Article

Defining a Minimal Receptive Second-Language Vocabulary for Non-Native University Students: An Empirical Investigation

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Abstract

This study aimed to answer the question of how many words of the Dutch language, and which words, an adult non-native speaker needs to know receptively in order to be able to understand first-year university reading materials In the first part of this study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of a list of 23,550 words (lemmas), taken from a school dictionary, for a 42 million-word token corpus of contemporary written Dutch It was found that, using frequency as a criterion, text coverage substantially increased with up to 11,123 words (i e words occurring more than 100 times in the corpus), but not beyond In the second part of the study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of the same list of 23,550 words for a relatively small corpus of first-year university reading materials The percentage of tokens covered in this small academic corpus did not differ substantially from the percentage of tokens covered in the big corpus analysed in the first part The third part of the study consisted of the development and administration of a 140-item multiple-choice vocabulary test aimed at measuring test takers' receptive knowledge of 18,615 content words of the 23,550 word list This test was administered to (i) native speakers entering university as freshmen, (u) non-native graduate students, and (m) non-native prospective students taking a Dutch language entry examination test battery Extrapolations of the test scores showed that the average vocabulary size of these three groups of test takers was 18,800, 15,800, and 11,200 respectively It is concluded that the minimal vocabulary size needed for university studies is 10,000 base words Earlier Dutch studies, suggesting that knowledge of 3,000 or 5,000 base words would suffice, appear to have underestimated such a minimal vocabulary 1

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... often, the students' inability to understand the form or structure of the text constitutes a problem in reading instruction. Elements such as vocabulary, theme and length may well influence text comprehension (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). ...
... Students' fluency, proficiency and achievement in reading can be influenced by vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary knowledge plays a very crucial role in reading comprehension (Saville-Trioke, 1984;Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). o y a . ...
... This result disagrees with the findings of Saville-Trioke (1984) and oya, Manalo and Greenwood (2009) that students' vocabulary knowledge contributes significantly to achievement and interest in reading comprehension. Also, Hazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) reported that vocabulary knowledge contributes significantly to achievement and attitude in ESL/EFL classroom. on the interactive effect of treatment and vocabulary knowledge on students' achievement and interest in reading comprehension, the study revealed that there was no significant interaction effect of treatment and vocabulary knowledge on students' achievement and interest in reading. ...
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Reading is an indispensable tool for academic success globally and access to good quality of life in the 21 st century. As an aspect of English language instruction in Gambian schools, reading is not being properly taught and it is evident that students are losing interest in reading as the culture of reading is gradually fading away from schools. These problems have been identified as some of the factors responsible for the perennial mass failure in English language examinations. Therefore, this study examined the effect of Interactive Read-Aloud and Sustained Silent Reading Instructional Strategies on students' achievement and interest in reading. Also, the moderating effect of vocabulary knowledge on students' achievement and attitude was investigated. The study employed a pretest, posttest quasi-experimental design to test three null hypotheses using two treatment groups and a control. Results showed that Interactive Read-Aloud and Sustained Silent Reading had significant main effect on students' learning outcomes while vocabulary knowledge had no significant effect. Also, there was no interaction effect of treatment and vocabulary knowledge on learning outcomes in reading. Recommendations were made on how to improve the quality of instruction, students' achievement and interest in English language.
... Aynı şekilde Coady, Huckin (1997: 279) Yabancı dil öğretiminde dil öğrenenlerin söz dağarcığını zenginleştirmek için sözvarlığı öğretimi alanında yapılan araştırmalar ve kullanılan yöntemler, son derece önemlidir (McCarten, 2007: 20). Yabancı dil öğretimi alanında yapılan araştırmalar, bu önemi yansıtmaktadır (Bloomfield, 1933;Cameron, 2001;Coxhead, 2000;Grace, 1998;Hazenberg ve Hulstijn, 1996;Laufer, 1998;Liu, 2003;Nesselhauf, 2003;Prince, 1995;Schmitt, 2008;Schmitt ve diğerleri, 2017). Sözvarlığının yeterliliği, sadece sözvarlığı öğretimi çalışmalarında değil; diğer alanlarda da önemlidir. ...
... Hedef Sözvarlığı Listeleri Üzerine: Bakonyi, 1934;Brezina ve Gablasova, 2013;Chung, 2007;Coxhead, 2011;Coxhead ve Hirsh, 2007;Drużyłowska ve Walczak, 2017;Faucett ve diğerleri, 1932;Gardner ve Davies, 2014;Khani ve Tazik, 2013;Konstantakis, 2010;Kostomarov, 1963;Markina, 2011 Folse, 2004a;Graves, 2006;Laufer, 1997;Laufer, 1998;McCarten, 2007;Prince, 1995;Schmitt, 2008 vd. v. Ana Dili Konuşucuların ve Yabancı Dil Öğrenenlerinin Sözcük Dağarcıklarının Karşılaştırılması Üzerine: Bakeeva, 1957;Coxhead, 2006;Coxhead ve Hirsh, 2007;Hazenberg ve Hulstijn, 1996;Laufer, 1998;Liu, 2003;Nesselhauf, 2003;Schmitt ve diğerleri, 2017;Sökmen, 1997 vd. Tarihsel geçmişine bakıldığında, dil eğitiminde ders kitaplarının gelişim özelliklerine uygun hazırlanması gerektiği fikrinin ilk kez XVII. ...
Thesis
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Türkçenin yabancı dil olarak öğretiminde hedef sözvarlığının ana görevi, belirli bir eğitim aşamasında Türkçeyi öğretmek için sözcüksel temel sunmaktır. A1 dil düzeyi ders materyallerinden başlayarak her dil düzeyi için öğretilmesi gereken hedef sözvarlığının belirlenmesi ve hedef sözvarlığı listelerinin oluşturulması çalışmalarının gerçekleşebilmesi bilimsel bir dayanağın oluşturulmasına bağlıdır. Bu yönüyle alanyazına katkı sağlamak amacıyla, hedef sözvarlığı olgusunun ve hedef sözvarlığı belirleme süreçlerinin dilbilimsel, yöntembilimsel ve eğitbilimsel bakış açısıyla kapsamlı bir şekilde incelendiği bir çalışma olmadığı görülüp bu çalışmanın konusu olarak belirlenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, hedef sözvarlığının dilbilimsel, sözlükbilimsel, eğitbilimsel ve yöntembilimsel seçim ilkeleri ve yaklaşımlarını temel alarak, yabancı dil olarak Türkçe öğretiminde kullanılan A1 düzeyi dil setlerindeki sözlükbirimlerinin görünümleri ve istatistiki verilerini incelemek, bu tür çalışmalarda veri tabanının nasıl oluşturulması ve sözvarlığı unsurlarının hangi yöntemsel araçlarla hesaplanması gerektiğini ortaya koymaktır.
... This indicates that adequate vocabulary is required for effective language use. As for English, Hazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) suggested that in order to comprehend a university text in the language, university students must have vocabulary knowledge of 10000 to 11000 word families, implying that those with limited vocabulary knowledge may not be able to comprehend the contents of the reading materials. This may impair their learning and affect their academic progress As English is only the second or other languages for most people in Malaysia, students often face problems in their university studies because they do not have adequate vocabulary in the language. ...
... Research on English vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) have been quite replete and often revisited (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Laufer, 1997;Nguyen andNation, 2011, Kurgat, 2014;Sidhu and Mohamad Nor, 2020;Sasidaran, et al., 2021;Wong, et al., 2019;Ibrahim, et al., 2016). However, these studies mostly focused on vocabulary level, the strategies used in enhancing vocabulary acquisition, and its relationship with skills performance in the language like writing, speaking and listening in English. ...
