The efficacy of a teacher-led vocabulary intervention for third graders in rural china: using lexical compounding awareness to support vocabulary depth

Thesis

Approximately 80% of the Chinese modern vocabulary are compound words. Because of this characteristic, Chinese lexical morphology also focuses highly on compound words. The study’s purpose was to investigate a Mandarin Chinese vocabulary intervention that trained lexical compounding awareness in third-graders to explore if targeted lexical compounding awareness training can improve vocabulary depth. The study was conducted in a low-income community in rural China where academic achievement falls below the national average. The study hopes to provide insight into the feasibility of vocabulary interventions in diverse settings in China. Participants were 57 third-grade students from rural China. A mixed-methods design was adopted to address research questions: a within-subject quasi-experimental design aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention of morphological awareness and vocabulary depth, and a thematic analysis of teacher interviews explored teachers’ experiences of the intervention. The research questions looked at: 1. Does an intervention that focuses on systematically instructing on Chinese compound lexical structures affect third graders’ Chinese vocabulary knowledge? Specifically, a) Does targeted training in Chinese compound lexical structures increase children’s compound lexical awareness and vocabulary depth? b) Does the vocabulary knowledge of taught words from targeted training in compound lexical structures transfer towards novel words? c) Is there a relationship between initial skills in vocabulary depth and morphological compound awareness and their improvement post-intervention? 2. What are teachers’ perspectives and experiences of the Lexical Compounding Awareness? A paired samples t-test showed that there was an improvement between pre and post-test assessment performance. ANOVA showed a strong transfer effect from morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge of taught words to other novel words. Significant strong correlations also showed that initially low-performing students showed the greater improvement after intervention. The teachers who delivered the intervention also expressed an overall positive experience of the intervention. Implications for future research and practice in literacy interventions and morphological training for vocabulary growth are discussed.

Authors: Guo, N

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-8novkoj8d
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: Chinese and English
• Keywords: CDE2021; Mixed methods research; Vocabulary; Pilot study; CDE; Intervention; Morphology; Literacy
• Subjects: Education; Mixed methods research; Vocabulary; Child development; Morphology; Literacy