Delphi module

7.5.2.3
Glossing

It is claimed by many, although little documented in research literature, that for most learners the practice of providing selected vocabulary in the margin or, indeed, of learners doing the same for themselves by writing meanings in above the line (glossing, as it is often called), has no significant effect on vocabulary learning. Clearly, unglossed texts are more natural and are closer to 'real' reading, encouraging learners to look for contextual clues rather than relying on supplied definitions, while glossed texts interrupt readers' flow and concentration. However, at low to intermediate levels of L2 proficiency the main objective must be to give learners the opportunity to read intrinsically interesting texts and thereby to help them catch the L2 'reading bug', something which owing to their chronic shortage of vocabulary they cannot do without the aid of glossing.

Reflective task 10

Find target language texts suitable for use as comprehension passages at each of the following three levels:

learners one year into an ab-initio course (c. 400 words);
first-year post-A level learners (c. 700 words);
final-year post-A level learners (c. 1000 words).

Identify in your chosen texts:

all the words that students could readily ignore when reading the text for general meaning;
words whose meaning they might access via formal features and the procedures that would help them do this;
words whose meaning they could guess through contextual clues.

If your chosen text does not offer many instances of (c), consider how you might adapt it to provide more contextual clues for learners.