Receptive Vocabulary Size Research Articles

Higher Education Languages of Instruction in Morocco and their impact on the Receptive Vocabulary Size of Moroccan EFL Master Students

Having a clear vocabulary profile of Moroccan master students might reveal where these participants stand compared to other countries. Therefore, the study aims to investigate the effect of languages of instruction in Morocco (e.g., Arabic vs. French) on the receptive vocabulary size of EFL Moroccan master students (e.g., departments of letters, science, and law). To this end, Meara’s (2010) Yes/No test was used as an instrument to measure the overall vocabulary size of these participants. A total of 325 EFL master students took the aforementioned test. The main research question is: Does the medium of instruction have any effects on the receptive vocabulary size of these students? Descriptive statistics were employed to calculate the overall receptive vocabulary size of test-takers. It was found that Moroccan EFL master students have a total of (M= 2293) lemmas. An independent samples t-test was run to check for any statistical significance. The t-test statistic reveals that the significance level is less than the p-value (t=-4.068, p< .05, df= 323). Thus, it was concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the French group and the Arabic group. The results of this study confirm that students who were instructed in French (M= 2417, sd= 903, N=185) outperformed the other students who were taught in Arabic (M= 2058, sd= 903, N= 140). In the current study, among various suggestions, it is proposed that the volume of 30 hours in the English module is not sufficient and should be complemented with vocabulary-based activities.

Acoustic features of infant-directed speech to infants with hearing loss.

This study investigated the effects of hearing loss and hearing experience on the acoustic features of infant-directed speech (IDS) to infants with hearing loss (HL) compared to controls with normal hearing (NH) matched by either chronological or hearing age (experiment 1) and across development in infants with hearing loss as well as the relation between IDS features and infants' developing lexical abilities (experiment 2). Both experiments included detailed acoustic analyses of mothers' productions of the three corner vowels /a, i, u/ and utterance-level pitch in IDS and in adult-directed speech. Experiment 1 demonstrated that IDS to infants with HL was acoustically more variable than IDS to hearing-age matched infants with NH. Experiment 2 yielded no changes in IDS features over development; however, the results did show a positive relationship between formant distances in mothers' speech and infants' concurrent receptive vocabulary size, as well as between vowel hyperarticulation and infants' expressive vocabulary. These findings suggest that despite infants' HL and thus diminished access to speech input, infants with HL are exposed to IDS with generally similar acoustic qualities as are infants with NH. However, some differences persist, indicating that infants with HL might receive less intelligible speech.

Second language perception of English vowels by Portuguese learners: The effect of stimulus type

The present study investigated L2 English vowel perception and the effect of stimulus type on the identification of vowel segments that present difficulties for Portuguese learners. It also examined the effect of subject factors such as age of acquisition, length of formal instruction, language use and vocabulary size, on the L2 learners’ perceptual performance. Twenty-nine adult Portuguese learners of English were tested on six English vowels (/iː ɪ ɛ æ ɜː ʌ/) with two tasks, differing in stimulus type, i.e., in the lexical status of trials (real words and pseudo words) in which the target vowels were auditorily presented. The testing stimuli consisted of 72 trials with real CVC words and 72 trials with pseudo CVC words, naturally produced by two speakers of standard southern British English (SSBE). The L2 vocabulary size of the participants was measured with two receptive vocabulary size tests and the language background data, viz. age of learning, length of formal instruction and L2 use was collected with a questionnaire. Results confirmed the Portuguese learners’ difficulties in accurately categorizing the target vowels, particularly when identifying the vowel target sounds embedded in pseudo words, which suggests that L2 phonological categories may be established after lexical forms. Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between L2 language use and accurate perception of four of the target vowels, which indicates that the more frequently learners use the target language, the more accurate is their L2 English vowel perception.

