DONGHO KANG -

A STUDY OF MEANING-FOCUSED AND FORM-FOCUSED TASKS ON SECOND LANGUAGE VOCABULARY ACQUISITION AMONG LOW AND INTERMEDIATE-LEVEL STUDENTS IN KOREAN UNIVERSITY SETTINGS : ELT INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY

While existing literature extensively explores the advantages of form-focused instruction for grammatical aspects of language, there remains limited research addressing the effects of form-focused tasks on the acquisition of second language vocabulary. Hence, this study aimed to examine how meaning-focused and form-focused tasks (both non-contrastive and contrastive) affect vocabulary learning among low and intermediate-level students in Korean university environments. The findings demonstrated that the meaning-focused group exhibited vocabulary learning gains only in the posttest, whereas both form-focused tasks led to significant improvements in both the posttest and delayed test. This suggests that students derived greater benefits from the form-focused tasks compared to the meaning-focused task concerning their second language vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, the low proficiency group showed more substantial gains with the non-contrastive form-focused task in both the posttest and delayed posttest, followed by the meaning-focused task in the posttest alone, while there were no significant learning gains with contrastive form-focused tasks. The intermediate group experienced significant learning gains in both the non-contrastive and contrastive form-focused tasks but not in the meaning-focused one. The study will delve into the theoretical implications and discuss pedagogical considerations arising from these findings.

Dongho Kang is a professor in the Department of English Language & Literature at Seoul National University of Science & Technology in Seoul, South Korea. His research interests encompass L2 language learning motivation, L2 children's reading processes, language learning strategies, and L2 teaching methodology. He earned his master's degree in linguistics and a doctoral degree in language education from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.