Consolidating EFL content and vocabulary learning via interactive reading

Via a 90-min classroom experiment, this study examined the effects of interactive reading on EFL students' content and vocabulary learning. Specifically, two intact Chinese college EFL classes with the same level of English proficiency participated in this study. One was taught with a "read plus intra/inter-group discussion" (Read-Discuss) approach and the other was instructed with a traditional approach involving no student-student interaction. After the experiment, the students took two immediate posttests (one on content and one on vocabulary) and, three weeks later, retook the same tests (delayed posttests). The results of statistical analyses indicate that whereas in the immediate posttests both classes attained a similar level of learning on both the content and vocabulary tests, in the delayed posttests, the Read-Discuss class significantly outperformed the traditional class, demonstrating that the Read-Discuss approach produced significantly better consolidated learning/retention in both content and vocabulary. Pedagogical/research implications of the results are also discussed.