THE EFFECT OF GLOSSING TECHNIQUE ON INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY RETENTION, A COMPARISON BETWEEN TEXTUAL AND MULTI-MEDIA GLOSSES

Developing techniques for handling unknown words during reading activities has always been one of the principal challenges of English reading classes. One such technique that facilitates vocabulary learning and saves students' time and effort in reading L2 texts is "Glossing." The present study examined which gloss type, textual or multi-media, is more effective for vocabulary learning through reading. After administering a proficiency test, 105 homogeneous students were assigned to two experimental groups (X1 & X2) and one control group. Afterwards, a pre-test (Test of Novelty) was administered to verify students' unfamiliarity with the intended target words to be learned later. During this study experimental groups received different types of glosses for unknown words. As opposed to experimental groups, the control group received no glosses. In order to assess the efficacy of each gloss type, two types of post-tests were administered: immediate and delayed post-tests both in recognition and production form. A one-way ANOVA indicated that learners with access to different gloss types demonstrated significantly greater retention of word meanings. Additionally, a further analysis known as the Tukey test was conducted to pinpoint exactly where the differences exist in a pair-wise way. The results of this analysis showed that X2 outperformed the other experimental group (X1) and the control group. Furthermore, to assess the difference in outcome between short-term and long-term word retention a within-subjects was applied.