NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1198956
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0957-1736
EISSN: N/A
Exploring the Relationship between Productive Vocabulary Knowledge and Second Language Oral Ability
Uchihara, Takumi; Saito, Kazuya
Language Learning Journal, v47 n1 p64-75 2019
The current study investigated the extent to which L2 learners' productive vocabulary knowledge could predict multiple dimensions of spontaneous speech production. A total of 39 English as a foreign language (EFL) participants with varying L2 proficiency levels first completed a productive vocabulary knowledge task (Lex30). Their spontaneous speech, elicited via a series of picture description tasks, was then assessed for comprehensibility (i.e. ease of understanding), accentedness (i.e. linguistic nativelikeness) and fluency (i.e. speech rate). The findings showed that the productive vocabulary scores significantly correlated with L2 fluency, but not with comprehensibility or accentedness. These results suggest that more proficient L2 learners, as measured by productive vocabulary scores, may speak spontaneously with fewer pauses and repetitions, and at a faster tempo. Finally, future research directions are discussed with a focus on the relationships between vocabulary knowledge and speaking.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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: Japan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A