Publisher's Synopsis
Master's Thesis from the year 2015 in the subject Didactics - English - Pedagogy, Literature Studies, American International College, course: Master of Educatione - Reading specialization, language: English, abstract: The current study aims to investigate the effect of extensive reading as an approach in the EFL classroom to reinforce the natural acquisition of vocabulary. The study involved 41 university-level freshmen and sophomores selected from the Schoolsof Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Commerce and Business Administration. The study implied using quantitative instruments to measure the learners' incidental growth of vocabulary through testing the passive and active word knowledge through pre- and post-tests. The paired-sample T-test involved testing the incidental learning of 42 target words (nouns, verbs, and gerunds) from a selected story. The research statistical findings indicated a significant increase of the target words' knowledge through descriptive statistics. Furthermore, most of the newly identified words after reading were productively used in proper sentences. The attitudinal questionnaire also revealed future recommendations of extensive reading. In general, the results indicated that extensive reading had a notable influence on EFL elementary-learners in learning new vocabulary spontaneously and using it in productive contexts. The research concluded that with providing a proper atmosphere for reading, meaningful goals, and guided discussion, a positive outcome of unintentional learning of new words can be the gain. These outcomes were collected and evaluated through statistical data and an attitudinal questionnaire. Finally, the researcher suggested that some of the implications and recommendations of the study be adapted in further studies.
