ERIC Number: EJ1034327
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Jul
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-6001
EISSN: N/A
A Longitudinal Study of Receptive Vocabulary Breadth Knowledge Growth and Vocabulary Fluency Development
Zhang, Xian; Lu, Xiaofei
Applied Linguistics, v35 n3 p283-304 Jul 2014
This article reports results of a longitudinal study of vocabulary breadth knowledge growth, vocabulary fluency development, and the relationship between the two. We administered two versions of the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT; Nation 1983; Nation 1990; Schmitt et al. 2001) to 300 students at a Chinese university at three different time points over 22 months, with an interval of 11 months between each administration. The first version was administered in paper format to estimate participants' vocabulary breadth knowledge, and the second in computer format to assess their speed of meaning recognition. Results indicate a significant effect of frequency level on the rate of vocabulary breadth knowledge growth and vocabulary fluency development as well as a weak relationship between vocabulary breadth knowledge and vocabulary fluency that is affected by frequency level. Findings also suggest that vocabulary fluency development lags behind vocabulary breadth knowledge growth.
Descriptors: Longitudinal Studies, Vocabulary Development, Language Fluency, Language Tests, College Students, Foreign Countries, Word Recognition, Semantics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A