本研究比較輔以單字增強活動的閱讀情境、以及純粹閱讀的情境，藉此探討讀後單字增強活動(post-reading vocabulary-enhancing activities)對於字彙習得(acquisition)與記憶(retention)之效益影響。另外，單字增強活動的效益是否與學習者的程度高低有相互影響，亦在本研究中有所探討。
受試者為台灣某高中的兩班高一學生；其中英文資優班學生代表程度較高的學生(higher-proficiency group)，而普通班學生則代表程度較低的學生(lower-proficiency group)，兩班各自再進一步分成單字增強組(reading-plus group)以及純粹閱讀組(reading-only group)。實驗開始前，研究者以一單字檢核表進行前測，以確認受試者不認識實驗中的主要單字(target words)。實驗中，單字增強組的受試者閱讀一篇含五個主要單字的選文，回答閱讀理解問題，接著完成一系列針對該五個主要單字的增強活動；而在純粹閱讀組中，受試者閱讀同樣一篇選文，回答同樣的閱讀理解問題，接著閱讀另一篇含同樣該五個主要單字的補充文章，再完成該文章的閱讀理解問題；之後，兩組受試者隨即接受後測(immediate posttest)，以得知兩組主要單字的習得狀況——這樣的程序在兩週內重複進行了四次，每次五個主要單字，共測驗了二十個主要單字。兩週後，受試者再次接受包含所有二十個主要單字的後測(delayed posttest)，以得知單字的記憶情形。
研究結果顯示，就量而言，不論是對程度較高的學生而言、抑或是對程度較低的學生而言，單字增強組都習得更多主要單字的知識並保留更多的記憶；而就質而言，不論是辨識字彙的能力(receptive vocabulary knowledge)，或是應用字彙的能力(productive vocabulary knowledge)，單字增強組亦較純粹閱讀組更有收穫。因此，本研究認為，對於以英語為外語(EFL)的高中學生而言，讀後單字增強活動對於字彙的習得與記憶較純粹閱讀更有效益。
至於單字增強活動與學習者程度兩者效益的相互影響，本研究發現，受試者程度所造成的效益，會依單字增強活動的施行與否有所不同--透過單字增強活動的施行，較高程度的學生在立即性後測(immediate posttest)的成績上沒有顯著高於較低程度的學生。對此，本研究推論，就短期字彙習得而言，讀後單字增強活動對於較低程度的學生之幫助大於對較高程度的學生；因此，對於中低程度的班級，讀後單字活動特別建議施行。

The current study investigated the effect of post-reading vocabulary-enhancing activities on vocabulary acquisition and retention, comparing the effect of this practice with that of supplementary reading. Whether or not the role of vocabulary-enhancing activities interacted with learners’ proficiency level was also explored.
Participants were students from two tenth-grade classes in a senior high school in Taiwan, with the English gifted class representing higher-proficiency group and a regular class representing lower-proficiency group; both were further divided into reading-plus group and reading-only group. Prior to the treatment, a checklist vocabulary pretest was employed to validate that students had no prior knowledge of the target words. As the treatment began, the reading-plus group read a main text embedded with five target words, answered multiple-choice comprehension questions, and completed vocabulary-enhancing exercises, whereas the reading-only group read the same main text, answered the same comprehension questions, and did supplementary reading with comprehension check. The same procedures repeated four rounds for two weeks, that is, a set of five target words in each round and twenty target words in total. To assess students’ knowledge of target word items, posttests were employed, with immediate posttests administered immediately after four rounds of treatments as acquisition tests, and a delayed posttest administered two weeks later as the retention test. Each posttest included one recognition test, in which students chose correct Chinese translations of the target words from a multiple-choice test, and one production test, in which students complete sentences using target words.
The results show that the reading-plus group demonstrated significantly more vocabulary gain than the reading-only group in both acquisition and retention tests for both higher- and lower-proficiency groups. The quality of the vocabulary gain is also better for reading-plus group in that the reading-plus group demonstrated both receptive and productive knowledge of more target words. It is thus concluded that reading plus post-reading vocabulary-enhancing exercises possesses superior effectiveness than reading-only instruction in enhancing vocabulary acquisition and retention among EFL senior high students.
As for the interaction effect, the influence of proficiency on vocabulary acquisition was shown to be interfered by the employment of vocabulary-enhancing exercises, rendering the difference in acquisition scores between higher- and lower-proficiency groups insignificant. It is interpreted that for short-term vocabulary acquisition, the effectiveness of post-reading vocabulary enhancing exercises is more pronounced for lower-proficiency students than for higher-proficiency ones. Thus, for classes of intermediate-low or lower levels, post-reading vocabulary-enhancing activities are especially recommended.

