Sepideh Alavi Mohammad Rahimi Afsaneh Keyvanshekouh

Our Problem  Students have poor vocabulary learning habits (memorize long list of words in short period of time).  Memorized vocabulary is recalled only for short time.  New words are seldom used out of class in an EFL context.  Less frequent vocabulary is forgotten after a few weeks.

Possible solution:  Exposing the students to vocabulary more often.  Taking the dullness of memorizing new words away by learning them indirectly in more useful real-life language learning activities.

Learning Vocabulary Intentional Intentional Incidental Incidental

Intentional (explicit) Learning  Chen (2006): paying active attention to learning (students are held responsible for their learning)  Ellis (1995): focal attention or attention to linguistic code (rather than meaning)

Shokouhi (2009)  Second/foreign language learners acquire their first few thousand words intentionally since they lack enough proficiency to help them “pick up” the words accidentally.  Later on in the learning process, most vocabulary is acquired incidentally as a result of other tasks – mostly reading activities.

ER to the Rescue!  Using an effective ER program can enhance vocabulary, grammar, and general reading skills both directly and indirectly (incidentally). Besides:  Reading without having to pay attention to so many details can be fun!

Extensive Reading  Rumptz (2003): A reading comprehension task is believed to be one of the best ways to acquire vocabulary either intentionally or incidentally.  During the ER process, students read passages to understand text and respond to questions but not to learn new words.  Wodinsky and Nation (1988): one of the most helpful ways of learning unknown words incidentally from context is to expose learners to reading materials such as graded readers.

Conditions for a successful ER program: Nation and Wang (1999)  at least one graded reader every week  at least five books at a level before moving to the next  more books to be read at later levels than earlier  at least readers a year  Explicit study of new words necessary at earlier levels

Choosing the right ER program Traditional teacher-made ER plans Traditional teacher-made ER plans The Accelerated Reader Program (Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996) The Accelerated Reader Program (Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996) The Moodlereader (Robb 2005) The Moodlereader (Robb 2005)

Traditional ER Programs Same title for everyone Same title for everyone Student levels not accounted for Student levels not accounted for Difficult to create large number of tests Difficult to create large number of tests Tests to be constantly modified to maintain security Tests to be constantly modified to maintain security Difficult and time consuming to administer and score Difficult and time consuming to administer and score

The Accelerated Reader Program (Paul, VanderZee, Rue & Swanson, 1996) Literature-based reading program with the use of computers to provide detailed reports to parents, teachers, and administrators on each child’s reading progress, aiming at offering students appropriate recreational reading as a means of encouraging reading achievement gains.

Students have countless choices (over 12,000 titles). Students have countless choices (over 12,000 titles). Books assigned point value based on readability Books assigned point value based on readability Students read at own pace and take factual, MC, comprehension test on the computer. Students read at own pace and take factual, MC, comprehension test on the computer. Acceptable score is at least %60. Acceptable score is at least %60. Careful security features reduce possibility of cheating. Careful security features reduce possibility of cheating. Students only test once for given book. Students only test once for given book. Teachers oversee students’ reading patterns and intervene when necessary. Teachers oversee students’ reading patterns and intervene when necessary. Testing, scoring, and calculations all computerized Testing, scoring, and calculations all computerized Reports generated list AR points earned, number of tests taken, number passed, average grade level of books read, and average percentage achieved on the tests taken. Reports generated list AR points earned, number of tests taken, number passed, average grade level of books read, and average percentage achieved on the tests taken.

Problems with AR (Robb 2008)  Limited capacity for teacher made quizzes  Created with native-speakers in mind  No random questions  No promotion to higher levels  Controlled situation to prevent cheating  Last-minute cramming possible

The Moodlereader  Books suitable to each students’ level  Students move to higher reading levels.  Convenient testing (anytime, anywhere)  Randomized questions  Fully computerized  Time limitation for each quiz  Last-minute cramming impossible (forced time delay)

The Research Question 1. How would the Moodlereader, (newly introduced in the Department of Foreign Language and Linguistics of Shiraz University, Iran) affect incidental vocabulary acquisition? 2. Would the effect (if any) be stronger on vocabulary recognition or vocabulary production?

Context of the present study  Reading III for English Language and Literature sophomores  Two groups (n=20 experimental, n=18 control)  2 days a week (1.5 hour sessions)  Textbook: Readers’ Choice, 5 th edition, (Silberstein et al, 2008)  3 traditional quizzes on graded readers every days

Procedure:  Full randomization not possible. Final reading scores from previous term were used as a measure to determine uniformity.  Pre- and post-tests: 1. Nation's (2007) Production Vocabulary Levels Test (form A). 2. Laufer & Nation's (1999) Recognition Vocabulary Levels Test (form A).

Treatment A Moodlereader course was created for the experimental group whose members were required take at least 12 quizzes in a period of 3.5 months according to their language level, availability of book title and personal choice of genre.

Descriptive statistics and t-tests GROUPNMeanSDtdfSig (2- tailed) Rec1 control exp Rec2 control exp Pro1 control exp Pro2 control exp

Paired Samples Statistics MeantSigEffect Size Rec1cont Rec2cont (NS) Rec1exp Rec2exp * Pro1cont Pro2cont *.04 (small) Pro1exp Pro2exp *.85 (large)

Conclusion Using the Moodlereader had a positive effect on the incidental vocabulary acquisition of the experimental group both for  Vocabulary Production and  Vocabulary Recognition

A demanding extensive reading program can help improve students’ acquisition of more vocabulary items.