Morphological Awareness and Incidental Word Learning in First and Second Language

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Abstract

Purpose: The overall goal of this study is to investigate the mechanism by which morphological awareness boosts vocabulary learning and reading comprehension in first and second language. The specific objectives are to examine (1) to what extent young native English speakers and English language learners (ELLs) can use morphological information to incidentally learn new vocabulary during reading, and (2) to what extent morphological awareness facilitates incidental word learning, which in turn contributes to vocabulary and reading comprehension for both language groups.

Background: Morphological awareness (i.e., understanding complex words as combinations of meaningful units) is important for vocabulary growth and reading comprehension. However, how children use morphology (word parts) to infer meanings of new words while reading is less understood. The process by which morphological awareness facilitates reading comprehension is still under debate. Researchers have proposed three possible theoretical mechanisms: morphological awareness contributes to reading comprehension via vocabulary (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2012; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbottet, 2006), via word reading fluency and accuracy (Goodwin et al., 2012; Kieffer & Lesaux, 2012), or via morphological analysis in which learners break complex words into constituent morphemes (Carlo et al., 2004; McCuthen & Logan, 2011; Zhang & Koda, 2012). Empirical results are mixed thus far. Nagy (2007) speculated that part of the relationship between morphology knowledge and vocabulary acquisition could be attributed to the effect of morphological awareness on word learning ability. By employing the incidental word learning paradigm, the current study is among the first attempts to empirically test this hypothesis in children’s first and second language.

Method: Participants were 377 fourth- and fifth-graders from four schools in Southern US. There were 198 English speakers and 179 ELLs from diverse language backgrounds. A majority of the ELLs (N =100) were Spanish speakers. Students completed an incidental word learning task adapted from Tyler and Nagy (1989), McCutchen and Logan (2011), and Brusnighan and Folk (2012). Students read 40 sentences and chose a definition from among three alternatives for 20 low-frequency morphologically decomposable words and 20 approximate synonyms that had low frequency and were not morphologically decomposable. Each word type (decomposable vs. indecomposable) consisted of 10 pairs of derivative/simple words and 10 pairs of transparent/opaque compounds. Decomposable words, complex derivatives (e.g., odorous) and transparent compounds (e.g., payout), afforded morphological analysis, whereas indecomposable words, single-morpheme words (e.g., foul) and opaque compounds (e.g., jackpot), did not. Each pair of decomposable and indecomposable words was embedded in the same sentence in two counterbalanced versions. All sentences were neutral and provided minimum meaning support for the target word. Students were randomly assigned to one version. Students were also assessed on morphological awareness (suffix choice), word reading fluency (TOSWRF), and Gates-MacGinitie vocabulary and reading comprehension.

Author

• Jie Zhang, Western Kentucky University