Second Language Vocabulary Learning From Context Clues: A Review of Research in the Past Decade and Implementation in Digital Environment
Abstract
This article reviews empirical studies from the past decade in learning second language (L2) vocabulary from context clues. Previous studies conclude that guessing unknown words from context clues is not an effective vocabulary learning strategy. Rather, it should be employed as a complementary approach. In alignment with this standpoint, review of the most recent empirical studies reveals that merely relying on context clues does not lead to the most effective L2 vocabulary learning. The learning result highly correlates with the learners’ language proficiency. However, recent studies did not downplay the role of incidental vocabulary learning from reading. More researchers explore the appropriate types of vocabulary for inferring from the contexts and the corresponding pedagogical strategies. This article concludes with pedagogical implications of teaching L2 vocabulary in digital environment.
Keywords
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Studies on Education
Journal Section
Review
Authors
Xiaoli Yu
*
University of Central Florida
0000-0002-8643-1084
United States
Veysel Altunel
National Defense University
0000-0002-4562-1594
Türkiye
Publication Date
January 31, 2018
Submission Date
January 6, 2018
Acceptance Date
January 14, 2018
Published in Issue
Year 2018 Volume: 1 Number: 1