Depth of Vocabulary Knowledge

Vocabulary is an essential element of a language and one of the major points of the second language (L2) education. Although Sri Lankan officials have tried to enhance their English, the students are faced with L2 vocabulary acquisition difficulty, which reflects on their language acquisition. This is mixed-method research that focuses on the efficiency of both intentional and incidental vocabulary acquisition with 60 intermediate learners of English as a second language with the course of study at Aquinas College, Colombo, and also investigates their perceptions towards L2 vocabulary learning. The sample size of 60 was split into two groups of 30, and their knowledge of vocabulary was measured before and after interventions by means of the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) tests. Besides, 20 learners have been selected purposely to participate in semistructured interviews. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis and SPSS 23.0. Quantitative findings imply that intentional vocabulary learning is more efficient compared to incidental one. Qualitative data provides information on the reasons as to why learners participate in learning, learning cum teaching strategies, and challenges as well as improvement inputs. Such results have great implications for teachers to enhance the vocabulary stock of the learners and mastery of English.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension among Iranian EFL learners. The participants in this study were 50 EFL learners who were selected randomly from among intermediate learners in Adib Language Institute in Ardabil, Iran. To collect data, learners were given two tests. One of them measured the depth of vocabulary knowledge (WKT), and the other one was a reading comprehension test which required them to read different passages and answer multiple choice questions. The results of this study showed that there was a strong positive relationship between depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension skill. The implications of this study can be that teachers and learners should take into account the role of vocabulary knowledge depth in their teaching, and learning, respectively.

Vocabulary breadth refers to the number of words that a language user (or learner) knows. • Breadth of vocabulary knowledge assessment includes receptive and productive tests measuring knowledge of the form- meaning connections of words. • Vocabulary depth refers to how well a word is known. • Depth of vocabulary assessment measures one or more aspects of lexical knowledge (e.g., word parts, associations, collocations).

Pragmatics is described as the use of language appropriately in diverse and real circumstances to achieve various communicational goals. Despite the significant importance of pragmatic knowledge, second/foreign language learners have been reported to lack acceptable levels of pragmatic competence. To optimize pedagogical techniques implemented in complex. Although mastery over this set of cognitive-linguistic skills can be used as a tool to disentangle semantic clues in different contexts, teaching such cognitive-linguistic and metalinguistic skills can only partially meet the learners' need to master pragmatic knowledge. Pertinent suggestions and implications for the second/foreign language classrooms are discussed according to the obtained results.

Presently, the main study skills many Japanese EFL students rely on are massed practice, repetition, and writing when it comes to vocabulary acquisition. McCarthy (as cited in Gu, 2003) stated, “the purpose of vocabulary learning should include both remembering words and the ability to use them automatically in a wide range of language contexts when the need arises." The theory of desirable difficulty (Bjork and Bjork, 1992) states that the harder one has to work to retrieve a memory, the greater the subsequent spike in retrieval and storage strength. Spaced-repetition and interleaving are two study skills which incorporate the desirable difficulty effect and could lead to stronger vocabulary acquisition; giving students the ability to recall words automatically when the need arises. Encouraging and teaching students how to use these skills will lead to deeper vocabulary acquisition and language improvement. 1. Japanese EFL students’ vocabulary study methods There have been num...

Learning vocabulary is one of the major problems for foreign and second language learners. It has been neglected or considered as a secondary emphasis in English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language programs. Since many researchers Twaddle (1973) Wilkins (1974) and Judd (1978) claim that little importance has been given to vocabulary in the language class. Learning a language mainly involves learning its grammar, vocabulary, and how to use them in appropriate way. Vocabulary is an important component in leaning a language. Hill, (2005: 1) said that "Vocabulary has long been considered an important element in language learning. It may be considered as 'the building block to communication." Wilkins (1974:111) states, "Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed". All the statements mentioned above suggest that, words are identified as one of the essential components of a language, and essential for any form of communication to materialize either it is written or spoken.

