Advanced learners’ retention of low-frequency vocabulary : the effects of task type

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate task type effects on advanced level English language learners’ early and long-term retention of low-frequency vocabulary. Two reading+replacing tasks which varied in their involvement load indexes (Laufer & Hulstijn, 2001) were created (i.e., LowText = index of 2 vs. HighText = index of 1). Advanced level university students were randomly assigned to one of the tasks which required them to read a text and replace the ten words embedded in it with their synonyms from the opposite word-frequency family (i.e., low- or high- frequency) provided in a word list. Immediate and delayed posttests measured the retention of the target words two weeks apart. The results showed that the tasks with different involvement load indexes did not lead to significantly different retention of the target words, neither in the short term nor in the long term. Participants’ knowledge of the target words did not show a significant increase after completing the tasks, and their long-term retention of the target words was significantly lower than their previous knowledge. The results are discussed in relation to target word characteristics, task design, participant performance, and tests used to measure target word knowledge.