... Recent research has pro- vided some evidence with respect to the question what constitutes a sufficient number of words for different tasks. For participating in an everyday conversation it is assumed a learner needs 2,000-3,000 of the most frequent English words (Adolphs and Schmitt 2003), whilst s/he needs 5,000 words to begin to read authentic texts (Schmitt 2007) and around 10,000 for starting an academic degree course (Hazenberg and Hulstijn 1996). Nation (2006) also investigated the vocabulary size of a group of highly educated L2-users of English who were studying advanced degrees through the medium of English and found that they knew around 8,000 to 9,000 word-families. ...
... There is some work on the lexical loading of texts which are set for university students to read, and the levels of vocabulary which are required for comprehension more generally, where much smaller estimates of the vocabulary needed by learners have been arrived at. Hazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) suggest that in Dutch a minimum of 10,000 words plus proper nouns and names would be needed for comprehension of university level texts. Nation (2006) in a study of the lexis in novels and newspapers concludes that knowledge of the 8,000 to 9,000 most frequent word families in the British National Corpus would be required to achieve the 98% coverage required for comprehension. ...
Chapter
The vocabulary knowledge of very young children learning their first language is considered crucial in influencing their subsequent educational attainment. Children whose upbringing results in a large vocabulary will tend to be educationally successful.
... Spesso l'incapacità degli studenti di comprendere la forma o la struttura del testo costituisce un problema nell'insegnamento della lettura. Elementi come il vocabolario, l'argomento e la lunghezza possono influenzare la comprensione del testo (Hazenberg, Hulstijn, 1996). Inoltre, il processo di apprendimento della lettura risulta essere una forma di composizione di significati a partire dal testo. ...
... Numerosi ricercatori suppongono che l'acquisizione del vocabolario sia un elemento essenziale nell'apprendimento della seconda lingua. La fluidità, la competenza e il rendimento degli studenti nella lettura possono essere influenzati dalla conoscenza del vocabolario, la quale gioca un ruolo molto cruciale nell'abilità di comprensione (Saville-Trioke, 1984;Hazenberg, Hulstijn, 1996). Oya, Manalo e Greenwood (2009) sottolineano l'importanza della conoscenza del vocabolario nella performance orale. ...
Book
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Il libro, che nasce dall’esigenza di fare il punto sui risultati e sui metodi della ricerca empirica relativa alla lettura ad alta voce, riproduce cinque studi condotti in diverse parti del mondo, scelti in modo da essere rappresentativi di differenti orientamenti e metodi di indagine, oltre che di prestigiose riviste internazionali ad accesso libero (open access) e peer reviewed. La diffusione in lingua italiana di questi contributi, introdotta da un sag- gio di Federico Batini su La lettura, i metodi di ricerca, l’importanza della condivisione (open access), la collaborazione internazionale, intende sol- lecitare anche nel nostro Paese insegnanti, studiosi e decisori ad attribuire un ruolo fondamentale alla didattica della lettura ad alta voce durante l’intero percorso di istruzione ed educazione, e non solo nella fascia infantile, su cui tendono a concentrarsi già da alcuni decenni le azioni educative e le attività di ricerca. Il futuro della lettura ad alta voce, se osservato dal particolare punto di vista della ricerca internazionale, sembra promettere, in risposta a una maggiore consapevolezza degli effetti dell’esposizione alla lettura, un’intensificazione delle indagini e un ampliamento del campo di applicazione didattica alle età scolari. Testi di Susan Ledger, Margaret K. Merga, Jennifer Kohart Marchessault, Karen H. Larwin, Oladotun Opeoluwa Olagbaju, Olubunmi Racheal Babalola, Emanuele Castano, Alison Jane Martingano, Pietro Perconti, Marloes Schrijvers, Tanja Janssen, Olivia Fialho, Gert Rijlaarsdam. Il volume è curato da: Federico Batini, professore associato di Pedagogia sperimentale all’Università degli Studi di Perugia. (Federico Batini è autore di oltre 350 pubblicazioni scientifiche; tra le ultime sui temi di questo volume si segnalano: Ad alta voce. La lettura che fa bene a tutti (Giunti, 2021) e, con S. Giusti (a cura di), Tecniche per la lettura ad alta voce (2021, FrancoAngeli); Lettura ad alta voce (Carocci, 2022). Dirige il Master in Orientamento Narrativo e Prevenzione della Dispersione scolastica (Dipartimento FISSUF, Università degli Studi di Perugia) e le riviste LLL (Lifelong Lifewide Learning) ed Effetti di Lettura (Cepell). Responsabile scientifico del progetto Leggere: Forte! Ad alta voce fa crescere l’intelligenza della Regione Toscana, del progetto nazionale Leggimi ancora (Giunti Scuola), del progetto Lettrici e Lettori Forti (Fondazione Cariparma) e di Ad Alta Voce Porta Palazzo (Riconnessioni-Fondazione Scuola) e del progetto Educare alla lettura Ad Alta Voce (Salone del Libro - Cepell).
... The recent interest in vocabulary teaching brought it to the centre stage of the language teaching process. The researchers declare vocabulary acquisition as synonymous to language acquisition (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Hu & Nation, 2000;Lessard, 2013). The success of the language learner depends upon the ability to learn vocabulary items of the target language. ...
... al., 2009;Milton, 2009;Ozturk, 2016). This number is also considered good because normally to fully comprehend English novels or English newspapers 8000 to 9000 words are required (Nation, 2006); whereas, for Academic reading normally a learner needs 10000 words vocabulary (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). That means increase of 500 words per year is good to proceed in 2 nd language. ...
Article
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The study evaluated the lexical utility of English 1 and English 2, English language textbooks, which are supervised, produced, and distributed by Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board. These are officially recommended (compulsory) textbooks for all public sector schools. The study calculated total number of words used (tokens) in the books along with different words (types) and headwords (families). It calculated the distribution of words introduced in the books in BNC-COCA levels of most frequently used words. The analysis was done using Compleat Lexical Tutor v.8.3 vocabulary profiler and its special advanced software VP-Compleat with criteria BNC-COCA-25. In addition, 'AntProfiler' software was used. Some manual calculations were also done. The analysis suggested the corpus of 993 words introduced in two books. These words mostly belonged to level 1 (69.68 percent), level 2 (14.9 percent) and level 3 (2.2 percent). Rest of the words belonged to levels from 4 to 14. The books need to increase number of words that fall under the first three levels of BNC-COCA 25and reduce the number of words from higher levels.
... Laufer (1989) suggests that 5,000 words is the minimum for effective use of reading strategies. Because academic texts can contain challenging new concepts, vocabulary coverage can be even more important, and researchers have suggested 10,000 words as a minimum requirement for reading academic texts (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). Others even suggest 15,000-20,000 words as a reasonable aim for speakers of English as an L2 in education or professional settings (Li & MacGregor, 2010). ...
... This may be one explanation for the relatively low use of reading strategies reported in L2 reading among Norwegian university students (Busby, 2018). For reading academic texts, researchers have proposed a minimum of 9,000 (Nation, 2006) or 10,000 (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996) word families to give the reader 'a reasonable chance at understanding' (Grabe, 2009, p. 271). This would mean that around half of the students in this sample could potentially experience difficulties when reading academic texts in English due to limited L2 vocabulary. ...
Article
This study investigated variation in receptive L2 English vocabulary among Norwegian university students in relation to their field of study and exposure to English, both within and outside of formal education. A survey comprising the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt, & Clapham, 2001) and questions about sources of language acquisition was completed by 189 Norwegian university students. The results indicate that vocabulary knowledge varied between students whose courses required different amounts of English reading. Extramural exposure to English was found to be a stronger predictor of vocabulary scores than formal English education. Since vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor of reading comprehension, it is important to consider how much the observed variation in vocabulary knowledge might affect academic outcomes
... By quantifying the approximate number of words a learner knows, and checking the frequency of the words featured in a text, researchers have set the minimum vocabulary size to understand different types of texts. Moreover, research has claimed that word frequency is the best measure available to assess the lexical quality of a text (Crossley, Cobb & McNamara, 2013), that the actual frequency of a word in a language might correlate with other dimensions of learners' linguistic proficiency, and consequently, that frequency should guide the selection of words for learners to study (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). ...