This study examined the relationship between the breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge among Tanzanian learners who use English as a foreign language. It employed a convergent parallel mixed-methods design which simultaneously collected qualitative and quantitative data from a sample of 320 secondary school learners from Dodoma City and Chamwino District and eight English language teachers with at least five years of teaching experience. The study employed two different language tests, namely the New Vocabulary Levels Test and the Word Association Test, to collect quantitative information on the breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge, respectively. It used semi-structured interviews with the selected English language teachers to obtain qualitative data to supplement the quantitative data. A Pearson correlation coefficient indicated a positive relationship between breadth scores and depth scores; as breadth scores increased, depth scores also increased. The results imply that ...

This study investigated whether Lexical Inferencing (L1) and Morphological Instruction (MI) can significantly affect EFL learners' reading comprehension, furthermore, it also examined their effects on the learners' vocabulary retention over time. 60 homogeneous EFLlearnerswere randomly assigned to two experimental and a control groups. After the pre-test, participants of the first experimental group received lexical inferencing strategy training for six 45-minute sessions. The second experimental group was also provided with a morphological instruction for six 45-minute sessions, and as for the control group, the participants followed their regular reading comprehension course. After the treatment, two post-tests with a short time interval were administered to the three groups and the obtained data were fed to different statistical tests to spot the probable differences among the three groups' first post-test performance as a measure of their learning differences and the second post-test performance as a measure of the learners'vocabulary retention differences over time. Results of the paired t-tests showed that lexical inferencing instruction had a statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension development. On the other hand, it was found that morphological instruction had no statistically significant effect on EFL learners' reading comprehension development. The ANOVA analyses revealed that there was no statistically significant difference between the effects of lexical inferencing and morphological instruction on EFL learners' reading comprehension development. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the effects of lexical inferencing and morphological instruction on EFL learners' reading comprehension development over time.

Research in literature reports the importance of L2 vocabulary and syntactic knowledge on the learners' reading comprehension. In this regard, the current study investigated the role of vocabulary knowledge that is disunited into depth and breadth dimensions and syntactic knowledge in the reading comprehension scores of an advanced cohort of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. In particular, this study examined the relationship of vocabulary knowledge (with its two dimensions) and syntactic knowledge with reading comprehension scores of 30 Turkish EFL learners and the extent to which these knowledge types explain the variance in reading comprehension scores. Measures of vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, syntactic knowledge and reading comprehension were used. The data analysis procedure included the descriptive statistics, Pearson product-moment correlations and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that the depth of vocabulary knowledge predicts the L2 reading comprehension the best when the effect of vocabulary size and syntactic knowledge is controlled. These findings are discussed at the end of the study with future research suggestions and limitations.

This study makes an attempt to investigate the correlations between manifold aspects, namely both syntagmatic and paradigmatic relations, the four major derivative word forms, which represented morphological knowledge, six dimensions of analytic relations (i.e. component-integral, member-collection, portion-mass, stuff-object, feature-activity, and placearea) of vocabulary depth knowledge and academic reading comprehension among English as a Foreign Language learners at tertiary level. To this end, ninety one students from three departments of Business school and sixty four Engineering students (two departments) took part voluntarily in three depth of vocabulary knowledge tests and one reading comprehension test, which consisted of three reading passages with followed multiple choice questions. Results showed that firstly, analytic relations, which represented depth of vocabulary knowledge was positively and significantly correlated with reading comprehension. In other words, those ...

The present study investigates the effect of task repetition and individual differences on Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ lexical use and fluency in oral task performance. The study adopts a within-subjects design with forty students performing the same narrative task twice. Students also completed two prior vocabulary knowledge tests (i.e., a receptive size test and a productive level test) and two working memory tests (i.e., a backward-span task and a Vietnamese-version operation-span task). Lexical complexity was measured in two aspects (i.e., lexical sophistication and lexical diversity). Fluency was assessed in terms of articulation rate. Unlike previous studies, our study surprisingly did not reveal an effect of task repetition on lexical complexity and fluency. Interestingly, prior vocabulary knowledge and working memory appeared to be good predictors of learners’ lexical complexity and fluency.