High school to university transitional challenges in English medium instruction in Japan

Despite the rapid expansion of English-medium instruction (EMI) at higher education institutions around the world, little research has explored the language-related challenges faced by students when entering an EMI university from a first language (L1) medium high school. This study identifies challenges posed by the school–university transition encountered by L1 Japanese undergraduates who study academic subjects through English at a university in Tokyo. 103 students from various academic disciplines completed questionnaires on academic English challenges in addition to receptive and productive academic vocabulary size tests as a measure of their linguistic preparedness for academic study in English. Semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted with 20 students. Results show that students who attended Japanese medium high schools where English language classes were taught through English obtained a larger academic vocabulary size and encountered fewer linguistic challenges adjusting to English-medium learning than their counterparts who had studied English through Japanese. This suggests that even ‘soft-EMI’ high school experiences may lead to an easier transition to university-level EMI contexts. Based on the findings, implications are discussed in terms of the design of EAP (English for Academic Purposes) curricula with a specific focus on vocabulary learning for EMI university students across a range of English language levels.

Receptive Vocabulary Size as a Predictor of Undergraduates’ Overall Cumulative Grade Point Average With English as Medium of Instruction in Universities

Receptive Vocabulary Size as a Predictor of Undergraduates’ Overall Cumulative Grade Point Average With English as Medium of Instruction in Universities

Can children with DLD acquire a second language in a foreign-language classroom? Effects of age and cross-language relationships

There is a growing pressure to teach foreign languages as early as possible, and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are not immune from these pressures. However, current scholarship lacks crucial insights into how children with DLD respond to L2 learning with minimal (classroom) exposure. In this paper, we report the results of a longitudinal study tracing the development of L1 Russian and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) skills in a group of learners with DLD (age of EFL onset: 7;9–12;1). The performance of the DLD group was compared to that of typically-developing controls, matched for classroom EFL exposure. Proficiency in English and Russian was measured three times (after one, one-and-a-half and two years of EFL instruction). At Time 1, there were no significant differences between groups on the EFL measures, but the performance of the typically-developing children significantly improved with time, and that of the DLD group did not. In the DLD group, age of EFL onset was positively related to English receptive vocabulary size. The relation between L1 and L2 proficiency in the DLD group was weaker than in the comparison group. This pattern is probably due to the floor performance of the DLD group in the grammatical domain, but may also indicate that the disorder affects cross-language transfer in the vulnerable domains.

What vocabulary size tells us about pronunciation skills: Issues in assessing L2 learners

AbstractMeasures of second language (L2) learners’ vocabulary size have been shown to correlate with language proficiency in reading, writing and listening skills, and vocabulary tests are sometimes used for placement purposes. However, the relation between learners’ vocabulary knowledge and their speaking skills has been less thoroughly investigated, and even less so in terms of pronunciation. In this article, we compare vocabulary and pronunciation measures for 25 Italian instructed learners of L2 French. We measure their receptive (Dialang score) and productive (vocd-D, MTLD) vocabulary size, and calculate the following pronunciation indices: acoustic distance and overlap of realizations for selected L2 French vowel pairs, ratings of nasality forratings of foreign-accentedness, fluency metrics. We find that vocabulary measures show low to medium correlations with fluency metrics and ratings of foreign-accentedness, but not with vowel metrics. We then turn our attention to the impact of research methods on the study of vocabulary and pronunciation. More specifically, we discuss the possibility that these results are due to pitfalls in vocabulary and pronunciation indices, such as the failure of Dialang to take into account the effect of L1-L2 cognates, and the lack of measures for evaluating consonants, intonation and perception skills.