Thesis
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Second language listening causes situations of stress and negative perceptions among learners and teachers. Research has suggested that L2 listening and vocabulary knowledge are related. However, this relationship has been barely explored, and in most cases with inadequate instruments. This thesis is an attempt to bridge those gaps by examining the contribution of the language learners’ vocabulary size to their listening ability. A bilingual multiple-choice vocabulary test, based on the official vocabulary list in a standardized language exam, was created to assess the vocabulary size of L2-English learners. Its 81 items were delivered first orally, and then in writing. The ability to comprehend aural texts was assessed through the listening paper in the same standardized examination. 284 language learners took the vocabulary and listening tests. After an observation period of 35 weeks, the study participants were given the same tests. Both datasets were analyzed with the Rasch model to determine the participants’ abilities and the item difficulties. Evidence from data analyses supported the following findings: 1) A strong and positive relationship exists between L2 vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension. 2) Aural and written vocabulary knowledge are two dimensions that should be assessed and investigated separately, particularly in relation to listening comprehension. 3) Aural vocabulary knowledge is a better predictor of listening comprehension than written vocabulary knowledge, especially among language learners with comparatively weaker listening skills. 4) Knowing 71.71% of the words featured in a listening comprehension test is sufficient to answer 72% of its questions correctly. 5) Language learners increase their aural and written vocabulary size, and improve their listening ability after attending classes for about 35 weeks. This improvement is particularly acute among lower-level learners. Based on these results, L2 learners, teachers and researchers should focus more on the aural form of words to improve listening comprehension.
... The term' breadth of vocabulary knowledge' describes the words an individual knows and is frequently used to assess their vocabulary size Qian [48]. Hazenberg and Hulstun [52] and Schmitt [53] explore this dimension. The quality of a person's word knowledge is closely linked to the depth of their vocabulary as stated by Read [54]. ...
Article
Word recognition is a cognitive activity widely acknowledged as a hallmark of fluent L2 readers. Understanding a text can only be accomplished with the ability to decode printed words efficiently. Another factor affecting students' comprehension is vocabulary. Therefore, this research aims to investigate whether there is any significant relationship between word recognition strategies and vocabulary knowledge among Iraqi university students. This study made use of four instruments to collect the data. A comprehensive framework for evaluating students' vocabulary proficiency consists of two tests: one measures the reception and production of vocabulary information and the other assesses orthographic coding and phonological decoding procedures. The results show that the respondents use both strategies to an average degree with over-reliance on the orthographic one in recognizing English words by employing a descriptive correlational research design with 400 respondents. Furthermore, a positive relationship was observed between word recognition strategies and vocabulary proficiency.
... A wide range of research has consistently indicated that certain and different vocabulary sizes are necessary to complete different language tasks (e.g. Adolphs & Schmitt, 2003;Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Laufer, 1988;Nation & Waring, 1997). For example, 2,000Á3,000 word families are required for basic daily conversation (Laufer, 1988), and 5,000 word families are the threshold to embark on independent reading of authentic texts (Laufer, 1988). ...
Article
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The paper presented a newly conceived vocabulary size test based on pictorial cues: Pictorial Vocabulary Size Test (PVST). A model-based (1-2-3 parameter logistic item response theory model comparisons) approach was taken to check which model could absorb the most information from the data. Junior high school and primary school students participated in the study (N 1,354). Subjects’ ability estimates and item parameter estimates were computed based on expected a posteriori (EAP) method, one type of Bayesian method. BILOG-MG 3 was adopted to execute parameter estimates and model comparisons. The results showed that the 3PL-IRT model best fit the empirical data. It was then argued that test takers’ English vocabulary size could be best captured under the 3PL-IRT model, as not only the discrimination parameter, but also the guessing parameter has a fundamental role to play in consideration of the test format adopted in the PVST. The article concluded that the PVST could have positive washback effects on test development and English vocabulary instruction.
... Previous studies on vocabulary acquisition in general have focused on vocabulary and language proficiency (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Hu & Nation, 2000), vocabulary and lexical frequency (Coxhead, 2000;Hu & Nation, 2000;Nation, 2001), explicit versus implicit learning (Ellis, 1994), and incidental versus intentional learning (Ellis & He, 1999;Horst, Cobb, & Meara, 1998;Kelly, 1986;Qian, 1996). Although over 30 years of research in L2 vocabulary acquisition has been promoted (Bogaards & Laufer-Dvorkin, 2004), several linguistic and pedagogical-related factors that can impact vocabulary instruction and acquisition remain unexplored-for example, understanding how lexical 1 connections develop and how lexical features 2 may be decisive for L2 development (Ard & Homburg, 1983;Dressler, 2001;Hancin-Bhatt & Nagy, 1994;Nagy, 1993). ...
Article
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Cognates have been heavily incorporated into second language (L2) vocabulary instruction as they share form and meaning across languages and have demonstrated an advantage for learning. The present article aims to measure the effects of explicit, cognate, derivational-driven instruction in L2 Spanish. 49 intermediate-low Spanish learners participated in the experiment and completed a pre- and post-lexical decision task in Spanish, followed by a language history questionnaire. 25 learners composed the explicit instruction group and 24 composed the control group. Results from a three-way ANOVA (2x4x2) analyzing reaction times and accuracy demonstrate that both explicit and control groups process cognates and non-cognates faster in the post-test. However, participants in the explicit instruction group process cognates less accurately and non-cognates more accurately in the post-test, which could be attributed to the activation of formal lexical features of the instruction intervention. Results are interpreted in light of the nature of L2 instruction and lexical representation.
... The promotion of incidental vocabulary learning is often associated with extensive reading activities where learners naturally derive vocabulary from leisure reading (Choi et al., 2014;Huckin & Coady, 1999). Although it generally concurs that this activity provides grounds for extensive lexical development (Chun et al., 2012;Nation & Wang, 1999;Waring & Takaki, 2003), reservations persist as the practicality of this practice is often crippled by several factors, including limited attentional resources (Schmidt, 1994), print conditions (Jiang, 2000), word density (Hu & Nation, 2000), the strength of contextual clues (Nagy, Anderson, & Herman, 1987), and language proficiency (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). Facilitation of incidental vocabulary learning in reading activities, thus, necessitates an answer to these problems, to which end glosses are devised. ...
Article
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While previous studies suggest that textual glosses presented along with reading text facilitate deeper textual understanding and vocabulary uptakes, the extent to which such effects vary in different conditions remain obscure. Employing a quantitative research design, the authors specifically focused on the interplay between glossing languages (L1 and L2) and learners’ language proficiency (intermediate and advanced), and the effects of glosses on learners’ textual comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning. In this study, 180 learners were divided into two groups according to their proficiency level (intermediate or advanced). Within each group, the treatment conditions (control, glossing in native language, and glossing in second language) provided the foundation for further division into three sub-group of 60 students. ANOVA and t-test analysis show that the use of glosses led to deeper comprehension and incidental vocabulary learning. Two-way ANOVAs indicate that L1 glosses generated deeper comprehension and recall ability in intermediate learners than L2 glosses, and inversely, advanced learners performed better in reading and vocabulary tests when given L2 glosses. Finally, the authors proposed some implications for vocabulary learning and teaching in accordance with the relative differences in L1 and L2, and intermediate and advanced levels.
