
vocabulary exercises, namely hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying exercises, on Taiwanese young learners’ word gains and retention. Overall, the results of this study corroborated the findings of the previous research in the following aspects. First of all, hierarchy vocabulary exercises demonstrated superior effectiveness on word gains in the present study. This finding seems compatible with the contention of the
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previous research (Amiryousefi & Kassaian, 2010; Hsu, 2005; Lai, 2009; Paribakht &
Wesche, 1997) that after reading the same assigned texts and answering
comprehension questions, students who received follow-up hierarchy vocabulary exercises (Reading Plus Treatment) significantly possessed more lexical knowledge than those who read at least one supplementary text to reinforce the target words (Reading Only Treatment). In addition, this finding also echoed with Min’s (2008) study, indicating that learners receiving a series of hierarchy vocabulary exercises after reading activities (Reading Plus Vocabulary-Enhancement Group) performed better than those being devoted to multiple readings of the same theme after the same reading activities (Narrow Reading Group). Furthermore, the finding also lent support to Cheng’s (2005) claim that the group with hierarchy vocabulary exercises
demonstrated significantly more knowledge about the target words than the control group with worksheet exercises. Consequently, hierarchy vocabulary exercises are beneficial to learners’ word gains.
Furthermore, the results of the present study revealed that hierarchy vocabulary exercises were also effective in promoting word retention in a month. This finding accorded with Hsu’s (2005) and Min’s (2008) studies, in which three months after the last treatment ended, learners who received subsequent hierarchy vocabulary
exercises significantly trumped those who were only exposed to two or three extra supplementary articles to review again the target words. Likewise, the result was consistent with that of Lai’s (2009) study, in which two weeks after the last treatment ended, learners engaging themselves in follow-up hierarchy vocabulary exercises after reading activities retained more target words than those receiving a supplementary
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article with target words and then answering multiple-choice comprehension questions after the same reading activities. In light of this, hierarchy vocabulary exercises have a facilitative effect on word retention.
Moreover, hierarchy vocabulary exercises prompted not only high English
achievers but also low English achievers to significantly acquire and retain vocabulary in the present study. This finding echoed with Lai’s (2009) study, which claimed that hierarchy vocabulary exercises led to more word gains and retention for both high and low English achievers. Similarly, this finding seems compatible with the contention of Hsu’s (2005) study, indicating that in the Reading Plus group, in which learners received follow-up hierarchy vocabulary exercises after reading, high English achievers significantly retained more vocabulary knowledge than low English achievers. As for low English achievers, they gained benefits from Reading Plus Treatment mainly on immediate vocabulary acquisition. Meanwhile, this result echoed with Cheng’s (2008) study that high English achievers benefited more from hierarchy vocabulary exercises than worksheet exercises. As a result, hierarchy vocabulary exercises exerted a significant effect on word gains and retention of both high and low English achievers.
Possible reasons which can be attributed to the superior effectiveness of hierarchy vocabulary exercises on word gains and retention for both high and low English achievers in the present study are discussed as follows. First, according to Thornbury (2002), one way to prevent forgetting vocabulary is recycling. That is, in order to retain vocabulary efficiently, learners should do their utmost to recycle words not only in different ways but also at sequential levels of depth. Thornbury (2002)
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pointed out that if learners meet or use a word in a way different from their first encounter with the word, they can achieve better learning. This claim is also
consistent with Nation’s (2005) points that good vocabulary exercises get learners to encounter or use vocabulary in ways that establish new mental connections for the words. In the present study, participants receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises needed to engage themselves in five of different types and levels of lexical processing of target words, including “Read and Circle” for selective attention, “Look and
Match” for recognition, “Read and Write” for recognition, “Read and Choose” for interpretation, “Let’s Write” for production, and “Unscramble the Sentences” for production. In other words, they recycled words from perception to production. By contrast, learners receiving copying exercises only recycle words in a single way, i.e., copying, and at the same level, i.e., recognition, thus resulting in unsatisfying learning outcomes. Put differently, it is not surprising that learners who received hierarchy vocabulary exercises significantly yielded better word gains and retention than those who received copying exercises.
