Cover not available

Article published In: Chinese as a Second Language (漢語教學研究—美國中文教師學會學報)
Vol. 51:3 (2016) ► pp.266–285

Get fulltext from our e-platform
JBE logo with link
PDF logo with download linkDownload PDF
authorization required

A preliminary study on the effects of an E-gloss tool on incidental vocabulary learning when reading Chinese as a foreign language

 | Utah State University
Published online: 2 February 2017
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/csl.51.3.03poo
To become proficient readers of Chinese, learners must identify characters quickly and accurately. Learners who are able to recognize characters rapidly are able to focus on the overall message rather than the meaning of individual characters. However, the complex orthography of Chinese makes decoding characters difficult. E-gloss tools such as Dim Sum have been highly touted as solutions to ease this burden for second language learners of Chinese (Shen & Tsai 2010; Xie & Tao 2009). Research has shown that when learners use these tools, reading speeds and comprehension scores improve; however, no research has investigated the effect of such tools on incidentally-learned vocabulary. This study compared incidental vocabulary gains by 19 students in two different Chinese courses, reading four texts with an e-gloss tool and four texts in a traditional paper format. Although a significant difference between the two reading formats was not found, simple comparisons of learning gains by individual learners in both reading formats suggest that students’ learning and reading styles may impact the effectiveness of reading with or without the e-gloss tool.
References (39)
Azari, F. 2012. “Review of Effects of Textual Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning.” International Journal of Innovative Ideas 12(2): 13–24.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
The Chinese Reading World. 2008. Available from [URL]Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Craik, F.I., and E. Tulving. 1975. “Depth of Processing and the Retention of Words in Episodic Memory.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 104(3): 268–294. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Dim Sum. 2008. Dim Sum. (Version 0.7.9.1)[Software]. Available from [URL]
Everson, M. 1994. “Towards a Process View of Teaching Reading in the Second Language Chinese Curriculum.” Theory into Practice (Winter) 4–9. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Everson, M.E. 1998. “Word Recognition among Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language: Investigating the Relationship between Naming and Knowing.” The Modern Language Journal 82(2): 194–204. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2009 “Literacy Development in Chinese as a Foreign Language.” In Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, edited by M.E. Everson and Y. Xiao, 97–111. Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Fan, K.Y., J.Y. Gao, and X.P. Ao. 1984. “Pronunciation Principles of the Chinese Character and Alphabetic Writing Scripts.” Chinese Character Reform 31: 23–37. (In Chinese)Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Feldman, L.B., and W.W. Siok. 1999. “Semantic Radicals in Phonetic Compounds: Implications for Visual Character Recognition in Chinese.” In Reading Chinese Script: A Cognitive Analysis, edited by J. Wang, A.W. Inhoff, and H. -C. Chen, 19–35. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Gettys, S., L.A. Imhof, and J.O. Kautz. 2001. “Computer-Assisted Reading: The Effect of Glossing Format on Comprehension and Vocabulary Retention.” Foreign Language Annals 34(2): 91–106. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Grabe, W., and F.L. Stoller. 2002. Teaching and Researching Reading. Harlow: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hayes, E.B. 1988. “Encoding Strategies Used by Native and Non‐Native Readers of Chinese Mandarin.” The Modern Language Journal 72(2): 188–195. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hong, W. 1997. “Multimedia Computer-Assisted Reading in Business Chinese.” Foreign Language Annals 30(3): 335–344. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Horst, M., T. Cobb, and P. Meara. 1998. “Beyond A Clockwork Orange: Acquiring Second Language Vocabulary through Reading.” Reading in a Foreign Language 11(2): 207– 223.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hong, X. 2010. “Review of Effects of Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Learning and Reading Comprehension.” Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics 33(1): 56–73.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Horst, M. 2005. “Learning L2 Vocabulary through Extensive Reading: A Measurement Study.” Canadian Modern Language Review 61(3): 355–382. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Huckin, T., and J. Coady. 1999. “Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in a Second Language.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21(2): 181–193. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Hulstijn, J.H. 1993. “When do Foreign‐Language Readers Look up the Meaning of Unfamiliar Words? The Influence of Task and Learner Variables.” The Modern Language Journal 77(2): 139–147. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Krashen, S.D. 2004. The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Lee-Thompson, L.C. 2008. “An Investigation of Reading Strategies Applied by American Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language. Foreign Language Annals 41(4): 702–721. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Liu, N., and I.S.P. Nation. 1985. “Factors Affecting Guessing Vocabulary in Context.” RELC Journal 161, 33–42. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nagata, N. 1999. “The Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Interactive Glosses.” Foreign Language Annals 32(4): 469–479. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nation, I.S.P., and J. Coady. 1988. “Vocabulary and Reading.” In Vocabulary and Language Teaching, edited by R. Carter and M. McCarthy, 97–110. London: Longman.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Nist, S.L., M.L. Simpson, and S. Olejnik. 1985. “The Relationship between Six Study Strategies and Test Performance.” Paper presented at the meeting of the National Reading Conference , San Diego, CA.
Pigada, M., and N. Schmitt. 2006. “Vocabulary Acquisition from Extensive Reading: A Case Study.” Reading in a Foreign Language 18(1): 1–28.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Rahmani, M., and K. Sadeghi. 2011. “Effects of Note-Taking Training on Reading Comprehension and Recall.” Reading Matrix: An International Online Journal 11(2): 116–128.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shen, H.H., and X. Jiang. 2013. “Character Reading Fluency, Word Segmentation Accuracy, and Reading Comprehension in L2 Chinese.” Reading in a Foreign Language 25(1): 1- 25.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Shen, H., and C.H. Tsai. 2010. “A Web-Based Extensive Reading Program and its Assessment System.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association 45(2): 19–47.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Taraban, R., M. Kerr, and K. Rynearson. 2004. “Analytic and Pragmatic Factors in College Students’ Metacognitive Reading Strategies.” Reading Psychology 25(2): 67–81. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Tsui, A.B., and J. Fullilove. 1998. “Bottom-up or Top-down Processing as a Discriminator of L2 Listening Performance.” Applied Linguistics 19(4): 432–451. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, H., Chang, B.R., Li, Y.S., Lin, L.H., Liu, J., & Sun, Y.L. 1986. Xiandai hanyu pinlu cidian [Dictionary of the frequency of vocabulary in modern Chinese]. Beijing: Beijing Language Institute Press.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, J. 2009. “Electronic Strategies to Improve Chinese Reading Skills.” In Handbook of Research on e-learning Methodologies for Language Acquisition, edited by R.D.C. V. Marriott and P.L. Torres, 237–252. London: Information Science Reference. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
. 2012. “The Use of e-gloss Tool to Read e-text by Intermediate and Advanced Learners of Chinese.” Computer Assisted Language Learning 25(5): 475–487. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Wang, J., and T. Upton. 2012. “The Impact of Using a Pop-up Dictionary on the Reading Process of Beginning Learners of Chinese.” Journal of Chinese Language Teachers Association 41(1): 23–41.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xie, T., and T. Yao. 2009. “Technology in Chinese Language Teaching and Learning.” In Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, edited by M. Everson and Y. Xiao, 151–172. Boston: Cheng & Tsui.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, X. 2010. “The Effects of Glosses on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in Reading.” Journal of Language Teaching and Research 1(2): 117–120. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Xu, X., and A.M. Padilla. 2013. “Using Meaningful Interpretation and Chunking to Enhance Memory: The Case of Chinese Character Learning.” Foreign Language Annals 46(3): 402–422. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Yoshii, M. 2006. “L1 and L2 Glosses: Their Effects on Incidental Vocabulary Learning.” Language Learning & Technology 10(3): 85–101.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Zhao, A., Y. Guo, and J. Dynia. 2013. “Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Chinese as a Foreign Language in the United States.” The Modern Language Journal 97(3): 764–778. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar
Cited by (3)

Cited by three other publications

Rohollahzadeh Ebadi, Mandana
2025. Technology-mediated teaching vocabulary: exploring EFL learners’ depth and breadth of lexical knowledge. Computer Assisted Language Learning 38:5-6 ► pp. 1198 ff. DOI logo
Poole, Frederick
2024. Wisp and the Next Generation of Glossing Tools for Video Games. The FLTMAG DOI logo
Zhu, Junling
2023. Critical Literature Review on Teaching Chinese as a World Language in the Context of Globalization. Language and Sociocultural Theory 9:2 ► pp. 202 ff. DOI logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 8 december 2025. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

Mobile Menu Logo with link to supplementary files background Layer 1 prag Twitter_Logo_Blue