Morphological Problem-Solving With Morphemic Structure and Context Support: Explore Impact of Learner and Word Attributes

• In Event: Examining Vocabulary Learning Through Multimodal, Multilingual, Morphological, and Contextual Approaches

Abstract

Morphological problem-solving is an essential skill for successful reading. Studies assess the skill differently, with some approaches providing additional support than others. The aims of this study were to explore whether students’ word solving skills vary by levels of context support and whether providing morphemic structures of words would enhance performance. The study investigated Chinese high-school EFL students’ morphological problem-solving with the presence and absence of support, and the learner (i.e., morphological awareness and vocabulary) and word (i.e., semantic transparency, part of speech, frequency) attributes that precede students’ performance. Findings show morphemic structure did not lead to significant improvement in overall morphological problem-solving performance in contrast to providing context support. The effects of context were more pronounced for opaque words.

Authors

• Zhenjie Hou, University of Houston

• Jie Zhang, University of Houston

• Huan Zhang, Nanjing Normal University