The Impact of Vocabulary Knowledge Level on EFL Reading Comprehension
Abstract
The present study examined the impact of vocabulary knowledge level on reading comprehension performance among EFL language learners. The ultimate intention was to determine the association between levels of vocabulary knowledge and to clarify the relationship among vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension performance of EFL Iranian students on subtest of VLT and IELTS. Quantitative data were collected from 220 EFL Iranian adult students at the beginning of second semester of 2011 in private English language institute (BAHAR), Shiraz, Iran. The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) and Reading Comprehension Test (IELTS) were performed in one session as research instruments. The findings indicated that there were positive relationships among different levels of vocabulary test and also test scores on vocabulary size/breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Ahmad Azman Mokhtar. (2010). Achieving Native-like English Lexical Knowledge: The Non-native Story. Journal of Language Teaching and Research. 1(4): 343-352.
Alderson, J.C. & Banerjee, J. (2001) Language testing and assessment (Part 1) State of the Art Review. Language Testing 18, 213-236.
Babbie, E. ( 2007). The basics of social research 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., & Kucan, L. (2002). Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction. New York: Guildford Press.
Chen, K. Y. (2011). The Impact of EFL Students’ Vocabulary Breadth of Knowledge on Literal Reading Comprehension. Asian EFL Journal . 51: 30-40.
Coady, J., Magoto, J., Hubbard, P., Graney, J., & Mokhtari, K. (1993). High frequency vocabulary and reading proficiency in ESL readers. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes & J. Coady (Eds.), Second language reading and vocabulary learning (pp. 217–228). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Cobb, T. 1999. Vocabulary sizes of some City University students. Journal of the Division of Language Studies of City University of Hong Kong. 1: 59-68.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. R. B. (2004): A Guide to Teaching Practice (fifth edition). London: Routledge.
Guilford, J.P. (1956). Fundamental Statistics in Psychology and Education. New York: McGraw Hill.
Golkar, M., & Yamini, M. (2007). Vocabulary, proficiency and reading comprehension. The Reading Matrix. 7 (3): 88-112.
Haynes, M., & Baker, I. (1993). American and Chinese readers learning from lexical familiarization in English text. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), second language reading and vocabulary learning (pp. 130-152). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Hu, M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2000) Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language. 13(1): 403-430.
Huang, H. F. (2006). Breadth and depth of English vocabulary knowledge: which really matters in the academic reading performance of Chinese university students? McGill University (Canada) Press.
Koda, K. (2005). The effects of transferred vocabulary knowledge on the development of L2 reading proficiency. Foreign Language Annals. 22: 529-542.
Laufer, B. & Goldstein, Z. (2004). Testing vocabulary knowledge: size, strength, and computer adaptiveness. Language Learning. 53(3): 399-436.
Laufer, B. (1998). The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: Same or different? Applied Linguistics. 19(2): 255-271.
Laufer, B. (2003). Vocabulary acquisition in a second language: do learners really acquire most vocabulary by reading? Canadian Modern Language Review. 59 (4): 565-585.
Meara, P. (1996). The dimensions of lexical competence. In G. Brown, K. Malmkjaer, & J. Williams (Eds.), Performance and competence in second language acquisition (pp. 35-53). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (1983). Testing and teaching vocabulary. Guidelines. 5(1): 12-25.
Nation, I. S. P. (2001). Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, P., & Meara, P. (2002). Vocabulary. In N. Schmitt(Ed.), An introduction to applied linguistics (pp. 35-54). New York: Oxford University Press Inc.
Panel, L. (2000). Vocabulary knowledge. In J.T. Guthrie Comprehension and teaching: Research reviews (pp.77-117). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Pearson, P. D., Hiebert, E. H., & Kamil, M. L. (2007). Vocabulary assessment: What we know and what we need to know. Reading Research Quarterly. 42(2): 282-296.
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review. 56: 282-307.
Qian, D. D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading comprehension: an assessment perspective. Language Learning. 52: 513-536.
Qian, D. D. (2004). Establishing parameters for assessing vocabulary. Language Assessment Quarterly. 1 (1): 57-61.
Qian, D. D. (2008). From single word to passages: Contextual effects on predictive power of vocabulary measures for assessing reading performance. Language Assessment Quartely. 5: 1-19.
Read, J. (1998). Validating a test to measure depth of vocabulary knowledge. In A. Kunnan (ed.), Validation in language assessment (pp. 41-60). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
Read, J., & Chapelle, C.A. (2001). A framework for second language vocabulary assessment. Language Testing. 18: 1-32.
Saville-Troike, M. (1984). What really matters in second language learning for academic achievement? TESOL Quarterly. 18 (2): 199-219.
Schmitt, N., & Clapham, C. (2001). Developing and exploring the behavior of two new versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test. Language Testing, 18: 55-88.
Webb, S., (2005). Receptive and productive vocabulary learning: The Effects of Reading and Writing on Word Knowledge. Studies in Second Language Acquisition. 27(1): 33-52.
Yu, L. (1996). The role of cross-linguistic lexical similarity in the use of motion verbs in English by Chinese und lapanese leamers. Unpublished Ed.D. thesis, University of Toronto.
Zahar, R., Cobb, T. and Spada, N. (2001). Acquiring vocabulary through reading: Effects of frequency and contextual richness. The Canadian Modern Language Review. 57 (4): 541-572.
Zhang, L. J., & Anual, S. B. (2008). The role of vocabulary in reading comprehesnion: The case of secondary school students learning English in Singapore. RELC Journal. 39: 51-76.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/ijalel.v.2n.1p.85
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
![Creative Commons License](http://licensebuttons.net/l/by/4.0/88x31.png)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
2012-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.
International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the journal emails into your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.