Good find. The description of the actual experimental conditions is incredibly vague, but it sounds to me a bit like the control group only got the vocabulary list with definitions and didn't read the short story, whereas the experimental group only read the short story and didn't get any definitions. Then the experimental group was able to successfully complete ≈10 of 15 fill-in-the-blank questions vs the control groups ≈8.
That is an okay experiment to compare the two teaching methods, but doesn't address the question of what happens when you combine them by reading a text with an accompanying vocabulary list. I would be rather surprised if additional access to definitions actually hurt learning. Like, what are dictionaries for, then?
That is an okay experiment to compare the two teaching methods, but doesn't address the question of what happens when you combine them by reading a text with an accompanying vocabulary list. I would be rather surprised if additional access to definitions actually hurt learning. Like, what are dictionaries for, then?