Second, Nation (2005) contended that a good vocabulary exercise should enable learners to actively search for and evaluate target words in the exercise. Thornbury (2002) also suggested that to achieve better word retention, learners should be engrossed in the exercises which can elicit as many as cognitively demanding decisions the learners make about a word. Likewise, according to Hulstijn and Laufer’s (2001) Involvement Load Hypothesis1, the amount of word retention is contingent on the amount of task-induced involvement load. Specifically, the copying exercises in the present study induced a moderate need (the task was imposed by the
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researcher), with no search and no evaluation after the meanings of target words and example sentences were provided, resulting in that the involvement index of this task was 1 (1+0+0). As for the hierarchy vocabulary exercises in the present study,
although they also induced a moderate need (the task was also imposed by the researcher) and no search (the meanings of target words had been taught prior to post-tests), they induced moderate evaluation in that learners needed to unscramble sentences in a given context, resulting in that the involvement index of this task was 2 (1+0+1). In other words, hierarchy vocabulary exercises induced a greater
involvement load than copying exercises, which confirmed that hierarchy vocabulary exercises could facilitate learners to significantly acquire and retain more words.
Third, Thornbury (2002) argued that to ensure that words can be integrated into long-term memory, learners should use the words in an interesting way. In the present study, learners receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises may feel challenged and interested in different types of vocabulary exercises, such as “Read and Circle” and
“Unscramble the Sentences,” whereas those receiving copying exercises may feel bored since they only mechanically copied target words, example sentences, and their Chinese equivalents. As a result, it appears that hierarchy vocabulary exercises led to a significantly better performance on vocabulary acquisition and retention.
Last, to make the repetition more efficient so as to enhance vocabulary
1 According to Hulstijn and Laufer’s (2001) Involvement Load Hypothesis, the involvement load of a task is measured by the combination of the presence or absence of the three involvement factors, i.e., need, search, and evaluation. In terms of an involvement index, the absence of a factor is marked as 0, a moderate presence of a factor is 1, and a strong presence is 2.
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acquisition, learners should not only keep encountering with words, but retrieve these words from memory (Thornbury, 2002). Indeed, despite the fact that repetition plays a crucial part in vocabulary learning, learners may not easily retain a word in the
long-term memory simply by repeating it over and over. In contrast, Henry and
Andrew (2011) contended that retrieval practice, i.e., the act of retrieving a word from memory, often yields greater long-term retention than studying alone for an equivalent amount of time and thus enables learners to recall the word again at later time. James (1890) held a similar opinion that students actively retrieve words or information with an effort from within could induce better retention than passively repeat those words or information from an outside source. In the present study, copying exercises only required learners to copy target words, example sentences, and their Chinese equivalents down to their exercise books from the blackboard. That is, only superficial and mechanical practice was given to the learners, which may result in learners’ insufficient attention to the target words and thus fail to retrieve words from memory later. Hierarchy vocabulary exercises, however, allowed learners to retrieve words from memory since they needed to choose the most appropriate target word to fit a given context (Read and Choose) and write down the Chinese equivalents of target words (Read and Write) by their own, instead of being informed directly by the teacher. Thus, given that hierarchy vocabulary exercises prompted learners to retrieve words from memory, they may contribute to better word gains and retention than copying exercises. Consequently, the discussions mentioned above provide the possible reasons why hierarchy vocabulary exercises showed superior effectiveness than copying exercises for both high and low English achievers’ word gains and
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retention.
New Findings
According to the result of the present study, the researcher proved that copying exercises also exerted a significant effect on word gains and retention of high and low English achievers. Possible explanations for this new finding are discussed as follows.