Depth of vocabulary knowledge (DVK) (i.e. how much a learner knows about the words he knows) is typically conceptualized as a psychologically multidimensional construct, including various forms of word knowledge. Read's Word Associates Test (WAT) is the most common test of DVK in the literature, assessing knowledge of words' synonyms and collocates. Despite the fact that the WAT aims to measure two dimensions of vocabulary knowledge, no studies until now have investigated whether these dimensions are psychometrically distinct. The present study seeks to fill that gap. A known-reliable-and-valid WAT developed by David Qian was administered to 530 Japanese university English majors. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to investigate the psychometric dimensionality of the WAT. It was discovered that a bifactor model, wherein the primary explanatory factor is a vocabulary g-factor, with additional, uncorrelated factors for synonym and collocate items, demonstrated the best fit. This finding implies that although these dimensions of DVK may be somewhat distinct, they are largely subsumed by general vocabulary knowledge.

This paper explores the potential of a neural network in language assessment. Many examination systems rely on subjective judgments made by examiners as a way of grading the writing of non-native speakers. Some research (e.g. Engber, 1995. The relationship of lexical pro®ciency to the quality of ESL compositions. Journal of Second Language Writing 4(2), 139±155) has shown that these subjective judgements are in¯uenced to a very large extent by the lexical choices made by candidates. We took Engber's basic model, but automated the evaluation of lexical content. A group of non-native speakers of French were asked to produce a short text in response to a picture stimulus. The texts were graded by French native speaker teachers. We identi®ed a number of words which occurred in about half the texts, and coded each text for the occurrence and non-occurrence of each word. We then trained a neural network to grade the texts on the basis of these codings. The results suggest that it might be possible to teach a neural network to mimic the judgements made by human markers.

The present study investigates the effect of task repetition and individual differences on Vietnamese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' lexical use and fluency in oral task performance. The study adopts a within-subjects design with forty students performing the same narrative task twice. Students also completed two prior vocabulary knowledge tests (i.e., a receptive size test and a productive level test) and two working memory tests (i.e., a backwardspan task and a Vietnamese-version operation-span task). Lexical complexity was measured in two aspects (i.e., lexical sophistication and lexical diversity). Fluency was assessed in terms of articulation rate. Unlike previous studies, our study surprisingly did not reveal an effect of task repetition on lexical complexity and fluency. Interestingly, prior vocabulary knowledge and working memory appeared to be good predictors of learners' lexical complexity and fluency.

The present study sought to explore and identify vocabulary learning strategies that lead to the attainment of depth of vocabulary knowledge in a second language.  For the purpose, 110 Bulgarian language learners of English took Qian and Schedl’s (2004) depth of vocabulary knowledge test and completed a related survey. After dividing the sample into a limited knowledge group and a superior knowledge group, the data were analyzed through discriminant function analysis which showed eight vocabulary learning strategies as significantly associated with the superior knowledge group. These strategies were named  linguistically-driven strategies since they involve regular attention to linguistic features, including: paradigmatic associations (synonyms, antonyms), morphological structure (prefixes, roots, and suffixes), syntagmatic associations (collocations) and pronunciation. The results suggest that regular use of linguistically-driven vocabulary learning strategies helps build deep know...

Vocabulary has been accepted as an important aspect of language learning in many studies. In the light of these studies in literature, the purpose of the present study is to evaluate the general and academic lexical competence and performance of preparatory class students at School of Foreign Languages, Kütahya Dumlupınar University. Within this aim, the current study investigated the students' general and academic receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge and their interrelationships among each other. The participants of the study included 94 preparatory class students who were going to major at Department of English Language and Literature. Through multiple test technique, two different vocabulary tests, a writing task, and a speaking task were implemented. According to the results, the students had large general and academic vocabulary size and depth. However, they mostly preferred high frequency words more than low frequency words and academic words. Moreover, their scores in productive vocabulary were lower than their receptive vocabulary knowledge scores. Therefore, it was observed that they could not reflect their lexical competence in their lexical performance.

The aim of this study is to determine the effects of vocabulary size and vocabulary depth on reading performance in EFL context. To this end, Vocabulary Size Test by Nation and Beglar (2007), Words Associate Test by Read (1998), and a reading performance test, the reliability of which was found to be .81 were administered to 361 university students. In the analysis of the data, linear regression and Pearson correlation statistics were used. The results showed that vocabulary size and vocabulary depth were both significantly correlated to reading performance, but vocabulary depth predicted reading performance better.