Baddeley, A. (1990). Human Memory, London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M. G., & McCaslin, E. S. (1983). Vocabulary development: All contets are not created equal. The Elementary School Journal, 83(3), 177-181.
Bensoussan, M., & Laufer, B. (1984). Lexical guessing in context in EFL reading comprehension. Journal of Research in Reading, 7, 15-32.
Bensoussan, M., Sim, D., & Weiss, R. (1984). The effect of dictionary usage on EFL test performance compared with students and teacher attitudes and expectations. Reading in a Foreign Language, 2, 262-276.
Brown, D. (2000). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Coady, J. (1997). L2 vocabulary acquisition through extensive reading. In J. Coady, & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp. 225-237). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Craik, F. I. M., & Tulving, E. (1975). Depth of processing and the retention of words in episodic memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 104, 268-294.
Day, R., Omura, C., & Hiramatsu, M. (1991). Incidental EFL vocabulary learning and reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 7(2), 541-551.
Dupuy, B., & Krashen, S. (1993). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in French as a foreign language. Applied Language Learning, 4(1), 55-63.
Eeds, M., & Cockrum, W. (1985). Teaching word meanings by expanding schemata vs. dictionary work vs. reading in context. Journal of Reading, 28(6), 492-497.
Ellis, N. (1994) Vocabulary acquisition: The implicit ins and outs of explicit cognitive mediation. In N. Ellis (Ed.), Implicit and explicit learning of languages (pp. 211-282). San Diego: Academic Press.
Ellis, N. (1995). The psychology of foreign language vocabulary acquisition: Implications for CALL. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 8, 103-128.
Fraser, C. (1999). Lexical processing strategy use and vocabulary learning through reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 225-241.
Gass, S. (1988). Integrating research areas: A framework for second language studies. Applied Linguistics, 9, 233-252.
Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. (1997). Reading and vocabulary development in a second language: A case study. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition (pp. 98-122). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Horst, M., Cobb, T., & Meara, P. (1998). Beyond a clockwork orange: Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading. Reading in a Foreign Language, 11, 207-223.
Hulstijn, J. H. (1992). Retention of given and inferred word meanings: Experiments in incidental vocabulary learning. In P. J. L. Arnaud, & H. Bejoint (Eds.), Vocabulary and applied linguistics (pp. 113-125). London: Macmillan.
Hulstijn, J. H. (1993). When do foreign-language readers look up the meaning of unfamiliar words? The influence of task and learner variables. Modern Language Journal, 77(2), 139-147.
Hulstijn, J. H., & Laufer, B. (2001). Some empirical evidence for the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary acquisition. Language Learning, 51(3), 539-558.
Joe, A. (1998). What effects do text-based tasks promoting generation have on incidental vocabulary acquisition? Applied Linguistics, 19, 357-377.
Judd, E. (1978). Vocabulary teaching and TESOL: A need for re-evaluation of existing assumptions, TESOL Quarterly, 12(1), 71-76
Just, M., & Carpenter, P. (1992). A capacity theory of comprehension: Individual differences in working memory. Psychological Review, 99, 122-149.
Knight, S. (1994). Dictionary use while reading: The effects on comprehension and vocabulary acquisition for students of different verbal abilities. Modern Language Journal, 78, 285-299.
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. New York: Pergamon Press.
Krashen, S. (1989). We acquire vocabulary and spelling by reading: Additional evidence for the input hypothesis. The Modern Language Journal, 73(4), 440-464
Krashen, S. (1993). The power of reading. Englewood, NJ: Libraries Unlimited.
Laufer, B. (1997). The lexical plight in second language reading: Words you don’t know; words you think you know, and words you can’t guess. In J. Coady, & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp. 20-34). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Laufer, B. (2000). Electronic dictionaries and incidental vocabulary acquisition. Does technology make a difference? In U. Heid, S. Evert, E. Lehmann, & C. Rohrer (Eds.), EURALEX (pp. 849-854). Stuttgart, Germany: Stuttgart University Press.
Laufer, B. (2003). Vocabulary acquisition in a second language: Do learners really acquire more vocabulary by reading? Some empirical evidence. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 159(4), 567-587.
Laufer, B., & Sim, D. D. (1985). Measuring and explaining the reading threshold needed for English for academic purposes texts. Foreign Language Annals, 18, 405-411.
