VERIFICATION OF TASK-INDUCED INVOLVEMENT HYPOTHESIS THROUGH LANGUAGE MODALITY IN INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY LEARNING (READING VS. LISTENING MODALITY)

Laufer and Hulstijn (2001) proposed “the Involvement Load Hypothesis for second language (L2) vocabulary learning, which was a motivational-cognitive construct of involvement, consisting of three basic components: need, search, and evaluation” (p.14). Tasks that induce a higher involvement load have proved more effective in terms of vocabulary retention as compared with tasks with a lower involvement load. However, it is not much clear whether task involvement load is a function of language modality; does it have different representation and load if modality platform changes from reading to listening? In a bid to address this question the present study aimed at investigating “The effect of task-induced involvement on incidental vocabulary learning through listening and reading modality-based activities among Iranian Intermediate EFL Learners.” 125 female English as a foreign language (EFL) students in the form of four experimental and one control groups formed the participants of this study, who were exposed to reading- and listening-oriented context of task presentation to compare the effects of six tasks with different involvement loads (tasks with high involvement load like writing, unscrambling, and text-reconstruction; tasks with low involvement load like fill in blanks, matching and multiple-choice) and to see which skill is more useful for vocabulary retention. The control group (N=25) received vocabulary instruction through conventional methods while the experimental groups (N=100, in every group 25 students) were taught using the target tasks through two different modes of presentation; reading and listening with different involvement loads. Based on a quasi-experimental design, respective statistical analyses including t-tests and ANOVA were run. All experimental groups outperformed the control; task-induced involvement instruction was more effective in improving learners` vocabulary retention. However, the reading-based instruction with high involvement load tasks outperformed the listening-based one; an indication of the modality-dependent nature of both task presentation and involvement load hypothesis.