Vocabulary is part and parcel of learning a second or a foreign language. This study examined the effect of vocabulary learning through a translation of English words (Persian equivalents) and the use of English synonyms on the retention and retrieval of vocabulary. Static-group comparison design was utilized to scrutinize sixty EFL learners split into two groups. The experimental group was instructed on the memorizing strategies and the control one was left alone to memorize words presented in class in a week time span. The experimental group being taught coding, interim device, and visual imagery strategies was assayed on the spot by dint of written word recognition tests for their receptive knowledge of synonyms written on the board. The findings of the matching test tasks divulged that the learners' recognitions of synonyms than the first language equivalents were significantly higher. The experimental group significantly scored higher in the recognition test of synonyms than that of translation equivalents. Results have practical implications and applications for foreign language learning and teaching which are discussed.

Introduction: The crucial role of lexis over other language elements in language learning prompts the argument of finding the most suitable way to enhance vocabulary learning among the studies in the educational arena. Among various word learning strategies, semantic network practices have received the least attention from researchers. Accordingly, the present follow-up study aimed to touch upon effective vocabulary learning, in general, and compare semantic network practices with the most common learning strategy implemented by EFL learners (learning from bilingual word lists), in particular. Methodology: The project investigated the effectiveness of the two treatments among 114 EFL university students of both genders who were assigned to two experimental groups to receive the treatments and the third group of 43 EFL learners as the control group. Word Associates Test (WAT) and Original Levels Test (OLT) were administered as pre-tests to research subjects. The participants in exper...

Introduction: The crucial role of lexis over other language elements in language learning prompts the argument of finding the most suitable way to enhance vocabulary learning among the studies in the educational arena. Among various word learning strategies, semantic network practices have received the least attention from researchers. Accordingly, the present follow-up study aimed to touch upon effective vocabulary learning, in general, and compare semantic network practices with the most common learning strategy implemented by EFL learners (learning from bilingual word lists), in particular. Methodology: The project investigated the effectiveness of the two treatments among 114 EFL university students of both genders who were assigned to two experimental groups to receive the treatments and the third group of 43 EFL learners as the control group. Word Associates Test (WAT) and Original Levels Test (OLT) were administered as pre-tests to research subjects. The participants in exper...

This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language (RFL). It treats any topic within the scope of RFL and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete reference as well as a brief summary. The editors of this feature attempt to include all related articles that appear in other venues. However, undoubtedly, this list is not exhaustive.

Among intriguing areas in vocabulary acquisition research are such variables as breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge, and their predictability in writing performance. In this spirit, this study set out to determine how receptive breadth, productive breadth, and receptive depth of word knowledge, using word families, predict total writing task score and the vocabulary component of EFL learners' narrative, descriptive, and argumentative writing performance. To this end, by administering Oxford Quick Placement Test to the learners enrolled in an advanced writing course, 70 (49 males, 21 females) EFL upper intermediate learners were selected as the participants of the study. To determine the participants' receptive depth, and productive and receptive breadth of the word knowledge, the Word Associates Test, the Lex30, and the Vocabulary Size Test were administered to the participants respectively. The participants also undertook descriptive, narrative and argumentative writing tasks. The results of the correlation coefficients and regression analyses of the data specified that: a) receptive vocabulary breadth and depth significantly contributed to both overall writing and vocabulary component of narrative, descriptive and argumentative writing; b) The breadth of productive vocabulary knowledge measured by the Lex30 only correlated with the vocabulary component score as well as the total score of narrative, descriptive, and argumentative writing. The implications include the fact that lexical knowledge aspects can be systematically used in both developing syllabus materials and classroom teaching methodologies.

This research aims to provide a preliminary approach on to what extent linguistic and situational contexts are conducive to successful vocabulary recognition in discrete-item testing in the context of a language teacher education program in Bogotá. This study resorted to the use of four different types of vocabulary tests administered during a one-semester period to two different classes. The data collected revealed that students had more success in a test of productive vocabulary (L2 to L1 translation) than in other types of tests, namely, productive vocabulary (L2 to L1 translation/multiple choice), L2 to L1 translation provided with linguistic context and cued situational context. The findings of this research suggest that the participating pre-service teachers had not reached the basic vocabulary knowledge of the English Language at the time of this study. It was also found that vocabulary items devoid of contextual cues are more accurately identified than those embedded within ...

