Investigating the role of vocabulary size in second language speaking ability

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 540-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takumi Uchihara ◽  
Jon Clenton
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Expert Rating ◽  
L2 Speaking ◽  
Vocabulary Assessment ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

The current study investigates the extent to which receptive vocabulary size test scores can predict second language (L2) speaking ability. Forty-six international students with an advanced level of L2 proficiency completed a receptive vocabulary task (Yes/No test; Meara & Miralpeix, 2017) and a spontaneous speaking task (oral picture narrative). Elicited speech samples were submitted to expert rating based on speakers’ vocabulary features as well as lexical sophistication measures. Results indicate that vocabulary size was significantly associated with vocabulary rating. However, learners with large vocabulary sizes did not necessarily produce lexically sophisticated L2 words during speech. A closer examination of the data reveals complexities regarding the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and speaking. Based on these findings, we explore implications for L2 vocabulary assessment in classroom teaching contexts and provide important suggestions for future research on the vocabulary-and-speaking link.

scholarly journals Elicited metaphoric competence in a second language: a construct associated with vocabulary knowledge and general proficiency?

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
David O’Reilly ◽  
Emma Marsden
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Language Play ◽  
Thinking Ability ◽  
Vocabulary Depth ◽  
Metaphor Use

Abstract The extent to which the ability to use metaphor in a second language– metaphoric competence (MC) - relates to well-attested language proficiency components has implications both for understanding second language (L2) competence and for pedagogy. Building on previous enquiries (Azuma 2005) and extending a vocabulary size and depth research agenda (Qian 2002; Schmitt 2014) to the realm of MC, the present study sought to disentangle the relationships between six elicited MC constructs, reliably established by O’Reilly and Marsden (2021), two standardised L2 proficiency measures, and established vocabulary size and depth measures. With 108 Mandarin learners of L2 English, partial correlation analyses showed unique relationships between specific MC and proficiency measures, evidence of what these learners could do with metaphor at various proficiency levels, and how sparse references to metaphor in proficiency descriptors (e.g., CEFR) might be more precisely interpreted. Multiple regression analyses showed that Read’s (1993, 1998) Word Associates Test, a vocabulary depth measure, was closely linked to all types of MC, particularly productive control (Henriksen 1999) and Metaphor Language Play (O’Reilly and Marsden 2021). The findings point to the centrality of different (but related) types of associative thinking ability in metaphor use and language learning more generally (Carroll 1993; Littlemore 2001, 2002, and 2008; Littlemore and Low 2006a). Future research implications and pedagogical reflections are provided.

scholarly journals Vocabulary Size and Depth of Knowledge: A Study of Bahraini EFL Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Adel W. Alqallaf ◽  
Madani O. Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
University Of Bahrain ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates the size and depth of vocabulary knowledge and its relationship to the general language proficiency of EFL learners. The study sample included 120 students from the University of Bahrain. The sample was randomly selected from the student population and split into two groups in terms of their level of English: intermediate and advanced. The study aims to answer four questions: (1) What is the effect of general language proficiency on the sizes of the receptive and productive vocabularies of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (2) How does general language proficiency affect the depth of vocabulary knowledge of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (3) What is the relationship between receptive and productive vocabularies and the depth of vocabulary knowledge? and (4) What is the relationship between vocabulary size and the nature of lexical networking? All the students in the sample completed three vocabulary tasks. The first two tasks were Meara and Jones’s Eurocentres Vocabulary Size Test (1990) and Meara and Fitzpatrick’s Lex30 word association task (2000), which were used to measure the sizes of receptive and productive vocabularies. The third task was Gyllstad’s COLLEX test (2007), which was used to investigate the depth of vocabulary knowledge. A quasi-experimental approach was adopted using a quantitative approach to analyze the data. The data of the study were analyzed by comparing the results of the two groups in relation to the three tasks using SPSS 16.0. The findings of the study have revealed that general language proficiency has a positive effect on learners’ receptive vocabulary size, a moderate effect on learners’ productive vocabulary size, and a very low effect on the depth of vocabulary knowledge. In addition, no relationship was shown between the size of vocabulary and the nature of lexical networking. With reference to these results, pedagogical and future research recommendations are made.

