Abstract

Research has highlighted the importance of vocabulary learning in order for L2 learners to cope with the linguistic demands of fundamental skills such as reading and listening. However, few empirical studies have investigated the relative strength of the association of a specific construct of vocabulary knowledge has on the skill of speaking. To understand more fully the practical implications of such a relationship, this paper presents empirical evidence gathered to explore a measure of productive vocabulary knowledge and the degree to which this measure correlates with and is able to predict speaking success. A cohort of 18 sophomore university learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Saudi Arabia (SA) completed the Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (PVLT), an oral interview and a speaking task. Test scores derived from PVLT were analyzed to produce a range of descriptive statistics, which underwent correlational analyses to determine the relationship between the measure of PVLT and speaking success. Analyses revealed a consistent pattern of declining scores from the highest to the least frequent word levels. A closer examination of the data showed that the participants’ success across the five-word levels of the PVLT showed better performance on the 2,000 and 3,000-word levels, in fact, the results indicated that only these word levels made a contribution to predicting speaking scores. Based on these findings, we draw implications for vocabulary teaching contexts and provide suggestions for future studies on vocabulary and speaking link.

Highlights

  • It has been acknowledged for some time that vocabulary knowledge and its acquisition have the power to predict proficiency and language use (Milton, 2013; Nation, 2013)

  • The results suggest that the participants showed better performance at the higher frequency levels than the lower ones, with many meeting the cut-off score of 16 out of 18 for the 2000 word level, indicating mastery at this level

  • The current study considered two related research questions: one, what is the participants’ vocabulary size at each of the five frequency word levels covered by Productive Vocabulary Levels Test (PVLT), and two, does the vocabulary size as measured by PVLT have the same influence on different types of speaking task

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Summary

Introduction

It has been acknowledged for some time that vocabulary knowledge and its acquisition have the power to predict proficiency and language use (Milton, 2013; Nation, 2013). With the exception of De Jong, Steinel, Florijn, Schoonen, and Hulstijn (2012), Koizumi and In’nami (2013), Milton, Wade, and Hopkins (2010) and Uchihara and Clenton (2018), it is almost certain that no study has attempted to examine the association between vocabulary knowledge and ability to speak in a Saudi setting. It would be of interest and importance to look at the effect of lexical knowledge on speaking performance. In the light of these demands, it is vital that many Saudi EFL teachers start to focus on the learners’ speaking skills, e.g., by employing role plays and group discussions as useful ways to help learners increase their oral communication skills and their confidence in speaking

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