Choi, Yeon Hee. (2017). Roles of receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge in L2 writing through the mediation of L2 reading ability. English Teaching, 72(1), 3-24. The present study aims to investigate the direct and indirect contributions of Korean EFL college students' L2 receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge to their L2 writing performances by using a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis with a goal to explore the pathways of vocabulary knowledge to writing. Data from 178 students were collected through tests of receptive and productive vocabulary breadth and depth, a writing test and a reading test. In testing a hypothesized model on the roles of receptive and productive vocabulary in writing, the results of the SEM analysis reveal the direct role of productive vocabulary in writing. The indirect role of receptive vocabulary on writing was observed through the mediating role of productive vocabulary or reading ability due to the direct contribution of receptive vocabulary to both productive vocabulary and reading and that of productive vocabulary and reading to writing. Findings from the study shed light on the relations of L2 receptive and productive vocabulary knowledge with L2 writing abilities, suggesting potential benefits of both receptive and productive vocabulary learning for L2 writing.

Top-down models of reading emphasize methods and techniques that promote active reading which involves utilizing contextual clues to guess vocabulary meaning. This study aims at analyzing the correlation between EFL students' general reading proficiency and guessing patterns, and identifying the types of contextual clues actually used by EFL readers of various proficiency levels. Sixty freshman students from two Palestinian universities participated in the study, and two separate tests were conducted to measure the students' reading proficiency and their guessing patterns. Statistical analyses of the results showed that there is a high correlation between correct guessing from context and text comprehension. Readers of all levels tend to rely on local, rather than global or general, contextual clues. Moreover, although high-level readers seem to guess correctly more often than low-level readers, they all seem to favor reading backward in the text for comprehension rather than reading forward.

Vocabulary learning is dominant in language acquisition, whether the language is a second or a foreign language, and crucial which learners encounter while reading could cause difficulties in processing the text. Students and teachers alike know that many of the reading comprehension breakdowns experienced by students involve word recognition and lexical access. Therefore, this review is an attempt to broaden our knowledge of vocabulary and its relationship with reading comprehension performance.

Reported in this article is research conducted in an Indonesian university to estimate the English vocabulary knowledge of a sample of engineering students. This is a significant topic, because the EFL (English as
a foreign language) engineering students are expected to be able to read English language texts in their engineering course, and also create simple oral or written text in English. This is difficult for them to manage without an adequate knowledge of vocabulary. Through two of the instruments, the subjects were tested on their understanding of words that occur frequently in academic writing: the receptive vocabulary level test (RVLT), and the productive vocabulary level test (PVLT). The tests were used to measure not only whether the students knew the words, but also how well they knew them. The results showed that on average the EFL engineering students have sufficient receptive vocabulary sizes, but they struggled to cope with the productive vocabulary test. The implications of the results and suggestions of ways in which the engineering students’ vocabulary knowledge could be improved are discussed.

Vocabulary knowledge occupies an important position in language learning. This study investigates the relationship between vocabulary size and depth for Iranian learners of English for specific/academic purposes (ESP/EAP). The participants include 112 ESP graduate students at a university in Iran. The findings from linear regression analyses show that, overall, VLT (size test) and WAT (depth test) have a great deal of common shared variance for these participants (R 2 ¼ .746). However, when they were divided into low and high proficiency groups, based on whether the participants mastered the most frequent 2000 words in VLT, a substantial amount of shared variance was shown for the low group (R 2 ¼ .464) and a much higher one for the high group (R 2 ¼ .804). The findings suggest that vocabulary size and depth might be accounted for by the same factors, especially as the learners' proficiency increases.