... Learners need to acquire a couple of thousand words for basic language proficiency. Estimates of the number of words required for academic purposes range from 5000 words for reading general texts (Laufer, 1997) to 10,000 words for understanding specialized academic texts or university textbooks (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). Acquiring such a large vocabulary often poses a challenge to many, if not most, language learners. ...
Article
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Background As the concept of flipped classrooms continues to gain interest across disciplines, more research is needed to strengthen the instructional design by integrating active learning strategies and emerging technologies. Among various possibilities, little is known about how game‐based learning combined with Augmented Reality (AR) can be effectively infused into language education to establish supportive flipped learning contexts. Objectives This study thus proposed an AR‐enhanced game‐based learning (ARGBL) approach, featuring the use of an augmented board game to engage students actively in classroom activities. It further compared the effects of the proposed approach with traditional game‐based learning on the students' vocabulary acquisition and creative thinking as they were instructed to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) in flipped classrooms. Methods A quasi‐experimental design was adopted to examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach to promote the students' participation in flipped in‐class activities, thereby improving their learning outcomes. Participants were recruited from two classes of the same undergraduate course, one of which was designated as the experimental group to take part in game‐based learning activities in class by playing an AR‐enhanced board game, and the other as the comparison group to learn by playing a paper‐and‐pencil game with identical puzzle content. The desired student learning outcomes were measured by pre‐ and post‐intervention vocabulary tests and creative thinking tests, supplemented by individual interviews. Results Results indicated that the students in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in vocabulary acquisition and creative thinking. They also expressed positive perceptions of the augmented game‐based learning experience in the flipped EFL classroom. Take Away ARGBL can be a promising approach to improving student learning, and it is particularly beneficial to the design of classroom activities in flipped learning contexts due to its affordances for enriched content visualization and active learner engagement through gameplay.
... All of the words had a logarithmic frequency of > 1.25, meaning that there were at least 17 counts on a total of 44 million tokens. Moreover, all of the words -apart from bergbeklimmer ('mountaineer') and versturen ('to send') -appeared in theHazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) list of 23,550 basic Dutch words. Berg ('mountain'), beklimmen ('to climb') and sturen ('to send') were listed amongst the 23,550 basic Dutch words. ...
Article
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Second language proficiency may be related to first language acquisition (Ganschow & Sparks, 1991), but relatively little is known about the relation between first and second language grammatical proficiency in primary school children who are in their first stages of foreign language learning. This study aims to determine whether differences in Dutch and English vocabulary and Dutch grammar skills predict differences in English grammatical proficiency in Dutch speaking children who are in grade 4 in primary school. The selected participants are monolingual Dutch pupils (N = 152), aged 9;0–10;0. To measure the children’s vocabulary the PPVT was used in Dutch (Schlichting, 2005) and in English (Dunn & Dunn, 2007). In addition, two grammar tasks in English and one in Dutch of the CELF (Semel et al., 2003) were used. The results show that English vocabulary is a strong predictor of English grammar skills, and that the Dutch vocabulary skills are weaker predictors of English grammar skills. Moreover, Dutch grammar skills predict English grammar skills for one of the grammar tasks. These results are discussed vis-à-vis hypotheses about cross-domain transfer and cross-linguistic transfer (Blom et al., 2012; Cummins, 1979; Ganschow & Sparks, 1991; Paradis, 2011; Sparks, 1995).
... Lessons were developed weekly by a team of developers at the CED Group and were based on recent news articles (i.e., texts that had been issued the week before) about subjects related to students' everyday life (e.g., sugar in energy drinks, abdication of the Dutch queen, or 20 years of text messaging). The use of topical, interesting texts was assumed to increase students' task motivation (Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000;Schiefele, 1999). The teachers could download the lessons from the program website (www.nieuwsbegrip.nl) and were made available every Monday evening of the week. ...
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Prior studies suggest that teaching reading strategies promotes reading comprehension in adolescents who have difficulties with reading comprehension, yet the results of those studies are mixed. Individual differences in students’ vocabulary knowledge may explain these mixed results. This article examines to what extent vocabulary knowledge influences the effect of a two-year intervention program focused on teaching reading strategies to adolescents with low academic achievement in the Netherlands. We hypothesized that students (N = 310) with different levels of vocabulary knowledge would respond differently to the treatment, given that vocabulary knowledge is an important factor in reading comprehension. Results showed that vocabulary knowledge moderated the effect of the treatment, suggesting that low vocabulary knowledge negatively affected the impact of an intervention focused on reading strategies. Vocabulary knowledge, thus, emerges as a prerequisite for the successful leveraging of a reading strategy intervention. Students with low vocabulary knowledge may experience cognitive overload when attempting to apply newly learned reading strategies while simultaneously trying to find out the meaning of multiple unfamiliar words needed for successful application of reading strategies.
... More than two decades later, Laufer and Ravenhorst-Kalovski (2010) employed the strict score of 134/150, which was nearly 90%, on the Psychometric Entrance Test created by the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation (NITE) in Israel and re-confirmed the two thresholds of lexical coverage (95% and 98%) needed for reading comprehension. It is interesting that although different criteria were used to define reading comprehension, either 55% (Laufer, 1989), 70% (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Staehr, 2009) or even 90% (Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010), these studies all agreed with the relationship between the above-mentioned lexical coverages and reading comprehension. In an influential study that examined the link between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension, van Zeeland and Schmitt (2013) emphasized that 95% coverage was the coverage for "good but not necessarily complete comprehension," while 98% was the ideal coverage for "very high comprehension." ...
Article
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The abstract is an integral part of a scientific paper. Despite the importance of abstracts, very little research has investigated the vocabulary size needed to read abstracts in scientific papers. This present study analyzed the lexical profile of 26 million words from approximately 100,000 scholarly abstracts across 10 major subjects of science. The results showed that the vocabulary size of the most frequent 7,000 and 15,000 word families in the British National Corpus/Corpus of Contemporary American English (BNC/COCA) word list plus proper nouns, marginal words, transparent compounds, acronyms were needed to gain 95% and 98% coverage of the abstract corpus, respectively. However, data from cross-disciplinary analyses demonstrated significant differences in the lexical demands between abstracts of different fields of study. The 570 word families in the Academic Word List were found to make up for 13.77% of the words in the corpus. Implications for the use of abstracts in language classrooms were discussed.
... A second set of issues with respect to the assessment of L2-learners' vocabulary size derives from the instruments employed in the estimations. Research has claimed that word frequency is the best measure available to assess the lexical quality of a text (Crossley et al., 2013), and consequently it should guide the selection of words for learners to study (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). By quantifying the approximate number of words a learner knows, and checking the frequency of the words featured in texts, L2 researchers have attempted to set the minimum vocabulary size necessary to understand different types of texts. ...
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Language learners’ vocabulary size is a reliable predictor of their success in a second language as it clearly correlates with better performances in the target language. Being precise in those estimations is paramount to plan language teaching. However, the instruments employed by previous studies for those estimations might present validity and reliability issues that affect their research sensitivity and accuracy. This paper presents a step-by-step account of the creation of an aural and a written version of a bilingual vocabulary test. Test was delivered to 73 adult L1-Spanish students attending English classes. Their answers were analysed with Rasch model to determine the best performing items in the test so that the overall reliability of the instrument was enhanced. The final version of the test presents high levels of reliability: .89 for the listening vocabulary test and .82 for the written vocabulary test. Furthermore, descriptive statistics confirm that recognizing the words in their aural form is more challenging than in their written form: participants got 10.80% fewer correct answers in the listening vocabulary test. This finding confirms the claim that aural and written vocabulary are two separate dimensions, and impacts on how vocabulary should be taught in L2 classrooms.
