Second and Foreign Language Vocabulary Learning through Digital Reading: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Digital reading facilitates L2 development by allowing anytime-anywhere learning with various digital resources. Although there has been increasing research exploring the role of digital reading on L2 vocabulary learning, synthesized evidence regarding the overall facilitating power of digital reading is still lacking. This meta-analysis aggregates 21 important empirical studies published within the last 20 years and indexed in scholarly recognized databases, so as to provide a comprehensive panoramic assessment of how effectively digital reading has enhanced second and foreign language vocabulary acquisition with diversified learner backgrounds and learning environments. A total of 77 effect sizes were yielded across different studies, and random-effect modeling was employed for analyzing the study-level heterogeneity and sub-group variability. Results demonstrate that digital reading had an overall significant effect (dimmediate = 1.45, p