非刻意學習在增加字彙上是不可或缺的學習方式，但是單字如何非刻意地學習仍然是一個未完全解開的謎題。其中，單字在文本中出現頻率及語意情境是兩個常在研究中分別被討論的因素；不過，很少有學者同時研究這兩個因素對英語為非官方語學習者的影響。因此，本研究旨在探討單字在文本中出現頻率及語意情境對台灣高中生從閱讀中非刻意學習單字之影響。
本研究對象為北台灣一所高中的兩個班級，每班皆讀了十組文章，讀完這些文章後，參與的學生總共會接觸到四組目標單字：每組有三個字，且各組分別會出現三、四、五、六次。其中一班讀的單字語意情境是屬於同義字或釋義等顯性類型，而另一班的文章則是含有因果或對比關係等推論型單字語意情境。兩班在閱讀文章前皆接受前測，讀完後也都考立即後測及間隔一個月之久的延遲後測，而前後測結果則以單字出現頻率為組內因素和單字語意情境為組間因素來分析。
研究發現： (一)高中生可以從閱讀中非刻意學習單字；(二)單字出現頻率越高對單字成長越有助益，且單字出現六次對單字學習有顯著影響；(三) 推論型單字線索因較讓讀者費心思索，所以對單字學習更有幫助；(四)單字出現頻率和語意情境在增進非刻意學習單字上仍可能有相互關係。最後，希望教師能讓學生在課堂上多體驗非刻意單字學習的經驗，而教科書研發者也能注意到單字出現頻率及語意情境對學習者單字習得的影響。

Incidental vocabulary learning, though indispensable to vocabulary growth, has created many unresolved areas for vocabulary research. Exposure frequency and contextual situations are two that draw attention but have seldom been investigated in one single study, especially in an EFL setting. Therefore, the study investigates effects of the two factors on EFL students’ vocabulary acquisition.
Two intact freshman classes from a senior high school in northern Taiwan participated in the study and read ten sets of passages with three target words occurring three times, another three four times, another three five times and the other three six times in two versions. One class read the version containing synonyms or definitions as explicit contextual clues for the target words; the other class read the version with inferential contextual clues either in cause-effect or in contrast relationships with the target words. The results were analyzed across students’ performances on the pretest, immediate posttest, and delayed posttest with exposure frequency as a within-subject factor and contextual situations as a between-subject factor.
The findings showed that (a) senior high school students could learn vocabulary incidentally from reading, (b) more exposures tended to yield better vocabulary growth and words encountered six times contributed to a significant increase of word knowledge, (c) passages with inferential contextual clues, which required more mental effort to derive word meanings, facilitated vocabulary learning more, and (d) an interrelationship might exist between exposure frequency and contextual situations in facilitating incidental vocabulary learning. Therefore, the study concludes that teachers should have students experience incidental word learning in class and that textbook developers should be aware of how exposure frequency and contextual situations influence learners’ vocabulary acquisition.

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