Vocabulary Size in Arabic Language among Undergraduate Students of Arabic Language for Professional Communication, UiTM

Vocabulary size is a number or a quantity of vocabulary owned by an individual who speaks a language. It is undeniable that the vocabulary size has close relationship with the usage of a language. Nation (2001) & Laufer (1989) recommended that language students to master at least 2000 to 3000 words. This study is to identify the Arabic language vocabulary size between two aspects, receptive and productive. Research samples for this study consists of 127 undergraduates of Arabic Language for Professional Communication Course in UiTM varying from first semester students up until fifth semester students. Few instruments such as Arabic Language Vocabulary Level Test (aLVT) and Productive Vocabulary Level Test (PVLT) are used. The data are analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences V20.0 (SPSS) In average, the findings of this research has concluded that the receptive vocabulary size of Arabic Language is below the recommended level which is 1885 words whereas for productive vocabulary size is only 1655 words. Hence, this research proposed that students on tertiary level especially should focus more on relevant and high frequency vocabulary to be mastered in order to apply them more effectively. Therefore, teaching personnel should expose students to various techniques in learning vocabulary as well as maximising the use of computers and the Internet during teaching and learning sessions in order to gain students’ interest in learning.

LexITA: A Quick and Reliable Assessment Tool for Italian L2 Receptive Vocabulary Size

Abstract In language and second language acquisition research, it is important to have a measure for tracking the proficiency level of participants. Lexical competence is fundamental for communicative purposes in a given language, and vocabulary tests are a reliable measure to assess lexical proficiency. That is why vocabulary tests have a central role in language proficiency assessment. Although many people study Italian as second language (L2), an easy-to-use vocabulary test to measure lexical proficiency is still missing. In this work, we aim to fill this gap by presenting LexITA, which is an objective, reliable, and quick assessment of Italian receptive vocabulary. LextITA was validated on students of Italian L2 and showed to be a valid measure to assess vocabulary knowledge of L2 speakers spanning different levels of proficiency.

Longitudinal Effects of Mediums of Word Explanation on L2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies Among Chinese Grade-7 Students.

This longitudinal study investigated how different mediums of word explanation affected the use of English vocabulary strategies among Chinese Grade-7 students. 170 students were tested on their English receptive vocabulary size and vocabulary strategy application before and after an 8.33-month intervention. Students were divided into three experimental groups and one control group. The three experimental groups were provided with learning materials that explained the target vocabulary in three mediums, respectively: English-only, English-and-Chinese, and Chinese-only. Results showed that, after the intervention, receptive vocabulary size did not have any direct significant impact on vocabulary strategy development, whereas mediums of word explanation materials impacted students’ application of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) in different ways. Our findings showed that the English-only mediums significantly enhanced students’ use of metacognition, cognition, and memorization strategies, but decreased social strategy development. Chinese-only mediums significantly facilitated cognition and memorization strategy development. Implications for L2 vocabulary education are discussed.

Early Vocabulary Profiles of Young Deaf Children Who Use Cochlear Implants.

Purpose This study examined vocabulary profiles in young cochlear implant (CI) recipients and in children with normal hearing (NH) matched on receptive vocabulary size to improve our understanding of young CI recipients' acquisition of word categories (e.g., common nouns or closed-class words). Method We compared receptive and expressive vocabulary profiles between young CI recipients (n = 48; mean age at activation = 15.61 months, SD = 4.20) and children with NH (n = 48). The two groups were matched on receptive vocabulary size as measured by the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (Fenson et al., 2006): Words and Gestures form. The CI group had, on average, 8.98 months of hearing experience. The mean chronological age at completing the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories was 23.99 months (SD = 5.14) for the CI group and 13.72 months (SD = 1.50) for the NH group. Results The CI group had a larger expressive vocabulary size than the receptive vocabulary size-matched NH group. The larger expressive vocabulary size was associated with the group difference in social words but not with common nouns. The analyses for predicate words and closed-class words included only children who produced the target categories. The CI group had a larger proportion of predicate words than the NH group, but no difference was found in closed-class words in expressive vocabulary. Conclusions Differences found in expressive vocabulary profiles may be affected by spoken vocabulary size and their age. A further examination is warranted using language samples to understand the effect of language input on children's vocabulary profiles.

Vocabulary Size Influences Spontaneous Speech in Native Language Users: Validating the Use of Automatic Speech Recognition in Individual Differences Research.

