The Effects of Meaning and Form Processing of Unknown Words on Incidental Japanese Vocabulary Learning Through Reading

Abstract

This study examined the effects of meaning and form processing of unknown words on incidental vocabulary learning in Japanese reading. 78 Chinese college students majoring in Japanese were divided into three task groups: “First language (L1) meaning writing,”“Hiragana form writing” and “read-only (control).” All participants were asked to answer some comprehension questions and those involved in the meaning and form processing task were required to complete the tasks they were assigned to. After the reading activity, two unexpected immediate vocabulary posttests (the L1 to second language (L2) translation test and the word-form recognition test) were carried out to test the effect of 8 target words. The results show that in the L1 to L2 translation test, the “L1 meaning writing” and the “Hiragana form writing” can promote learning, and both have the same effect. Additionally, it is confirmed that compared with the “L1 meaning writing,” the “Hiragana form writing” is more effective in the word-form recognition test.