本研究旨在探討圖像注釋及字義注釋對於英語單字學習及閱讀理解之影響。99位來自三個班級的台灣高一學生參與本研究，並根據其高中會考英文科成績被分為英語程度為高程度及英語程度為低程度之兩種組別分別做探討；研究中受試者閱讀三篇文章於「圖像注釋+文章」、「字義注釋+文章」與「純粹閱讀」等三種閱讀情境，並在每次閱讀後使用一次閱讀測驗以及三次單字測驗來評量學習成效。研究結果顯示圖像注釋及字義注釋皆對於受試者之單字習得及閱讀理解有顯著幫助；然而在閱讀理解方面，此次研究結果顯示對於英語程度為高程度之學生而言，兩種注釋接能夠明顯幫助其學習；然而對於英語程度為低程度之學生的閱讀成效而言，僅字義注釋能夠顯著協助其閱讀理解。在英語程度影響閱讀理解成效之部分，本次研究結果顯示學生之英語程度僅對於「圖像注釋+文章」之閱讀情況有顯著影響。於單字習得部分，本研究結果顯示，使用注釋學習之受試者於三次單字測驗中逐漸遺忘閱讀中所習得的單字；然而對於並未使用注釋來學習單字之受試者而言，單字習得於第二次單字測驗有些微進步。

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of pictorial and definition glosses on vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. In the present study, a total of 99 EFL Taiwanese senior high school students participated in and they were classified into groups of high or low English proficiency level. The participants were asked to read three articles with pictorial glosses, definition glosses or no-gloss condition alternatively in three experiments. In each experiment, the participants took an immediate vocabulary translation test and a true-false reading comprehension test after reading. They also took two delayed vocabulary translation tests one week, and two weeks after the first exposure to the target words. 
The results of the present study showed that glosses significantly influenced the participants’ vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. In vocabulary learning, the present study found that both pictorial and definition glosses facilitated the participants to have greater vocabulary gains in the three articles. Likewise, in reading comprehension, the present study found that reading with glosses facilitated the participants to have better reading comprehension in comparison with a reading only condition. However, the effect of different glosses on the participants’ reading comprehension scores was found to be inconsistent. And the participants’ motivation was found to be a facilitator in reading comprehension. As for the participants’ English proficiency level, the present study did not find the significance of it in relation to vocabulary learning. However, in reading comprehension, it was observed that the participants’ English proficiency level significantly affects the reading comprehension in the pictorial gloss group. The findings also indicated that, in reading comprehension, the pictorial glosses are beneficial to high proficiency participants, and the low proficiency participants benefit more from the definition glosses. Furthermore, the present study also found two different vocabulary forgetting patterns of the gloss and no-gloss groups. For the participants in either pictorial or definition gloss groups, the results showed that they gradually forgot what they learned about the target words two weeks after the primary exposure to the target words. On the other hand, the vocabulary knowledge of the participants in the no-gloss group was observed to slightly increase from the immediate vocabulary test to the 1st delayed vocabulary test.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS	i
CHINESE ABSTRACT	ii
ENGLISH ABSTRACT	iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS	v
LIST OF TABLE	ix
Chapter 1: Introduction	1
1.1	Background	1
1.2	Motivation	2
1.3	The purpose of the study	3
1.3.1 Research questions	4
1.3.2 Hypothesis	5
1.4 Significance of the Study	6

Chapter 2: Literature Review	7
2.1 Vocabulary knowledge	8
2.1.1 Significance of vocabulary knowledge	9
2.1.2 Instruction of vocabulary knowledge	10
2.1.3 Problems of incidental vocabulary learning through reading	12
2.2 Instruction of glosses	13
2.2.1 Glosses and vocabulary learning	14
2.2.2 Glosses and reading comprehension	17
2.2.3The relationship between glosses and the learners’ proficiency level	19
2.3	Theoretical issues of glosses	21
2.3.1Noticing theory	21
2.3.2 Deep processing theory	22
2.3.3 Involvement load hypothesis	22
2.3.4 Dual coding theory	23
2.3.5 Graduated interval recall	24

Chapter 3: Methodology	25
3.1 Participants	25
3.2 Materials	26
	3.2.1 Assigned articles	27
3.2.2 Glossed words	28
3.2.3 Gloss conditions	29
3.3 Assessments	30
3.3.1 Vocabulary pretest	30
3.3.2 Immediate vocabulary translation test	30
3.3.3 True-false reading comprehension test	31
3.3.4 The two delayed translation vocabulary tests	32
3.4 Procedures	33
3.5 Pilot study	36

