Children’s L2 vocabulary acquisition through extensive reading

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that extensive reading (ER) encourages both L1 and L2 vocabulary learning. The current study further investigates the potential of ER in the case of primary school learners. Twenty-three Spanish EFL learners from an intact grade 4 classroom (9-10 years old) participated in ten ER sessions with audio support. The learners performed a vocabulary test including 25 target words before, immediately after and three months after the ER programme. L2 vocabulary gains were analysed according to word frequency (number of exposures to the target words) and distribution (the number of books in which the target words appeared). Results show that ER led to significant vocabulary gains. Additionally, significant effects of frequency and distribution were found on immediate vocabulary gains and of frequency on long-term gains.

Keywords

• incidental vocabulary learning
• extensive reading
• word frequency
• distribution.