LexITA: A Quick and Reliable Assessment Tool for Italian L2 Receptive Vocabulary Size

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Amenta ◽  
Linda Badan ◽  
Marc Brysbaert
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Reliable Assessment ◽  
Proficiency Assessment ◽  
Lexical Competence

Abstract In language and second language acquisition research, it is important to have a measure for tracking the proficiency level of participants. Lexical competence is fundamental for communicative purposes in a given language, and vocabulary tests are a reliable measure to assess lexical proficiency. That is why vocabulary tests have a central role in language proficiency assessment. Although many people study Italian as second language (L2), an easy-to-use vocabulary test to measure lexical proficiency is still missing. In this work, we aim to fill this gap by presenting LexITA, which is an objective, reliable, and quick assessment of Italian receptive vocabulary. LextITA was validated on students of Italian L2 and showed to be a valid measure to assess vocabulary knowledge of L2 speakers spanning different levels of proficiency.

A Study on Lexical Sense Relations from the Perspective of Vocabulary Breadth and Word Frequency

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 988
Author(s):  
Xiaoli Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Acquisition ◽  
Word Meaning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Substantial Extent

In second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition, breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge are two indispensable components that interrelate with each other to a substantial extent. Breadth of vocabulary is actually vocabulary size. Lexical sense relations, part and parcel of depth of vocabulary, are reported to be able to facilitate the mastery of L2 words. Word frequency concerns the familiarity of words. The present research intends to make a synthetical analysis of the development of L2 word meaning under the influence of vocabulary size and word frequency in classroom settings. The merging of qualitative and quantitative aspects of words is to describe exhaustively how students fit the words into their mind, and to provide some pedagogical implications to L2 vocabulary teaching and learning.

scholarly journals Context, word, and student predictors in second language vocabulary learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
EVELIEN MULDER ◽  
MARCO VAN DE VEN ◽  
ELIANE SEGERS ◽  
LUDO VERHOEVEN
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Levenshtein Distance ◽  
Context Word ◽  
Learning Gain ◽  
English Sentence ◽  
Contextual Support ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

ABSTRACTWe examined to what extent the variation in vocabulary learning outcomes (vocabulary knowledge, learning gain, and rate of forgetting) in English as a second language (L2) in context can be predicted from semantic contextual support, word characteristics (cognate status, Levenshtein distance, word frequency, and word length), and student characteristics (prior vocabulary knowledge, reading ability, and exposure to English) in 197 Dutch adolescents. Students were taught cognates, false friends, and control words through judging sentences with varying degrees of semantic contextual support using a pretest/posttest between subjects design. Participants were presented with an English target word and its Dutch translation, followed by an English sentence. They were instructed to judge the plausibility of the sentence. Mixed-efffects models indicated that learning gains were higher for sentences with more semantic contextual support and in students with stronger reading comprehension skills. We were the first to show that Levenshtein distance is an important predictor for L2 vocabulary learning outcomes. Furthermore, more accurate as well as faster learning task performance lead to higher learning outcomes. It can thus be concluded that L2 study materials containing semantically supportive contexts and that focus on words with little L1-L2 overlap are most effective for L2 vocabulary learning.

scholarly journals The Influence of French on Vocabulary Knowledge of Arabic-speaking University students learning English as a Foreign Language: A Melting Pot

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Adela Talbi Hassani
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Growth Pattern ◽  
Vocabulary Learning ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Moderate Increase ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
Progressive Growth

Purpose: The present study investigated the extent to which background knowledge of the French language could influence English vocabulary learning among EFL university students in Algeria. More specifically, the possible cross-linguistic influence in this context was researched in relation to the growth pattern of the receptive written vocabulary size across the three years of the undergraduate course. Methodology: A cross-sectional research design was used for a total number of 184 EFL Algerian university students. The written receptive vocabulary size was measured using Nation's Vocabulary Size Test (2007) which contained many words with similar orthographic forms as their French equivalents. A comparison between the results of the whole population made it possible to establish the progressive growth pattern from Year 1 to Year 3 of the degree course. Results: Besides a moderate increase of vocabulary size from one proficiency level to the other, and an expected decrease pattern of knowledge from the most frequent English words to the least frequent ones, the positive cross-linguistic influence of French cognates was highly significant as it led to the knowledge of words that were beyond the expected level of most participants. Conclusion/Implication: The facilitative effect of French cognates for EFL learners in Algerian universities is, therefore, an area that instructors and syllabus designers can make use of to maximize the vocabulary learning process.

