Theresa McGarry and Martha Michieka
 

            This paper presents findings of a study replicating Kim,2008 which aimed to ascertain the relative importance of certain aspects of task design for the acquisition of vocabulary by high-proficiency second language speakers. Previous research suggests that vocabulary learning is most effective when “task-induced involvement” is high and that involvement can be measured as a sum of three components: need for the vocabulary in the task, searching for a meaning of a word or a word to fit a meaning, and evaluation of how the word meaning compares to that of other words or how the word fits in with surrounding words( Hulstijin&Laufer 2001,)  However, these are relatively new findings, and many details are still unknown.
            The current study examines the three hypothetical components of involvement and investigates whether they differ in importance; i.e., when designing a vocabulary learning task, how important is it to include all three components and at what level? To address this question, four groups of undergraduate ESL students did tasks designed to practice ten vocabulary words. The task design was slightly different for each group, i.e. each task was designed to emphasize a different component of "task involvement" (need, search or evaluation). The students were then tested for learning of the words at the end of the task session. The session lasted about 45 minutes. Two weeks later, the students were tested for retention of the vocabulary words. The results will be analyzed to determine the relative importance of each component of task involvement for initial learning and for retention of vocabulary which has direct implications for second language acquisition theory and material design.

References

            Hulstijin, J., H, & Laufer B.  (2001) . Some Empirical Evidence for the Involvement Load Hypothesis in Vocabulary Acquisition. Language Learning, 51, 539-558.
            Kim, Y. ( 2008). The Role of Task –Induced Involvement  and Learner Proficiency in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition Language Learning, 58(2)  285-325.