This research investigates whether there is any significant difference between the predictive power of vocabulary breadth and the reading subtests of IELTS and TOEFL. Iranian EFL participants (223) answered Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT), sample IELTS and TOEFL reading subtests. Linear regression analysis results show that VLT provides a significant amount of prediction on IELTS and TOEFL reading subtest, R 2 = 0.274, 0.298, respectively. The results for the participants with different levels of vocabulary knowledge, based on VLT percentile scores, show that, for low group, VLT provides 0.123% prediction for IELTS reading subtest and nothing for TOEFL reading subtest. For middle group, VLT provides no prediction on IELTS and TOEFL reading subtest. For high group, the amount of prediction provided on IELTS reading subtest is 0.130 and that on TOEFL is 0.209. Also, analysis was conducted to determine the most related variable to VLT. The results show that TOEFL reading subtest is more associated with vocabulary breadth than IELTS. The study discusses a few implications.

The current study was designed to identify the relative significance of syntactic and lexical knowledge in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading comprehension of 254 adult Turkish university students. The role of two dimensions of lexical knowledge, lexical depth and breadth in L2 reading comprehension were also examined in the current study. A Syntactic Knowledge Test (SKT), Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) composed of TOEFL, Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) and Word Associates Test (WAT) were used in the data collection process. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were utilized to analyze the data. The data analyses showed that all variables of the study positively and significantly correlated with each other. Moreover, all independent variables together significantly predicted RCT scores of the participants. However, when each variable was examined separately, syntactic knowledge was the most contributive variable to L2 reading comprehension. Lexical breadth also significantly explained L2 reading comprehension of EFL learners. The unique contribution of lexical depth to L2 reading comprehension was very low and not significant. Moreover, the independent variables were also correlated with each other. The findings of the current study were compared with the previous findings, discussed and justified in accordance with them. Pedagogical implications were offered.

Accurate prediction of rock elastic properties is essential for wellbore stability analysis, hydraulic fracturing design, sand production prediction and management, and other geomechanical applications. The two most common required material properties are Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus. These elastic properties are often reliably determined from laboratory tests by using cores extracted from wells under simulated reservoir conditions. Unfortunately, most wells have limited core data. On the other hand, wells typically have log data. By using suitable regression models, the log data can be used to extend knowledge of core-based elastic properties to the entire field. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have proven to be successful in many reservoir characterization problems. Although nonlinear problems can be well resolved by ANN-based models, extensive numerical experiments (training) must be done to optimize the network structure. In addition, generated regression models from ANNs may not perfectly generalize to unseen input data. Recently, support vector machines (SVMs) have proven successful in several real-world applications for its potential to generalize and converge to a global optimal solution. SVM models are based on the structural risk minimization principle that minimizes the generalization error by striking a balance between empirical training error and learning machine capacity. This has proven superior in several applications to the empirical risk minimization (ERM) principle adopted by ANNs that aims to reduce the training error only. Here, support vector regression (SVR) to predict Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus is described. The method uses a fuzzy-based ranking algorithm to select the most significant input variables and filter out dependency. The learning and predictive capabilities of the SVR method is compared to that of a backpropagation neural network (BPNN). The results demonstrate that SVR has similar or superior learning and prediction capabilities to that of the BPNN. Parameter sensitivity analysis was performed to

This study examines the relationship between ESL learners' depth of vocabulary knowledge, their lexical inferencing strategy use, and their success in deriving word meaning from context. Participants read a passage containing 10 unknown words and attempted to derive the meanings of the unknown words from context. Introspective think-aloud protocols were used to discover the degree and types of inferencing strategies learners used. The Word-Associate Test (WAT) (Read, 1993) was used to measure the learner's depth of vocabulary knowledge. Results indicate a significant relationship between depth of vocabulary knowledge and the degree and type of strategy use and success. They reveal that (a) those who had stronger depth of vocabulary knowledge used certain strategies more frequently than those who had weaker depth of vocabulary knowledge; (b) the stronger students made more effective use of certain types of lexical inferencing strategies than their weaker counterparts; and (c)...

The present qualitative and interpretative study aims to investigate Iranian EFL learners' L2 vocabulary strategies. The distribution of strategy types and what factors contribute to the success of the inferencing strategies are the two main purposes of the study. Using think-aloud procedures with 15 Iranian EFL learners, the present study explored L2 learners' inferencing strategies and the relationship with their success. Sixteen types of inferential strategies were revealed to be employed by the participants and two types of inferences were identified: successful and less successful inferences. The results of the study are discussed in the light of the similar studies and the suggestions for future research are made. The study has a number of pedagogical implications for L2 research and practice, L2 teachers, syllabus designers, and educational psychology.