Chapter 4: Results	38
4.1 Gloss conditions and vocabulary learning	42
4.1.1 Comparison of vocabulary learning scores in relation to glosses	44
4.2 English proficiency level and vocabulary learning	45
4.2.1 English proficiency level and vocabulary learning in relation to glosses	47
4.2.2 Comparison of vocabulary gains in relation to gloss conditions	49
4.3 Gloss conditions and reading comprehension	52
4.3.1 The reading comprehension scores in relation to gloss conditions	52
4.3.2 Differences among RC scores in relation to gloss conditions	55
4.4 English proficiency levels and reading comprehension	57
4.4.1 Proficiency levels and reading comprehension in relation to gloss	58

Chapter 5: Discussion	62
5.1 Vocabulary learning	62
5.1.1 Positive effects of glosses on vocabulary learning	63
5.1.2 Superiority of pictorial glosses in vocabulary learning	66
5.1.2.1Words with concrete or abstract meaning lead to various processing		69 
5.1.2.2 Pictorial glosses enhance vocabulary memorization	71
5.1.3 Insignificance of English proficiency level in vocabulary learning	73
5.1.4 Two vocabulary forgetting patterns at T1, T2, and T3	75
5.1.4.1 Vocabulary forgetting pattern for the gloss groups	75
5.1.4.2 Vocabulary forgetting pattern for the no-gloss group	77
5.2 Reading comprehension	79
5.2.1 Superiority of glosses on reading comprehension 	79
5.2.1.1 The insignificance of glosses in Article 1	80
5.2.1.2 The inconsistency of gloss effect on reading comprehension	82
5.2.2 The insignificance of English proficiency on reading comprehension	85
5.2.2.1 The impact of English proficiency level in relation to RC	85
5.2.2.2 English proficiency only affects RC scores in pictorial gloss group		88
Chapter 6: Conclusion	93
6.1 Conclusion	93
6.2 Pedagogical implications	95
6.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study	97
References	99
Appendix 1: Article 1	105
Appendix 2: Article 2	106
Appendix 3: Article 3	107
Appendix 4: Target Words List	108
Appendix 5: Pictorial Glosses for Article 1	109
Appendix 6: Pictorial Glosses for Article 2	110
Appendix 7: Pictorial Glosses for Article 3	111
Appendix 8: Definition glosses for the 3 articles	112
Appendix 9: Vocabulary Pretests for 3 articles	114
Appendix 10: Immediate Vocabulary Translation Test for 3 Articles	115
Appendix 11: True-False Reading Comprehension test for Article 1	116
Appendix 12: True-False Reading Comprehension test for Article 2	117
Appendix 13: True-False Reading Comprehension test for Article 3	118
Appendix 14: 1st Delayed Vocabulary Test for 3 Articles	119
Appendix 15: 2nd Delayed Vocabulary Test for 3 Articles	120
Appendix 16: The consent for the subject	121







LIST OF TABLE
Table 1 
Procedures of the main study	35

Table 2
Descriptive statistics of the vocabulary pretests, immediate tests, and the two delayed vocabulary tests in relation to gloss conditions	39

Table 3
Descriptive statistics of vocabulary gains at Time 1, Time 2, and Time3	42

Table 4
Comparison of vocabulary gains between gloss conditions for 3 articles	44

Table 5
Vocabulary gains at T1, T2, and T3 for High and Low English proficiency level groups in 3 articles	46

Table 6
Vocabulary gain of each gloss condition for High and Low English proficiency groups at Time 1, Time 2, and Time 3	47

Table 7
Comparison of vocabulary gains for participants at high level of English proficiency in relation to gloss conditions	50

Table 8
Comparison of vocabulary gains for participants at low level of English proficiency  in relation to gloss conditions	51

Table 9
The reading comprehension scores in relation to gloss conditions	53

Table 10
Comparison of reading comprehension mean scores between gloss conditions	55

Table 11
Reading comprehension scores for High and Low English proficiency groups in 3 articles	57

Table 12
Reading comprehension scores for high and low English proficiency level groups in relation to gloss condition	58

Table 13
Comparison of reading comprehension scores between gloss conditions for participants at high level of English proficiency	60

Table 14
Comparison of reading comprehension scores between gloss conditions for participants at low level of English proficiency	61

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