scholarly journals The Influence of Frequency on the Acquisition and Textbooks Design of Second Language Vocabulary

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Anwar Saad Aljadani
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Teaching Objectives ◽  
Dominant Feature ◽  
L2 Vocabulary ◽  
Selection Of

This paper provides an overview of the role of vocabulary frequency in second language (L2) acquisition as vocabulary is a dominant feature of language acquisition and vitally important to language learners. It reported the vocabulary frequency’s significant role in both the earlier acquisition and the easier remembering comparing to infrequent vocabulary in L2 acquisition. It also seeks to discuss the influence of frequency on the selection of vocabulary in L2 textbooks as they are sometime the only source of L2 vocabulary in the classroom. It presents discussions of what vocabulary should be selected, how selective vocabulary are organised in the textbooks to reach determined teaching objectives as well as the teaching rate pre lesson. 

scholarly journals A Study on the Relationship between English Reading Comprehension and English Vocabulary Knowledge

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-han Ma ◽  
Wen-ying Lin
Keyword(s):  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Word Association ◽  
Attitude Scale ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
English Reading

The present study aimed to investigate the overall and relative contribution of four subcomponents of vocabulary knowledge to reading comprehension. The four vocabulary subcomponents were vocabulary size, word association knowledge, collocation knowledge, and morphological knowledge. The participants were 124 college students from a university in Taipei, Taiwan. Six instruments were employed: (1) a reading comprehension test, (2) a vocabulary size test, (3) a test on word association knowledge and collocation knowledge, (4) a test of morphological knowledge, (5) motivation attitude scale, and (6) a self-efficacy scale. The results can be summarized as follows. First, after the effects of motivation and self-efficacy have been controlled, the four vocabulary subcomponents altogether contributed significantly (20%) to reading comprehension performance. Moreover, depth of vocabulary knowledge (including word association knowledge, collocation knowledge, and morphological knowledge) provided an additional explained variance (6%) in reading comprehension performance over and above vocabulary size. Finally, among the three subcomponents of depth of vocabulary knowledge, collocation knowledge explained the most proportion of variance (5.6%) in contributing to performance on reading comprehension. Based on these findings, some implications and suggestions for future research were provided.

Second language learning in the context of massively multiplayer online games: A scoping review

ReCALL ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (01) ◽  
pp. 92-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasser Jabbari ◽  
Zohreh R. Eslami
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Online Games ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Massively Multiplayer Online Games ◽  
Multiplayer Online Games ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
L2 Vocabulary

AbstractThis review examines the second language acquisition (SLA) literature with regard to the role of “massively multiplayer online games” (MMOGs) in second language (L2) learning. It focuses on commercially developed off-the-shelf (COTS) MMOGs only (some of them modified for educational purposes such as Reinders’ & Wattana’s work). It surveys the current empirical research to find out which aspects of L2 learning have been investigated, how they were studied, and what the findings suggest in relation to L2 learning opportunities and outcomes within and beyond MMOG contexts. We synthesized the findings of 31 studies reporting empirical evidence about the role of MMOGs in L2 learning. We observed that the empirical research in this area is mainly qualitative and that L2-related motivational and affective factors, L2 vocabulary, and learners’ communicative competence (or discourse management strategies) are the most widely investigated topics. Based on the findings, our paper presents a model that depicts hypothetical interrelationships among (a) MMOG designed settings, (b) the social and affective affordances provided in these settings, (c) L2 learning opportunities, and (d) the L2 learning outcomes achieved. We conclude that MMOGs provide socially supportive and emotionally safe (i.e. low-language-anxiety) environments that afford multiple opportunities for L2 learning and socialization, which, in turn, help L2 learners to enrich their L2 vocabulary repertoire and enhance their communicative competence in the target language.

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