... Although her study was not initially aimed at discovering characteristics of good readers, Parry's study did reveal that in respect to vocabulary growth, successful readers guess less but simply read much more, thus exposing themselves to many more words in meaningful contexts. As for vocabulary size for fluent L2 reading in the Dutch context, Hazenburg & Hulstijn (1996) maintained that an L2 Dutch reader needs a minimum of 10,000 headwords to read university-level texts successfully. ...
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In higher education, reading of academic texts is considered as an essential access to scientific knowledge. Therefore, in this survey study will utilize the inventory of Survey on Reading Strategies Questionnaire (SOR) developed by Mokhtari and Sheory. It is explored to identify the two types of readers: high (HPR) and low (LPR) proficient readers at Form Sixth Cenre of Government School in Sabah, Malaysia. There are three major reading strategies: GLOB (Global), SUPP (Support) and PROB (Problem Solving) strategies. This quantitative approach is done by operating the descriptive (mean and standard of deviation) and inferential (Magnitude of effect) statistics. 250 participants from pre-university students randomly selected to respond to the questionnaire The questionnaire finding revealed that PROB strategy was favoured by both readers. To strengthen scrupulous answer, Effect size had given a better interpretation of the finding. The questionnaire provided all reading strategies to be negative effect to the high proficient readers (HPR) yet large positive effect to the low proficient readers (LPR).
... Many educators may agree that developing vocabulary may be of primary importance for increasing language fluency-as well as for increasing listening and reading comprehension. Nevertheless, despite the fact that educators have been discussing vocabulary teaching and learning for decades, until now there has been no common consensus on the number of words speakers of foreign languages (L2 speakers) need to know to be considered fluent; how vocabulary should be taught, or most effectively learned; or based on what principles target vocabulary needs to be selected by educators (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Carter & McCarthy, 1988, p. 2013. Moreover, once a learner develops a working grammatical framework, expanding vocabulary in order to express and understand complex ideas becomes of paramount importance. ...
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The present study investigated the effectiveness of using plesionyms, or near-synonyms, as a vocabulary teaching tool in the English as a foreign language classroom and attempted to determine at what level of proficiency this technique could be incorporated. 40 Estonian university students who were enrolled in three different ESP courses participated in the study. The students were divided into 4 groups according to their level of proficiency: one experimental and one control group consisted of B1 level students; and one experimental and one control group consisted of B2 level students. The experimental groups learned the vocabulary in plesionymic pairs by discussing the differences as well as the similarities between near-synonyms. Meanwhile, the control groups learned the same words non-adjacently, meaning that the words were taught independently and neither differences nor similarities between words were discussed. Based on the findings, it was concluded that teaching vocabulary through plesionymic pairs facilitates immediate recall and long term memory retention among B2 level students. This vocabulary teaching method could be considered more effective at more advanced levels of proficiency.
... In the literature of L2 vocabulary research (e.g. Goulden et al., 1990;Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Laufer, 1988;Laufer & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, 2010;Schmitt & Schmitt, 2014), different vocabulary size thresholds have been proposed as requirements for L2 learners to fulfil. For instance, in an early study, Laufer (1988) suggests that 2000-3000 word families are needed for basic daily conversation and that a higher vocabulary threshold such as 5000 word families is required to embark on independent reading of authentic texts. ...
Chapter
A considerable amount of research on formulaic language has been devoted to compiling lists of lexical patterns frequently used in various forms of discourse (e.g., Simpson-Vlach & Ellis, 2010). Such lists are based on the premise that learning common core features of a particular register, such as academic writing, would contribute to gaining control of the type of discourse commonly used in that register. However, registers are often characterized by certain variables (e.g., text type), which can give rise to internal communicative variation within them. This raises the question of whether the items included in general service lists are versatile enough to account for internal variability within registers. The present study set out to address this question by examining whether, and to what extent, the Academic Formulas List (AFL) (Simpson-Vlach & Ellis, 2010) holds up to its promise as an all-purpose list for EAP and writing in tertiary education. In doing so, the BAWE corpus was employed as a representative collection of university student writing. Computer programs were then developed to calculate the frequency of occurrence of AFL items in assignments in BAWE. Following this, mixed-effects modelling was used to examine the extent to which the use of AFL items in university student assignments remains consistent across different disciplinary domains and assignment types, and whether the use of these items develops as students progress through their university education. Mixed-effects models were used because of their flexibility in addressing unbalanced data designs (such as that of BAWE) and handling individual variation between students in writing their university assignments. The patterns that emerged from our analyses provide evidence that the substantial variation in the extent to which students from different academic domains draw on such resources as the AFL undermines the assumption that teaching common core features of academic writing can be equally useful for all students engaged in tertiary education.
... Presented in Table 3, the first highly studied topic among CALL publications in Iran is the study of vocabulary learning. In line with the international reviews of applied linguistics in general (Lei & Liu, 2018), and CALL (Gillespie, 2020) or MALL (Hwang & Fu, 2018;Elaish et al., 2017) in particular, vocabulary has always been among the top highly studied topics, especially in the case of non-native speakers (Hazenberg & Hulstun, 1996;Hwang & Fu, 2018;Shadiev & Yang, 2020). Following the focus on vocabulary, similar to the highly studied topics in international MALL and CALL (Shadiev et al., 2017;Wang & Vásquez, 2012), psychological and affective factors have received special attention in the literature of Iran-based CALL. ...
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Many countries all around the world have significantly contributed to the development of the multidisciplinary field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL). Thus far, several international reviews have demonstrated a worldwide view of CALL. However, the analysis of the development of CALL in individual countries, especially the highly contributing countries, is still under-researched in the related literature. The Islamic Republic of Iran has been identified as one of those contributing countries for which there is no record of the trends of CALL. Accordingly, the present integrative review tried to investigate how the field has been developed from its official emergence in 2007 up to 2019 in Iran. A total of 687 publications were scrutinized regarding the publication year, types of research, highly/poorly studied topics, key theories/models, context and sample participants, and key technologies. Contrary to many publications and the overall increasing trend of CALL, fluctuations in the number of publications resemble an unsteady trend of CALL in Iran. Extensive focus on quantitative methods and adult language learners at universities and language institutes, the repetitive study of some specific topics, lack of theoretical basis for the studies, and lack of studies on teachers and languages other than English are found as central concerns in Iran-based CALL. Based on the findings, we offered some implications to support transferring emergent CALL to established CALL in Iran.
... Anderson and Freebody (1981) report that this hypothesis is supported by evidence from a number of L1 areas. Hazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) have studied the extent to which word frequency can be used to predict word knowledge. One might expect that the most frequent words are known by all students, whereas more infrequent words are known only by particular individuals, depending on variables such as hobbies, work and experiences. ...
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English instructors at Jazan University continuously claim that students who join university often suffer from extremely poor English. Students find it difficult to communicate with their teachers. This study assumes that the main problem can be attributed to little vocabulary size. Nation and Beglar’s (2007) “Vocabulary Size Test” is used to investigate the students' vocabulary size in first and second 1000 most frequent words in English. 525 preliminary year students from three different colleges participated in the study. Results revealed remarkably low achievement in the test with the majority of students. The study suggests that the adoption of vocabulary-rich syllabuses will enhance overall proficiency in English and hence better chances of success at university.
... That is, the design initially provided effective vocabulary learning support that improved participants' comprehension of academic text, and then enabled them to read and write independently using words for academic purposes. The results are promising, given that the 10,000 level should be acquired if university ELLs are to tackle the challenges of comprehending academic textbooks competently and widely across disciplines (Hazenberg & Hulstun, 1996). Nation (2006) reported that receptive vocabulary knowledge of 8,000-9,000 word families is necessary for university ELLs to study for advanced degrees if 98% coverage of a text is needed for independent reading. ...
