关键词: 阅读伴随词汇习得, 个体差异, 亚词汇语义解码, 义符

Abstract:

Vocabulary acquisition is fundamental to reading development. Adults are exposed to approximately 1, 000 novel words each year, with more than 80% of these words acquired incidentally through natural reading. Numerous studies have identified significant differences in the efficiency of incidental vocabulary acquisition among adult readers, even among those at the peak of their reading ability. This raised the question: what accounts for such substantial individual variation? Some researchers have sought to elucidate these individual differences by examining the relationship between cognitive reading skills—such as phonological decoding, reading comprehension, and spelling ability—and the efficiency of vocabulary acquisition. However, these studies have not directly addressed how proficient vocabulary learners form high-quality representations of novel words during reading. Given that adult readers possess advanced reading skills and mature oculomotor control, we speculate that variations in vocabulary acquisition may stem from varied processing strategies employed by readers.

In the present study, we investigated whether highly-efficient readers and less-efficient readers exhibit differences in their processing strategies during novel word learning. Sixteen single pseudo-characters were constructed as novel words, each embedded in six high-constraint contexts to facilitate the establishment of novel lexical representations. We manipulated the semantic transparency between the semantic radical of each novel word and its meaning conveyed by the contextual sentences. We recorded the eye movements of 116 undergraduates as they read sentences. Following the reading, they were instructed to complete an orthographic judgment test and a semantic relatedness test. Based on their performance on the orthographic judgment test, we grouped participants into highly-efficient learners (N = 58) and less-efficient learners (N = 58).

The results showed that highly-efficient learners exhibited significantly longer fixation times on both novel words and the surrounding sentences relative to less-efficient learners. Furthermore, all learners adjusted their fixation times on novel words and sentential contexts with increased exposures. Specifically, the proportion of fixation times on novel words decreased while the proportion of fixation times on sentential context increased throughout the course of learning. This effect was more pronounced among highly-efficient than less-efficient learners. Additionally, only highly-efficient learners showed a robust semantic transparency effect when processing novel words during sentence reading. These findings indicate that highly-efficient readers utilized a sub-lexical semantic decoding strategy to facilitate the acquisition of novel words.

In summary, our findings support the hypothesis that the efficiency of vocabulary acquisition during reading is highly associated with specific cognitive processing strategies utilized by the reader. Highly-efficient readers tend to invest greater cognitive effort in processing novel words and contextual sentences, adjusting the allocation of cognitive resources over the learning process. Furthermore, they are more likely to employ a sub-lexical semantic decoding strategy during the learning of novel words, highlighting the importance of these strategies in successful vocabulary learning.

Key words: incidental word learning, individual differences, sub-lexical semantic decoding, radical