Exploring the Interplay of Vocabulary Size, Depth, and Reading Performance among Engineering Students in an ESP Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/ajet.v2i4.2011Keywords:
Vocabulary, Vocabulary Size, Vocabulary Depth, Reading Performance, ESP ContextAbstract
The primary objective of this research is to examine the impact of vocabulary size and vocabulary depth on reading performance in an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) context. To this end, we administered three tests to a group of 92 engineering students enrolled at the National Graduate School of Arts and Crafts (ENSAM) in Meknes, Morocco. The tests included the Vocabulary Size Test developed by Nation and Beglar (2007), the Words Associate Test designed by Read (1998), and a reading performance test with a high-reliability score of .87. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis using linear regression and Pearson correlation. The findings revealed significant correlations between both vocabulary size and vocabulary depth with reading performance. Interestingly, the results indicated that vocabulary depth exhibited a stronger predictive association with reading performance compared to vocabulary size.
Downloads
References
Anderson, R. C., & Freebody, P. (1981). Vocabulary knowledge. In J. Guthrie (Ed.), Comprehension and teaching: Research reviews (pp. 77-117). Newark, Del.: International Reading Association.
Beglar, D. (2010). A Rasch-based validation of the vocabulary size test. Language Testing, 27(1), 101-118. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532209340194
Bonk, W. J. (2000). Second language lexical development and vocabulary strategy use. Applied Linguistics, 21(1), 24-44.
Durrant, P. (2019). Vocabulary and English for Specific Purposes Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Perspectives. Averil Coxhead. London, England: Routledge, 2018. Pp. x+ 199. TESOL Quarterly, 53(1), 279-280.
Henriksen, B. (2006). The relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension in the L2. Angles on the English-speaking world: Writing and vocabulary in foreign language acquisition, 129-147.
Hu, M., & Nation, I. S. P. (2000). Vocabulary density and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 13(1), 403–430.
Hirsch, D., & Nation, P. (1992). What vocabulary size is needed to read unsimplified texts for pleasure? Reading in a Foreign Language, 8, 689-689.
Laufer, B. (1992). How much lexis is necessary for reading comprehension. Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics, 126-132.
Laufer, B. (1996). The lexical plight in second language reading: Words you don’t don’t know, words you think you know, and words you can’t can’t guess. In J. Coady & T. Huckin (Eds.), Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition (pp. 20-34). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Laufer, B., & Ravenhorst-Kavovski, H. (2010). Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ learners’ vocabulary size, and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 15-30.
Milton, J., & Hopkins, N. (2006). A model of the lexical dimension of language. Birkbeck Studies in Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 1-18.
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). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P. (2006). How large a vocabulary is needed for reading and listening? Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(1), 59-82.
Nation, I. S. P., & Coady, J. (1988). Vocabulary and reading. In R. Carter & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary and language teaching (pp. 97-110). London: Longman.
Nation, I. S. P., & Beglar, D. (2007). A vocabulary size test. The language teacher, 31(7), 9-13.
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension. Canadian Modern Language Review/La revue canadienne des langues vivantes, 56(2), 282-308.
Qian, D. D. (2002). Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective. Language learning, 52(3), 513-536.
Read, J. (1998). Validating a test to measure depth of vocabulary knowledge. In V. Berry, B. Adamson, & W. J. Herdman (Eds.), Unlocking the ivory tower: Papers from the University of Reading’s Reading’s First International Conference on L2 Reading (pp. 155-171). Reading: Centre for Language Studies.
Read, J. (2000). Assessing vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2008). Review article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research, 12(3), 329-363.
Schmitt, N., Xiang Ying, W., & Grabe, W. (2011). The percentage of words known in a text and reading comprehension. The Modern Language Journal, 95(1), 26-43.
Wallace, C. (2007). Critical reading in language education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
West, M. (1953). A general service list of English words. London: Longman, Green & Co.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nor-Eddine Azalmad
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