An in-depth investigation of vocabulary depth knowledge by lexical researchers plays a prominent role in language learning and teaching. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the extent of relationship and prediction of the three constitutes of vocabulary depth knowledge (i.e., analytic relations, morphological knowledge, and depth of vocabulary knowledge test which was represented by paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations) to reading comprehension. Therefore, this study employed standard multiple regression analysis under quantitative approach amongst undergraduate EFL learners. The results of the study show that a significant and strong correlation existed between adapted analytic relations aspect of vocabulary depth knowledge and reading comprehension, and also analytic relations made statistically the most significant unique prediction (which had the largest impact on) to reading comprehension. The study concludes that there are significant correlations and prediction of three components of vocabulary depth knowledge to reading comprehension. The inclusion of analytic relations with paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations and morphological knowledge, which represented vocabulary depth knowledge, has added to the body of lexical knowledge.

The learning and teaching of vocabulary is a popular research area in the FL learning literature which is in the center of attention of both scholars and teachers. Educators have been encouraged (Lewis, 1993; Thornbury, 2002) to promote intentional learning of words in the classroom. Since the early 1990s textbook and FL syllabus writers have laid special emphasis on building vocabulary in the curriculum (Fitzpatrick, Al-Qarni & Meara, 2008). Knowing a word is complex and multidimensional in nature. Various aspects of knowing a word must be considered. Breadth of vocabulary knowledge means how many words a person knows while depth refers to the knowledge of dimensions, e.g. synonyms, antonyms, contextual use, etc. A diagnostic complex vocabulary test was designed to assess learners' word knowledge. Most of the diagnostic vocabulary tests measure one dimension of vocabulary (Nation, 1990). They either tap into receptive or productive word knowledge; thus there is a need to develo...

Traditional automated essay scoring systems rely on carefully designed features to evaluate and score essays. The performance of such systems is tightly bound to the quality of the underlying features. However, it is laborious to manually design the most informative features for such a system. In this paper, we develop an approach based on recurrent neural networks to learn the relation between an essay and its assigned score, without any feature engineering. We explore several neural network models for the task of automated essay scoring and perform some analysis to get some insights of the models. The results show that our best system, which is based on long short-term memory networks, outperforms a strong baseline by 5.6% in terms of quadratic weighted Kappa, without requiring any feature engineering.

In this study, I review four papers by Stoeckel and Bennett; Shin; McDonald and Asaba; and McLean, Kramer, and Stewart. I will then summarize the validation evidence reported in each paper, in order to argue for the validity of the interpretations of the test scores as well as the uses of the tests considered in these four studies. This will help clarify areas of future research and strengthen the need for ties between specialists in the field of second language vocabulary assessment and general language assessment.

Learning vocabulary is one of the major problems for foreign and second language learners. It has been neglected or considered as a secondary emphasis in English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign Language programs. Since many researchers Twaddle (1973) Wilkins (1974) and Judd (1978) claim that little importance has been given to vocabulary in the language class. Learning a language mainly involves learning its grammar, vocabulary, and how to use them in appropriate way. Vocabulary is an important component in leaning a language. Hill, (2005: 1) said that "Vocabulary has long been considered an important element in language learning. It may be considered as 'the building block to communication." Wilkins (1974:111) states, "Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed". All the statements mentioned above suggest that, words are identified as one of the essential components of a language, and essential for any form of communication to materialize either it is written or spoken.

A firm mastery of target language vocabulary is crucial for academic reading performance. Therefore, teachers should equip learners with tools that would help them understand and learn lexical items.To this end, we propose a graded instructional model, which combines strategies for decoding the meaning of novel words as well as learning and retaining them. In order to understand an unfamiliar word a student is encouraged to either guess it or consult a dictionary. Following lexical deciphering, the teacher assists the student in selecting the most frequent and useful words to be learnt. The learning process requires explicit focus on novel words. First, the learner copies the new word into his notebook alongside its dictionary definition and the context it was used in. Next, the student creates a keyword association which helps him retain the word. The learner then attempts to learn it using his preferred perceptual learning style. Since long-term retention of vocabulary requires multiple repetitions in varied contexts spaced at increasingly larger intervals, the teacher provides the learner with plentiful opportunities at novel vocabulary reinforcement. In addition, testing vocabulary progress guarantees further encounters with the target words. The graded vocabulary instruction model may be successfully integrated in versatile pedagogical frameworks aimed at lexical expansion.