First, according to the Curriculum Guidelines of Elementary English Language Teaching and Learning (Department of Education, Taipei City Government, 2010), most EFL learners need to experience the following learning phases so as to fully acquire English writing skills, i.e., from tracing letters and words, copying words and sentences, making sentences, guided writing, and finally to free writing. Since the participants in this study were the EFL fourth graders who had taken two 40-minute formal English classes per week in school settings for only three years prior to this classroom-based experiment, their English writing proficiency was quite limited.
Indeed, based on the Curriculum Guidelines mentioned above, their English learning objectives of writing skills were to spell out target words and to correctly copy the sentences learned in class. In other words, copying target words and sentences was still necessary and beneficial for the participants at this early stage or to young learners so as to help them acquire basic writing skills. Second, given that learners receiving copying exercises in the present study were required to encounter each of the target words five times, which allowed the learners to acquire enough practice and thus contributed to remarkably word gains (Rott, 1999). Consequently, even though copying exercises did not contribute to more word gains and retention than hierarchy
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vocabulary exercises in the present study, it cannot be denied that copying exercises were still beneficial for young learners’ word gains and retention.
In addition, the result of the study revealed that hierarchy vocabulary exercises demonstrated superior effectiveness than copying exercises on high English achievers’
word retention, but not on their word gains, while hierarchy vocabulary exercises led to both more word gains and retention than copying exercises for low English
achievers. The plausible explanation may be as follows. According to Han (2009), high English achievers possess higher extrinsic and intrinsic learning motivation than low English achievers. Thus, in this study, the reason why high English achievers performed well on their word gains may due to their strong learning motivation and proficiency level, rather than due to the effect of vocabulary exercises. The superior effect of hierarchy vocabulary exercises did not show up for high English achievers until one month after they received post-test 1. Thus, it appears that hierarchy vocabulary exercises were more effective than copying exercises on high English achievers’ long-term memory, but not on their short-term memory. As for low English achievers, the superior effect of hierarchy vocabulary exercises showed up for both their word gains and retention.
Pedagogical Implications of the Study
Based on the major findings of the study, three pedagogical implications are proposed as follows. First, in light of the finding that hierarchy vocabulary exercises significantly contributed to more word gains and retention than copying exercises, teachers are thus encouraged to provide more opportunities to engage learners in
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hierarchy vocabulary exercises to help them acquire and retain words efficiently, especially when the instruction time is limited and specific vocabulary learning outcome is desired. Indeed, given that vocabulary learning is a cumulative process (Swanborn & de Glopper, 1999), hierarchy vocabulary exercises that involve learners in the process of repeatedly encountering target words in different ways and at
different levels of depth can significantly lead to better word gains and retention. Thus, teachers are suggested to employ hierarchy vocabulary exercises or other exercises that demand different kinds and levels of word processing to promote learners’
vocabulary acquisition and retention.
Second, since the result of the study indicated that both high and low English achievers receiving hierarchy vocabulary exercises made significant progress on word gains and retained most of the target words in a month, hierarchy vocabulary
exercises are thus recommended for both high and low English achievers. Indeed, hierarchy vocabulary exercises not only can enhance both high and low English achievers’ words gains and retention, but also can satisfy the needs of learners with different proficiency. For instance, hierarchy vocabulary exercises can prompt high English achievers to use different levels of mental processing when they are engaged in different types of vocabulary exercises, which can maintain high English achievers’
learning motivation and help them reach high levels of achievements. As for low English achievers who usually have high learning anxiety and low motivation, hierarchy vocabulary exercises, in which different exercise types are arranged from simple to complex, can help them acquire words gradually so that their learning anxiety can be lowered and their sense of achievement can be established. Thus, both
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high and low English achievers are suggested to enhance their word gains and retention through hierarchy vocabulary exercises.
Third, given that, in the present study, both hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying exercises facilitated learners to make significant progress on word gains and to retain most of the words in a month, it is suggested that teachers should adopt an
Third, given that, in the present study, both hierarchy vocabulary exercises and copying exercises facilitated learners to make significant progress on word gains and to retain most of the words in a month, it is suggested that teachers should adopt an