Abstract
A common issue in second language (L2) learners is a lack of vocabulary and background knowledge. Narrow reading—a subset of extensive reading—is a way to deal with these difficulties. However, little is known about the effectiveness of narrow reading of expository texts with audio input. The study aims to explore how effective narrow reading with audio is in learning on vocabulary knowledge through expository texts. Fouty-two Japanese high school students read three theme-related expository graded readers with audio. Thirty target words were then selected from the material. The frequency of occurrence of the target words was from 1 to 32 times. The experimenter devised two test forms that assessed the following vocabulary knowledge: spelling, aural meaning, written meaning, and use. The results showed that these aspects were gained to a significant extent. Specifically, the knowledge of aural meaning and spelling improved more than the skills of written meaning recall and the use of the target words. The findings imply that the combination of narrow reading with audio has a positive influence on vocabulary knowledge— specifically, the aural aspects of vocabulary knowledge.
https://ror.org/00c4wmy51 