This study investigates the relationship between depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge and EFL learners' listening comprehension. It is designed to find out whether there is a meaningful relationship between vocabulary knowledge and listening comprehension in general, and to determine which dimension of vocabulary knowledge is a better predictor of successful listening comprehension in particular. Data gathered through three tests including Vocabulary Knowledge Test (VLT), Word Associate Test (WAT), and standardized listening comprehension test, from 32 EFL learners were analyzed and the findings revealed that there is a high and positive relationship among the three variables and also between the independent variables. Future analysis indicated that though both VLT and WAT contribute to listening comprehension, VLT is a better predictor of successful listening comprehension performance.

Reading authentic texts requires recognition of a large amount of vocabulary. Adequate comprehension of authentic English academic texts requires a minimum vocabulary size of the most frequent 5,000 general word families and 500 academic word families from the Academic Word List. English learners and particularly learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), however, are often found to lack this vocabulary size at all educational stages. As the EFL learners focused on in this study, high school and college-level Saudi EFL students have been found to have only a very small vocabulary. This study investigates whether Saudi EFL Preparatory Year Program (PYP) students have or do not have the minimum vocabulary size for reading English texts that they will read when they enroll in English-medium colleges. To carry out this investigation, data were collected from 100 PYP students by administering two vocabulary size tests. The results suggest that the majority of PYP students not only ...

Academic and general vocabulary knowledge and use are critically crucial for foreign language learners’ language proficiency and academic attainment. Through the aspects of lexical competence and performance, multidimensional facet of vocabulary knowledge and its interrelated constituents might be identified in detail thus vocabulary teaching process within the language education could be revealed efficiently. Keeping this in mind, the main purpose of the current study is to investigate foreign language learners' academic and general lexical competence and performance overarching all dimensions, namely receptive (i.e. the number and quality of vocabulary knowledge gained) and productive (i.e. use) aspects. Within this scope, via a multiple test approach, 371 Turkish preparatory school students in a state university were examined in terms of their multidimensional general and academic vocabulary knowledge. The findings revealed that language proficiency has had a critical impact ...

This research aims to provide a preliminary approach on to what extent linguistic and situational contexts are conducive to successful vocabulary recognition in discrete-item testing in the context of a language teacher education program in Bogotá. This study resorted to the use of four different types of vocabulary tests administered during a one-semester period to two different classes. The data collected revealed that students had more success in a test of productive vocabulary (L2 to L1 translation) than in other types of tests, namely, productive vocabulary (L2 to L1 translation/multiple choice), L2 to L1 translation provided with linguistic context and cued situational context. The findings of this research suggest that the participating pre-service teachers had not reached the basic vocabulary knowledge of the English Language at the time of this study. It was also found that vocabulary items devoid of contextual cues are more accurately identified than those embedded within ...

This feature offers an archive of articles published in other venues during the past year and serves as a valuable tool to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language (RFL). It treats any topic within the scope of RFL and second language reading. The articles are listed in alphabetical order, each with a complete reference as well as a brief summary. The editors of this feature attempt to include all related articles that appear in other venues. However, undoubtedly, this list is not exhaustive.

Lexical inferencing as an efficient strategy to deal with unfamiliar words has attracted much attention in the comprehension literature. While literature abounds with studies focusing on the nature of lexical inferencing in reading, few studies have delved into the processes involved, the knowledge sources used and the factors influencing lexical inferencing in listening. This study sought to investigate the role of listening proficiency in lexical inferencing success and identify knowledge source patterns used by Iranian EFL learners for making inferences. To this end, a total of fifty-six Iranian EFL learners were assigned into three levels of listening proficiency and were required to infer the meanings of unknown words in listening excerpts. In the qualitative phase and to identify the patterns of knowledge source use, data were collected from 9 participants in individual interview sessions. Verbal reporting method was used where the subjects were asked to report the meanings of...