The Role of Implicit Learning in Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition while Reading
by Seipel, Benjamin Erwin, Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, 2011, 140 pages; 3474801

Abstract:

The role of implicit learning in incidental vocabulary acquisition while reading narrative texts was examined in 3rd-5 th grade students. This study was conducted to experimentally test whether implicit learning contributed to vocabulary acquisition. The literature for both implicit learning and incidental vocabulary acquisition are expansive. However, there exists little literature, either theoretical or empirical, that directly explores the connection between implicit learning and incidental learning. There is even less literature that explores the connection in the context of vocabulary acquisition. In the past decade and a half, two theoretical frameworks have emerged that can be used to examine this connection. This study provided empirical evidence for such a connection between implicit learning and incidental vocabulary acquisition by measuring the unique contributions of several factors (reading comprehension ability, decoding ability, fluency, word identification ability, working memory, and implicit learning ability) to incidental vocabulary acquisition. Results indicate that implicit learning ability does contribute to incidental learning of a word's form, but does not contribute to the incidental learning of a word's meaning. Results of this study also indicate that implicit learning is domain-specific in that learning from one domain is unrelated to learning in another domain. The results of this study may prove useful to educational researchers and educators as they develop interventions to facilitate vocabulary growth in students by identifying those students who struggle with incidental vocabulary acquisition.

 
AdviserPaul W. van@den@Broek
SchoolUNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
SourceDAI/A 73-01, p. , Oct 2011
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsEducational psychology; Cognitive psychology
Publication Number3474801
Adobe PDF Access the complete dissertation:
 

» Find an electronic copy at your library.
  Use the link below to access a full citation record of this graduate work:
  http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl%3furl_ver=Z39.88-2004%26res_dat=xri:pqdiss%26rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation%26rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3474801
  If your library subscribes to the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database, you may be entitled to a free electronic version of this graduate work. If not, you will have the option to purchase one, and access a 24 page preview for free (if available).

About ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
With over 2.3 million records, the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT) database is the most comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses in the world. It is the database of record for graduate research.

The database includes citations of graduate works ranging from the first U.S. dissertation, accepted in 1861, to those accepted as recently as last semester. Of the 2.3 million graduate works included in the database, ProQuest offers more than 1.9 million in full text formats. Of those, over 860,000 are available in PDF format. More than 60,000 dissertations and theses are added to the database each year.

If you have questions, please feel free to visit the ProQuest Web site - http://www.proquest.com - or call ProQuest Hotline Customer Support at 1-800-521-3042.