The Effect of Different Presentation Methods on EFL Learners' Acquisition of Word Knowledge

Vocabulary is critical in second language acquisition, but there is no consensus as to how to present vocabulary in a way that facilitates learning in class. This research compared the effect of word-list presentation and contextual presentation on Chinese EFL learners' acquisition of word knowledge. 69 participants were divided into two groups, each consisting of students with upper, intermediate and lower proficiency levels. Word-list presentation and contextual presentation were given to two groups respectively. Two post-tests (immediate and delayed) were administered after the experiment, and the data collected were analyzed via SPSS 16. The results showed that 1) compared with contextual presentation, word-list presentation has significant advantage in productive knowledge of orthography. And this advantage is evident at three proficiency levels. However, there is no significant difference in other types of word knowledge. 2) The advantage word-list presentation has on orthographic knowledge was not the same among different proficiency levels. The intermediate subgroup performed the best, followed by the lower proficiency group while the advantage of word-list presentation is not conspicuous in the upper level group.