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Second language studies have supported theuse of glossing for enhancing vocabulary learning. Alongwith technological developments, an increasing number ofstudies have examined electronic textual glossing in com-puter-assisted environments, yet only a small number ofstudies have compared electronic glossing to its traditionalpaper counterpart. In the present study, we examined theeffectiveness of electronic and paper textual glosses onsecond language vocabulary learning and reading com-prehension within a cognitive load theory framework. Weadopted an experimental design using Korean undergrad-uate learners of English as a foreign language, who read atarget text under one of the three reading conditions:electronic gloss, paper gloss, and no gloss. The resultsshowed that the electronic glossing condition resulted inthe greatest gains of vocabulary. The electronic glossingcondition was also the most efficient in light of the cog-nitive load framework, showing the highest instructionalefficiency. However, there were no significant differencesamong the three reading conditions for measures related toreading comprehension