A Case Study on College Students’ English Vocabulary Learning and Learning Strategies

Abstract

Vocabulary is considered as the cornerstone of a language. It is a key factor and plays an important role in the learners’ language proficiency. The author of the present paper carries out a diachronic research. The research lasts one and a half years. The paper here illustrates the research questions, the subjects, the design of the test papers and the questionnaire, the procedures, and the analysis in great details. It puts emphasis on revealing how the college students’ vocabulary size increases by making the vocabulary increase figures and t test analysis. The paper tries to find out the strategies, which are suitable for college students, by making correlation analysis between the vocabulary increase and the subjects’ self-reported strategies in the questionnaire. The paper demonstrates the results of the analysis. The college students’ vocabulary, in depth and in width as well, increases before the CET4 English test but decreases after it. The present paper proposes suggestions to English learners and teachers as well by analyzing a great number of data.