Volume 4,Issue 3
A Review of the Influencing Factors of Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language
As an important research topic in the field of second language vocabulary acquisition, incidental vocabulary acquisition (IVA) has attracted much attention over the past two decades. This paper systematically reviews the research progress in the past two decades from three dimensions: input factors, learner factors, task and processing factors. In terms of input factors, the paper focuses on the effects of input modality, glosses and captions, and exposure frequency on incidental vocabulary acquisition; learner factors center on the roles of second language proficiency and morphological awareness; task and processing factors focus on the effects of the involvement load hypothesis and task types. It is found that incidental vocabulary acquisition is influenced by the interaction of multiple factors, among which input enhancement, learners’ cognitive resources, the depth of processing induced by tasks. Future research can combine eye-tracking and electroencephalogram (EEG) techniques to further reveal the acquisition process, develop adaptive caption systems, and expand to the acquisition mechanisms of multi-word expressions (MWEs), so as to promote the further development of incidental vocabulary acquisition theories and teaching practice.
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