Abstract
Vocabulary knowledge is the building block of learning a second language and the degree of success for learning any language depends on the amount of vocabulary a learner possesses. Vocabulary knowledge contributes to mastering language skills (reading, listening, writing, and speaking). Therefore, the present study aims at determining the role of vocabulary size in reading comprehension among Saudi EFL learners. The participants of this study included 64 male students who studied at the first level in the academic year 2018/2019 at King Khalid University. Both the Vocabulary Size Test developed by (Schmitt et al.) and reading comprehension test taken from the TOEFL preparation manual were used to collect the necessary data for the study. The results of the study revealed that the overall vocabulary size of Saudi EFL learners was 2025 word families. This amount helps students to comprehend 90% of written texts as pointed out by many researchers in this field. The results also showed a significant relationship between vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Vocabulary knowledge is an important predictor for comprehending written texts. The study provides some implications for educational stakeholders such as putting more emphasis on teaching vocabulary and using different teaching strategies that assist in the acquisition of vocabulary in general and academic vocabulary in particular. 
 Keywords: vocabulary knowledge; vocabulary depth; vocabulary breadth; reading comprehension; Saudi EFL learners.
Highlights
Vocabulary knowledge performs a significant role in the process of language learning/acquisition and cannot be neglected in second or foreign language research (Nouri & Zerhouni, 2016)
The present study seeks to provide answers to the following research questions: (1) What is the extent of the vocabulary size of Saudi EFL learners? (2) To what extent does vocabulary knowledge contribute to reading comprehension among Saudi EFL learners?
We present the results related to the first question: What is the extent of the vocabulary size of Saudi EFL learners? To answer this question, descriptive statistics were calculated to find out the size of vocabulary knowledge
Summary
Vocabulary knowledge performs a significant role in the process of language learning/acquisition and cannot be neglected in second or foreign language research (Nouri & Zerhouni, 2016). Learners of English as a foreign language are aware that their limited vocabulary knowledge might cause serious problems in language communication. This lexical restriction bans language comprehension as well as language production (Nation, 2001). The role of lexical knowledge in reading comprehension has been one of the major interests in foreign language research for the last two decades. Vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension are highly related since lexical knowledge can assist foreign language learners in grasping the meaning of written texts. Reading may help in developing learners’ lexicons (Nation, 2001)
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