Luppescu, S., & Day, R. R. (1993). Reading, dictionaries and vocabulary learning. Language Learning, 43, 263-287.
Lyster, R. (1990). The role of analytic language teaching in French immersion programs. Canadian Modern Language Review, 47(1), 159-176.
McLaughlin, B. (1987). Theories of second language learning. London: Arnold.
Min, Hui-Tzu (2008). EFL Vocabulary Acquisition and Retention: Reading plus vocabulary enhancement activities and narrow reading. Language Learning, 58(1), 73-115.
Nagy, W. E., Herman, P.A., & Anderson, R.C. (1985). Learning words from context. Reading Research Quarterly, 20, 233-253.
Nagy, W. E., Anderson, R.C., & Herman, P.A. (1987). Learning word meanings from context during normal reading. American Educational Research Journal, 24(2), 237-270.
Nagy, W. E. (1997). On the role of context in first- and second-language vocabulary learning. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 64-83). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (Ed.). (1984). Vocabulary List: Words, Affixes and Suffixes. ELI Occasional Publication No. 12. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington.
Nation, I. S. P. (1989). Dictionaries and language learning. In M. L. Tickoo (Ed.), Learners’ dictionaries: State of the art (pp. 65-71). RELC Anthology Series, 23, SEAMEO Singapore: Regional Language Center.
Nation, I. S. P. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. New York: Newbury House.
Nation. I. S. P (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P., & Coady, J. (1988). Vocabulary and reading. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp. 97-110). New York: Longman.
Nist, S. L., & Olejnik, S. (1995). The role of context and dictionary definitions on varying levels of word knowledge. Reading Research Quarterly, 30, 172-193.
Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. (1993). The relationship between reading comprehension and second language development in a comprehension-based ESL program. TESL Canada Journal, 11(1), 9-29.
Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. (1996). Enhancing vocabulary acquisition through reading: A hierarchy of test-related exercise types. Canadian Modern Language Review, 52, 250-273.
Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. (1997). Vocabulary enhancement activities and reading for meaning in second language vocabulary development. In J. Coady, & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp. 174-200). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Paribakht, T. S., & Wesche, M. (1999). Reading and “incidental” L2 vocabulary acquisition: An introspective study of lexical inferencing. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 195-224.
Pigada, M., & Schmitt, N. (2006). Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study. Reading in a Foreign Language, 18(1), 1-28.
Pitts, M., White, H., & Krashen, S. (1989) Acquiring second language vocabulary through reading: A replication of the clockwork orange study using second language acquirers. Reading in a Foreign Language, 5(2), 271-275.
Pulido, D. (2003). Modeling the role of second language proficiency and topic familiarity in second language incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading. Language Learning, 53(2), 233-284.
Pulido, D. (2007). The relationship between text comprehension and second language incidental vocabulary acquisition: a matter of topic familiarity? Language Learning, 57, 155-199.
Robinson, P. (2003). Attention and memory. In C. Doughty & M. H. Long (Eds.), Handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 631-678). Oxford, England: Blackwell.
Rott, S. (1999). The effect of exposure frequency on intermediate language learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition and retention through reading. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 589-619.
Rott, S. (2004). A comparison of output interventions and unenhanced reading conditions on vocabulary acquisition and text comprehension. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 61(2), 169-202.
Saville-Troike, M. (1984). What really matters in second language learning for academic achievement? TESOL Quarterly, 18(2), 199-219.
Schmidt, R. W. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning, Applied Linguistics, 11, 129-158.
Schmidt, R. (2001). Attention. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Cognition and second language instruction (pp. 3-32). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Slamecka, N. J., & Graf, P, (1978). The generation effects: Delineation of a phenomenon. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4, 592-604.
Stahl, S. A. (1985). To teach a word well: A framework for vocabulary instruction. Reading World, 24(3), 16-27.
Stahl, S. A., & Fairbanks, M. M. (1986). The effects of vocabulary instruction: A model-based meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 56, 72-110.
Stanovich, K. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360-400.
Stoller, F. L., & Grabe, W. (1993). Implications for L2 vocabulary acquisition and instruction from L1 vocabulary research. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), Second language reading and vocabulary learning (pp.24-45). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass and C. Madden (Eds.), 1985, Input in second language acquisition. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Swanborn, M. S. L., & de Glopper, L. (1999). Incidental word learning while reading: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 69(3), 261-285.
Wesche, M., & Paribakht, T. S. (2000). Reading-based exercises in second language vocabulary learning: An introspective study. The Modern Language Journal, 84(2), 196-213.