This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effects of five different glossing conditions (i.e., full gloss, inference-gloss-gloss, gloss-retrieval-gloss, inference-gloss-retrieval-gloss, and gloss-retrieval-gloss-retrieval) on English as a foreign language (EFL) vocabulary retention. To this end, 140 MA students of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) were selected. The participants were randomly assigned to one glossing condition to read an English text. Within the text, five target words were glossed twice or three times in the text margin. For instance, in the inference-gloss-retrieval-gloss condition, the participants were expected to infer word meaning in the first encounter; then the word’s meaning was provided in the form of gloss in the second encounter; in the third word occurrence they were expected to remember word meaning; and at the last word encounter the word meaning was again provided in the form of gloss. To ensure the participants’ attention while reading, a multiple-choice reading comprehension test was administered after reading the text. Four weeks later, two vocabulary tests (i.e., form retention and meaning retention) were administered. The obtained data were analyzed through one-way MANOVAs and post hoc Scheffe tests. The results revealed that the gloss-retrieval-gloss-retrieval condition group outperformed the other four groups in both form retention and meaning retention posttests.

Keywords: glossing conditions, inference, retrieval, vocabulary retention, EFL

Full-Text [PDF 1047 kb]   (2527 Downloads)