Article
Despite the growing body of technology-assisted vocabulary intervention studies, few have addressed learning outcomes beyond target vocabulary and the interaction between the interventions and English language learners’ (ELLs) initially different levels of vocabulary knowledge. The study examined the differential effects of a texting-based intervention on ELLs’ learning of target (direct effect) and general vocabulary knowledge (transfer effect) as a function of learners’ initial vocabulary levels. Canadian undergraduate ELLs (N = 115) participated in a 9-week intervention study. The findings showed that texting-based instruction effectively supported university ELLs’ acquisition of academic vocabulary; varied direct and indirect learning outcomes were found given learners’ different initial vocabulary levels. These results provide insights into the design of future vocabulary interventions by considering the complex interactions between learners’ initial vocabulary knowledge and the technology scaffoldings used for interventions.
... However, the problem exists prior to the students enrolment into universities. Research indicates that pre-varsity students need to have at least 3,000 words to understand authentic texts and 10,000 words when beginning tertiary studies [2]- [3]. Their listening comprehension is also dependent on the lexical coverage they have, depending on the level of comprehension required. ...
... A 60-item receptive multiple-choice test was used to assess vocabulary size (Andringa, Olsthoorn, van Beuningen, Schoonen, & Hulstijn, 2012). The test by Andringa et al. (2012) consists of a selection of items from Hazenberg and Hulstijn's (1996) test for second-language speakers of Dutch and new items that make the test suitable for native speakers. Target words were presented on a computer screen (Courier, font size 15) in neutral carrier sentences (e.g., the target word mentaliteit ["mentality"] was presented in the carrier phrase "Wat een vreemde mentaliteit!" ...
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Previous literature has identified several cognitive abilities as predictors of individual differences in speech perception. Working memory was chief among them, but effects have also been found for processing speed. Most research has been conducted on speech in noise, but fast and unclear articulation also makes listening challenging, particularly for older listeners. As a first step toward specifying the cognitive mechanisms underlying spoken word recognition, we set up this study to determine which factors explain unique variation in word identification accuracy in fast speech, and the extent to which this was affected by further degradation of the speech signal. To that end, 105 older adults were tested on identification accuracy of fast words in unaltered and degraded conditions in which the speech stimuli were low-pass filtered. They were also tested on processing speed, memory, vocabulary knowledge, and hearing sensitivity. A structural equation analysis showed that only memory and hearing sensitivity explained unique variance in word recognition in both listening conditions. Working memory was more strongly associated with performance in the unfiltered than in the filtered condition. These results suggest that memory skills, rather than speed, facilitate the mapping of single words onto stored lexical representations, particularly in conditions of medium difficulty.
... In theory, 80% appears a lot but the rest 20% matters when it comes to deal in real-life situations. Hazenberg and Hulstijn (1996) marked 3000 words needed for a learner to follow 95% of the most ordinary texts. This applies in general comprehension, as it involves guessing, which is quite different from full comprehension. ...
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Language skills depend on the meaning of words and the knowledge of the subject/context. The meanings of words that shape the true understanding of contexts are needed to experience language as a real-life activity. College students in Saudi Arabia struggle to develop desired proficiency in the English language that is required to further advance in their academic endeavours. It has been observed that even the minimum vocabulary level is far to be realised as reality, which consequently has posed a challenge for the various stakeholders to find the most effective strategies for Saudi learners. The present study tries to unfold the basic components which are needed to be in order first before considering the other related factors. In this study, a total of 85 male and female students were asked first appear for the vocabulary test, required to assess if they have achieved their desired levels. Their academic achievement in the specialised vocabulary course and their achievement in the standardised test have been compared with their strategies for language learning. The differences in the responses of the high achievers and the low achievers observed and found that high achievers give importance to all the strategies equally well, whereas the low achievers just focus on meta-cognitive and memory strategies. The results open up new dimensions for the teachers as well as the learners to choose and implement the best practices suited as per their academic and non-academic needs. Besides this, the other stakeholders like material developers, curriculum designers, educators and trainers will also have a macro picture of inside and outside of classrooms so that they could narrow down on the associated elements (motivation, learners’ autonomy, socio-cultural contexts etc.).
... Besides, ESL learners are also expected to cope with academic texts whereby the majority of those texts are written in the English language. Many researchers have contended that undergraduates need to have a repertoire of 3,000 word families to understand authentic texts at university, and 10,000 word families to read and comprehend academic textbooks successfully (Laufer, 1992;Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). However, the many research in Malaysia indicates that many, if not most, Malaysian undergraduates are not even close those figures (Kaur, 2013;Lim, 2014;Harji et al., 2015;Ibrahim et al., 2016;Mokhtar & Mohd Rawian, 2016;Lateh et al., 2018;Zuriyani & Mohamed Ismail, 2019). ...
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Low proficiency ESL learners often encounter a lot of learning problems, particularly due to their lack of vocabulary, which is evident in their incorrect usage of words. This study was an attempt to aid 85 low proficiency ESL learners to easily comprehend the forms and functions of 80 target words, selected from the 2000 level General Word List, using the syntactic tree structure approach. Prior to the intervention, a vocabulary test based on 80 words, which were later introduced to the students in their course book, was administered to the students. The same test was given again to the students upon the completion of the third lesson. To determine the possible significant influence of the intervention, the pre-test and post-test data were analysed using the paired-samples t-test. The analysis yielded a significant result (t (84) = 7.31, p < .05 (two-tailed)). When the students’ mean test scores of the two tests were compared, a statistically significant increase of 7.5 points was observed, implying the success of the intervention. The calculated effect size was also large (ŋ=.39). However, since no control group was introduced in the study, caution should be taken in making any strong claims on a causal relationship.
... Interest in such learning strategies has continued to grow for some decades, ever since communicative language teaching (CLT) began gaining popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. Historically, it was assumed that learners simply pick up vocabulary incidentally, due to input exposure, rather than necessarily, through explicit instruction (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996). However, research in this field has focused on identifying the general types of strategies that are linked to successful learning as well as with implementing these strategies to more specific language learning areas, such as the development of L2 vocabulary (Schmitt, 1997). ...
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Understanding students’ learning strategies is important for teachers and researchers since they try to develop a learning environment that stimulates high-quality learning outcomes. To this end, the present study examines a sample of 218 EFL students on BA, MA, and Ph.D.s of English language studies at an Iranian university. It was an attempt to find out if learners with different levels of academic degrees differ significantly in using vocabulary learning strategies. To this end, the participants answered open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires of Vocabulary Learning Strategies. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative analysis, results revealed significant differences between undergraduate and postgraduate students’ usage of vocabulary learning strategies. However, there was no significant difference between MA and Ph.D. students in their use of vocabulary learning strategies. Indeed, exploring the vocabulary learning strategies use of English language students can reveal individual differences in vocabulary learning among students, and encourage EFL teachers and curriculum developers to design materials and activities which would help the learners improve their vocabulary learning.
... Although we were unable to identify research work that examined the transfer effect of texting-based vocabulary intervention on general vocabulary knowledge, we postulated that the positive transfer effect could be due to careful intervention design. The 10,000 frequency level should be acquired if university ELLs are to deal with the challenges in academic context in English-medium environment, for example, comprehending academic textbooks without assistance (Hazenberg & Hulstun, 1996). ...
Conference Paper
This article reports on a vocabulary intervention using text messaging to enhance undergraduate English language learners' vocabulary knowledge. To our knowledge, this study was the first to examine the transfer effect of a texting-based academic vocabulary intervention on the general vocabulary for university ELLs studying in an English-medium environment. A total of 80 undergraduate students from a large Canadian university participated in the study. During a nine-week intervention, participants were sent three words daily through text messages. The intervention was found effective in enhancing the participants' general vocabulary at the 5000 vocabulary level for those who had a relatively low initial vocabulary level status (i.e., not mastered the 3000 frequency level), but not effective for those who has a high initial vocabulary level status (i.e., mastered the 3000 frequency level). Major themes of research findings are identified and recommendations are made for future research.
