Helene Weitzel 
Graphic Novels In The German As A Foreign Language Classroom. Enhancing The Acquisition Of Vocabulary Through Reading 
A Research Study

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2015 in the subject Didactics for the subject German – Pedagogy, Linguistics, grade: 1, 0, Carthage College, Wisconsin (Education), course: Quantitative Methods in Educational Research, language: English, abstract: This research study investigated the incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading in the German language classroom at college level. For three weeks students were asked to read a graphic novel (experimental group); the other half of the students were asked to study vocabulary as flashcards (control group). To assess their vocabulary knowledge before the experiment took place the students were tested on their existing knowledge. After three weeks the students had to take an immediate posttest that asked for the same vocabulary as the pretest. Forty frequently used German words represented the vocabulary that the participants were tested on. These words also appeared frequently in the graphic novel that the students had to read: Game of Thrones – Das Lied von Eis und Feuer. By comparing the pre- and immediate posttest results, this research study aimed at showing whether incidental vocabulary acquisition takes place through reading. The results, however, did not suggest that reading a graphic novel had a sustainable impact on incidental vocabulary acquisition. The study’s control group scored much better in their posttests than the experimental group. This implied that the former had gained new words and improved their existing vocabulary knowledge. Conversely, the experimental group scored worse indicating that they had acquired less new words. Albeit these findings one should not deduce that studying flashcards is more effective, because the control group’s approach was considered to be an intentional and conscious vocabulary learning process not an incidental vocabulary acquisition.