This study aims to ascertain the relative importance of certain aspects of task design for the acquisition of vocabulary by high-proficiency second language speakers. Previous research suggests that vocabulary learning is most effective when "task-induced involvement" is high and that involvement can be measured as a sum of three components: need for the vocabulary in the task, searching for a meaning of a word or a word to fit a meaning, and evaluation of how the word meaning compares to that of other words or how the word fits in with surrounding words. We attempt to corroborate those premises and, further, to examine the hypothetical components of involvement separately and investigate whether they interact with each other and/or differ in impact on the learning process. To address this question, we administered a different task to each of four groups of high-proficiency learners of English, varying the search and evaluation components among the tasks. We measured the vocabulary gains on immediate and delayed tests and compared the results among the four groups. The results on the immediate test accord with earlier studies in showing greater gains for the groups with more task-induced involvement than for the control group. Concerning search and evaluation, the two components appear to compensate for each other, suggesting that the presence of either one is as effective as the presence of both. The delayed post-test results followed the same patterns, although the results are not statistically significant.

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The primary purpose of the present study is to compare the effectiveness of the jigsaw task and information gap tasks in understanding new words and retaining them. Sixteen pupils aged between eleven and twelve were involved in the study and divided into two groups. They were allocated either a jigsaw task or an information gap task. This study consists of a pre-test, immediate post-test, delayed post-test as well as a questionnaire. The pupils were required to carry out the chosen tasks, tested immediately and then one week later. The results of the questionnaire are also discussed in order to establish the pupils’ attitudes towards their allotted tasks.   The results revealed marginally higher scores in the immediate post-test for pupils performing the information gap task in terms of recognizing the meaning of words. However, this advantage disappeared when it came to the depth of vocabulary knowledge and word meaning retention. Pupils performing jigsaw task outperformed group B in productive vocabulary knowledge and their retention. The gain in vocabulary among pupils who performed the jigsaw task is most evident in the delayed post-test. This result is consistent with the pupils’ assertion that they enjoyed doing the jigsaw task more than the information gap task. To sum up, the jigsaw task best promotes pupils understanding of words and their retention.