... One of the areas of language teaching that can benefit from WhatsApp is vocabulary, which is the single most important aspect of second-language learning (Knight, 1994). Some researchers argue that secondlanguage (L2) readers must be familiar with more than 90% of the words used in order to achieve an adequate understanding of academic texts (Groot, 1994;Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Hirsh & Nation, 1992;Laufer, 1989). However, teaching a large amount of vocabulary in class is not feasible as it takes away the time needed for students to learn other language skills (Groot, 2000). ...
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Social networking applications have emerged as potential new tools for enhancing second language vocabulary learning. The current study explores the development of academic vocabulary knowledge of English as a foreign language (EFL) students using WhatsApp compared to the traditional method of vocabulary instruction. It also aims at investigating students’ perceptions about the use WhatsApp in learning vocabulary. Forty Arab EFL students at the elementary level enrolled at a public university in the Arabian Gulf region participated in the study. Twenty one participants belonging to the same class were randomly assigned to the experimental group. They completed and submitted their vocabulary assignments which consisted of looking up the meanings of new words in a dictionary and building a sentence using each word and submitting their sentences via WhatsApp. Nineteen students from another class were assigned to the control group. They had to submit the same homework assignment using the paper and pencil method. Data were collected using pretest-posttest design. Results of t-test scores indicated that WhatsApp group significantly outperformed the traditional group on a vocabulary test. Furthermore, results of a questionnaire that gauged participants’ perception of the use of WhatsApp in learning vocabulary show that generally participants have positive attitudes towards learning new vocabulary items via WhatsApp. Implications for teaching and future research are discussed.
... The RAVL can potentially serve as a useful tool for L2 learners in becoming a part of the Russian academic community. Primarily, it can increase the reading comprehension of Russian academic materials, as scholars generally agree on the direct correlation between vocabulary knowledge and reading proficiency (Hazenberg & Hulstijn, 1996;Malmström, Pecorari & Shaw, 2018;Nagy & Townsend, 2012). At the same time, according to Yamamoto (2014), the benefits of vocabulary list learning are not limited to receptive gains. ...
Article
To date, attempts at empirically validating a construct of academic vocabulary in the form of a frequency list in languages other than English remain conspicuously absent in peer‐reviewed journals. This study aims to close this gap by using Russian as a case study to develop an academic vocabulary list and prove its viability through a variety of data science methods, including cross‐validation and out‐of‐sample coverage. Our findings support the utility of such a construct in Russian and its potential impact on teaching Russian for academic purposes.
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ذا كانت دراسة المعارف المعجمية ولوقت طويل هي مجال علماء النفس والنفسانيين اللسانيين فإنه قد تطور في سنوات الثمانينيات اهتمام متنام لدراسة المعارف المعجمية وتعلم المعجم، وفي هذا المقال سأفحص بداية - انطلاقا من اهتمام أولئك باللسانيات التطبيقية - النتائج التي تحصل عليها كثير من الباحثين ضمن اللسانيات النفسية فيما يخص المعجم الذهني، ثم أصف نتائج سلسلة من البحوث التي أنجزت فيما يخص نجاعة عدد من العوامل مثل السياق والأصوات والصورة في مجال تعلم الكلمات، وأخيرا أعرض نتائج دراسة حديثة منجزة بجامعة أمستردام تتعلق بأهمية مختلف هذه العوامل.
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Background and Aim: This study investigated the potential correlation between vocabulary knowledge, as measured by the updated Vocabulary Levels Test (Webb, Sasao & Ballance, 2017), and performance across three distinct sections of the TOEIC reading part—namely, incomplete sentence, text completion, and reading comprehension. Materials and Methods: A total of 88 undergraduate students participated in the study, and their scores underwent analysis through Pearson Correlation and Standard Multiple Regression tests. Results: The findings indicated a significant correlation between performance in two TOEIC test components (incomplete sentence and reading comprehension) and overall proficiency as measured by the updated Vocabulary Levels Test. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the vocabulary knowledge assessed by the updated Vocabulary Levels Test serves as a robust and meaningful predictor for incomplete sentence and reading comprehension types in the TOEIC test.
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Past studies have highlighted the importance of correlating vocabulary size with language skills. It was observed that these studies were unable to examine this relationship among IELTS Test Takers. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between receptive vocabulary size and the productive language skill ie, speaking skills of IELTS Test Takers in Pakistan. It followed the model of a correlational study. So, to test the hypothesis, measures of band scores of IELTS speaking tests were collected from a sample of 125 undergraduate IELTS Test Takers. The data was analyzed statistically by using SPSS. Receptive vocabulary was calculated by using VST (Vocabulary Size Test) by Nation and Beglar (2001). These measures of IELTS test scores and Vocabulary size test were analyzed through simple linear regressions. T-test showed a statistically significant relationship between male and female test-takers
Chapter
Vocabulary development is a complex process, and for L2 learners exposure to the target language is limited to the classroom. Therefore independent work on the vocabulary is necessary for these students to achieve vocabulary development and acquire the related skills. This entry discusses the importance of direct and indirect language‐learning strategies and how instructors can teach certain strategies in the classroom to help their students build vocabulary independently. Students can then use those strategies outside the classroom when acquiring vocabulary on their own.
Article
Past studies have highlighted the importance of correlating vocabulary size with language skills. It was observed that these studies were unable to examine this relationship among IELTS Test Takers. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between receptive vocabulary size and the productive language skill i.e., speaking skills of IELTS Test Takers in Pakistan. It followed the model of a correlational study. So, to test the hypothesis, measures of band scores of IELTS speaking tests were collected from a sample of 125 undergraduate IELTS Test Takers. The data was analyzed statistically by using SPSS. Receptive vocabulary was calculated by using VST (Vocabulary Size Test) by Nation and Beglar (2001). These measures of IELTS test scores and Vocabulary size test were analyzed through simple linear regressions. T-test showed a statistically significant relationship between male and female test-takers. Females performed better in VST as compared to male test-takers. Mann-Whitney test for speaking skills showed that the results were not significant and there was no statistically significant relationship in the speaking scores of males and females. The relationship between VST and speaking skills was found to be non-significantly regressed with a 33.6% variance in speaking skills.
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The aim of this investigation has been to predict Viewing Comprehension through Aural and Picture Vocabulary Size among Iranian EFL Learners. To this end, 110 intermediate students were selected from two institutes of a city in Khorasan Razavi province, Iran. Pictorial vocabulary knowledge of learners was tested by Picture Vocabulary Size Test, Aural vocabulary knowledge was measured by Aural vocabulary size test and viewing comprehension was tested by a multiple-choice question test. All analyses were carried out using SPSS for Microsoft windows 22. Pearson product moment correlation analysis was run to analyze the relationship among viewing comprehension, picture vocabulary size and aural vocabulary. After the correlation analysis, we did step-wise multiple regression analysis to predict an outcome variable from two predictors. Interestingly, it was found that both picture and aural vocabulary size have a significant positive correlation with viewing comprehension. It was also proved that only aural vocabulary size can be considered as a significant predictor of EFL learners' viewing comprehension ability.
