An Empirical Study on the Effect of Underlined and Bold Text Enhancement on Children's Second Language Vocabulary Learning

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62517/jhet.202515647

Author(s)

Junchao Dong

Affiliation(s)

Department of Humanities, College of Preschool Education, Shandong Yingcai University, Jinan, Shandong, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

In order to examine the impact of two text enhancement methods, underlining and bolding, on the second language vocabulary learning effect of 6-7-year-old children and their acceptance, this study used experimental methods combined with interviews and observations to conduct empirical research. 45 children with no significant difference in initial English proficiency (average 75.47 points) were randomly divided into underlined experimental group 1, bolded experimental group 2 and no text enhancement control group for four weeks of intervention teaching. Through vocabulary tests and interview observations, the experimental results showed that both text enhancement methods can effectively improve children's vocabulary recognition speed and memory retention rate (the average score of the underline group in the post-test was 90.13, and the bold group's score was 88.27, both higher than the control group's 82.93 points). The significant effect was still maintained after one week, and the average score of the underline group was still the highest. Children are most receptive to underlined materials (4.1 stars). The conclusion shows that both methods have a promoting effect, and the underlying method has a better promoting effect and children's acceptance than the bolding method. The results of this study provide empirical reference for the design of children's second language learning materials and the optimization of classroom teaching.

Keywords

Text Enhancement; Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition; Underlining; Bolding; Attention Hypothesis

References

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