抄録
Glossing unknown words in a passage is useful for helping second language (L2) readers acquire new vocabulary as well as overcome lexical obstacles. However, there is no conclusive answer to the question as to what type of glossing best serves these purposes. One hundred and eighty-five Japanese learners of English read a passage with four different types of glosses (a Japanese single gloss, a Japanese multiple-choice gloss, an English single gloss and an English multiple-choice gloss) and took a reading comprehension and two vocabulary tests (immediate and delayed). Results indicated that an L2 single gloss was the most effective in reading comprehension. It was also discovered that first language (L1) glosses worked better for vocabulary learning as a whole and that there was no difference of the effect between the L1 single gloss and the L1 multiple-choice gloss.