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The current study presents the Czech General Service List (CGSL), which was designed to capture the core vocabulary of written and spoken Czech which is useful to Czech as a second language learners (CSLLs). The CGSL is a result of robust comparison of five Czech language corpora (SYN2020, csTenTen17, Koditex, ORALv1, and ORTOFONv2) containing over 12 billion running words. These five corpora represent a variety of corpus sizes, designs, and text types of both written and spoken Czech. This study investigates the overlap between the top 10,000 words in these corpora based on their normalized average reduced frequency (ARFn), which is a measure that takes into consideration both frequency and dispersion. This study also investigates the overlap and rank correlation between words from the written and spoken corpora, respectively. Significant differences were found between words used in written and spoken Czech, so the CGSL was built to contain three types of words: 1) core words of Czech, 2) core words of written Czech, and 3) core words of spoken Czech. Finally, this study compared the words on the CGSL to words on pedagogical wordlists from Czech textbooks designed for L1 English speaking CSLLs and found there to be significant differences between the two. This suggests that future CSL materials informed by the CGSL might have a different effect on Czech learning than the currently existing CSL materials.
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This research paper tried to evaluate the department of English students' vocabulary size by using Nation Vocabulary size tests (VST). The study used a sample of the third level students at the department of English-Faculty of Education-Aden at the University of Aden in three categories according to their academic achievement in the class (High =80-100, Medium= 70-79.99 and Low =less than 69.99). To measure the vocabulary size, the researcher used on Nation and Beglar (2007) (14000) vocabulary size test. Based on the analysis of students correct answers in the VST, the study found that students' vocabulary size ranges between 1000-8000 words with variant percentages. It was found that (80%) of third level students vocabulary size (high 08-100 and medium 70-79.99) is in the range (1000-3000), (76%) of third level students vocabulary size (high 08-100) is in the range (1000-5000) and (51%) are in the range (1000-8000). The study found that (59%) of third level students (medium 70-79.99) are in the range (1000-5000) and (40%) of them are in the range (1000-8000). The third level students (low, less than 69.99) recorded the lowest size by (50%) in the range (1000-3000), (41%) in the range (1000-5000) and only (21%) are in the range (1000-8000). Considering the total word size of the three categories together, the study found that (70%) are in the range (1000-3000), (59%) range in the range (1000-5000) and (37%) are in the range (1000-8000).
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The article presents an empirical study that investigates the single-and cross-modality relationships between different dimensions of receptive vocabulary knowledge and language skills, as well as the importance of academic vocabulary knowledge in academic listening and reading comprehension. An Updated Vocabulary Levels Test (UVLT), a Vietnamese version of the Listening Vocabulary Levels Test (LVLT), an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) listening test and an academic IELTS reading test were administered to 234 tertiary level Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). Research findings showed that (1) orthographic and aural vocabulary knowledge were strongly correlated (r = .88) and of equal significance to L2 listening and reading comprehension, (2) receptive vocabulary knowledge was a very powerful and reliable predictor of learners' receptive language proficiency, (3) knowledge of academic vocabulary strongly correlated with academic listening (r = .65) and reading (r = .60) comprehension and the mastery of the Academic Word List (AWL) could suggest a band score 6.0 in both the IELTS listening and academic reading tests.
Article
Low-achieving adolescents are known to have difficulties with reading comprehension. This article discusses whether principles of reciprocal teaching can improve low-achieving adolescents' reading comprehension in whole-classroom settings and to what extent treatment effects are dependent on implementation quality. Over the course of two years, experimental teachers (n = 10) were given training and coaching aimed at using principles of reciprocal teaching, while control teachers (n = 10) used their regular teaching method. Observations of teacher implementation were focused on instruction of reading strategies, modeling, and support of group work, and were performed in both experimental and control classes, comprising a total of 238 students (grade 7). The study shows that overall, there is no effect of the treatment on adolescent low-achievers' reading comprehension. Interestingly however, the principle of modeling positively moderated the effect of reciprocal teaching In addition, results suggest that the quality of implementation of reciprocal teaching in whole-classroom settings should receive more attention.
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Роль чтения при обучении как иностранному языку, так и любой другой дисциплине трудно переоценить. На самых ранних этапах образования учащийся прежде всего учится читать, а письменный текст в традиционной системе образования является основным источником информации. Развитию навыков чтения на школьном этапе образования уделяется очень большое внимание. Но что же происходит со вчерашними школьниками, когда они поступают в университет? Насколько они готовы к обучению с точки зрения уровня сформированности навыков чтения? Какими инструментами измерить этот уровень? Нужна ли им дальнейшая поддержка по развитию навыков чтения? Если нужна, то каких именно? И насколько уровень сформированности навыков чтения на родном языке влияет на способность читать тексты на иностранном языке? Особенно в условиях, когда иностранный язык является основным языком обучения? Какова роль чтения в этом случае? Это далеко не полный перечень вопросов, с которыми сталкиваются преподаватели иностранных языков в современном университете. В данной монографии предпринимается попытка ответить на эти и другие вопросы, связанные с обучением чтению на иностранном языке в университете.
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Research has shown the viability of computerized adaptive testing (CAT) as a valid and efficient approach to measuring the English vocabulary knowledge. However, the CAT theta of vocabulary knowledge obtained may become inflated and over-estimated when a certain number of vocabulary items are over-exposed. Hence, due to the potential risk of over-exposure of test items, the aim of the study sets out to examine the effects of different levels of item exposure control upon the precision of vocabulary size estimate as well as precision of CAT diagnostic classification rate (pass/fail) regarding a predetermined vocabulary size threshold. In total, 200 Taiwanese junior high school students were recruited to take part in the study. The results of the study showed that both the mean theta values and the mean standard errors among the three CAT exposure control conditions did not statistically differ from one another. Nevertheless, the results of the study further revealed that a strict exposure rate posed a great challenge to stably and precisely reach a statistical decision upon granting pass/fail for the predetermined vocabulary size threshold. Implications for CAT-based vocabulary assessment were further discussed.
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This study was conducted to explore the relationship between Chinese freshmen’s vocabulary knowledge and their reading comprehension, addressing the following questions: (1) To what extent is there a relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension? (2) How does the breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge relate to reading comprehension? (3) Which aspect contributes more to reading comprehension? Vocabulary Size Test, Word Associate Test, and a Reading Comprehension Test were used to collect data from 57 Chinese freshmen. Two-tailed Pearson Correlation and Multiple Regression Analyses were employed to analyze the data obtained. Results showed that (1) There were significantly positive correlations between participants’ vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension; (2) The breadth of vocabulary knowledge correlated and (3) contributed more to reading comprehension than depth. These findings provided empirical support for the significance of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension and practical implications for teaching and learning English as a second language.
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Reading in a foreign language is believed to be both a reading problem and an L2 problem. It is still unclear, however, how the two factors interact in determining the reading results in L2. The study investigates how L2 reading is affected by L2 proficiency as reflected in the learners’ lexical level on the one hand and by hidher general academic ability (including the reading ability in Ll) on the other hand. Sixty four EFL learners took part in the study. For each subject, three scores were compared: vocabulary size in L2, general academic ability, and L2 reading. The results show that 1, with vocabulary size of fewer than 3000 word families (5000 lexical items), no amount of general ability will make the learner read well; 2, with vocabulary size of 5000 word families (8000 lexical items), reading in L2 will be satisfactory whatever the general ability; 3, with vocabulary size of 3000–4000 word families (about 5000–6500 lexical items), L2 reading may or may not be influenced by general ability. Practical implications of the results are suggested.
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The idea of a word family is important for a systematic approach to vocabulary teaching and for deciding the vocabulary load of texts. Inclusion of a related form of a word within a word family depends on criteria involving frequency, regularity, productivity and predictability. These criteria are applied to English affixes so that the inflectional affixes and the most useful derivational affixes are arranged into a graded set of seven levels. This set of levels and others like it have value in guiding teaching and learning, in standardising vocabulary load and vocabulary size research, in investigating lexical development and lexical storage, and in guiding dictionary making.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 35-43) Supported in part by the National Institute of Education under contract no. US-NIE-C-400-76-0116
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