Previous research has shown that vocabulary size affects performance on laboratory word production tasks. Individuals who know many words show faster lexical access and retrieve more words belonging to pre-specified categories than individuals who know fewer words. The present study examined the relationship between receptive vocabulary size and speaking skills as assessed in a natural sentence production task. We asked whether measures derived from spontaneous responses to everyday questions correlate with the size of participants' vocabulary. Moreover, we assessed the suitability of automatic speech recognition (ASR) for the analysis of participants' responses in complex language production data. We found that vocabulary size predicted indices of spontaneous speech: individuals with a larger vocabulary produced more words and had a higher speech-silence ratio compared to individuals with a smaller vocabulary. Importantly, these relationships were reliably identified using manual and automated transcription methods. Taken together, our results suggest that spontaneous speech elicitation is a useful method to investigate natural language production and that automatic speech recognition can alleviate the burden of labor-intensive speech transcription.

Teaching roots and affixes potentially improves reading comprehension with primary students

Based on the growing support that relates reading comprehension with morphological awareness, a short intervention was designed and piloted to see if instruction in morphological analysis could improve reading comprehension or vocabulary with primary school students. The intervention was piloted with a small group focusing on preand post-test measures. While there were increases in participants’ reading comprehension and receptive vocabulary size post intervention, they are viewed with caution due to small sample size. This demonstrates potential for morphological analysis intervention to improve reading comprehension and receptive vocabulary with primary school students.

Sleep is atypical across neurodevelopmental disorders in infants and toddlers: A cross-syndrome study

This cross-syndrome study focuses on sleep and its relationship with language development. Children with neurodevelopmental disorders present with language delay. Typical language development is constrained by numerous factors including sleep. Sleep is often disrupted in adolescents/adults with neurodevelopmental disorders. We therefore hypothesised that sleep may be disrupted, and correlate with language development, in infants/toddlers with neurodevelopmental disorders. To test our hypothesis, we obtained sleep and vocabulary size data from 75 infants/toddlers with one of three neurodevelopmental disorders (Down syndrome [DS], fragile X syndrome [FXS], Williams syndrome [WS]). Sleep was indeed disrupted in these children. It was also positively associated with receptive vocabulary size in the infants/toddlers with DS and WS (we could not test the relationship between sleep and language in FXS due to lack of power). We argue that disrupted sleep may be a common occurrence in very young children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and it may relate to their ability to acquire their first language.

Dual language input and the impact of language separation on early lexical development.

We examined properties of the input and the environment that characterize bilingual exposure in 11-month-old infants with a regular exposure to French and an additional language, and their possible effects on receptive vocabulary size. Using a diary method, we found that a majority of the families roughly followed a one-parent-one-language approach. Yet, the two languages co-occurred to various extents within the same half-hour both within and across speakers. We used exploratory correlation analyses to examine potential effects of the dual input on the size of infants' vocabularies. The results revealed some evidence for an impact of language separation by speakers.

Differences in the Test Results of Two Test Rubrics in the Yes/No Vocabulary Test

The Yes/No vocabulary test (YN test) is a receptive vocabulary size test that comes in a form of a checklist where learners answer yes to the words they know. However, an inconsistency of the test rubrics has been found. That is, rubric type 1 says: “Write Y (yes) if you know the meaning of the word” while rubric type 2 says: “Write Y (yes) if you think that the word exists in English”. These 2 rubrics seem to require different levels of vocabulary knowledge from test takers. Rubric 1 may need more knowledge of the word meaning while Rubric 2 may need less (i.e. only having seen the word or even guessing). This led to the doubt whether or not the 2 rubrics yield the same YN test results. Therefore, a study was conducted to compare these two rubrics by administering 2 YN test versions, i.e. Rubric 1 YN tests and Rubric 2 YN tests, to 600 first-year students of a university in Nakhon Ratchasima, followed by a translation test as a concurrent validity test. After that, a semi-structured interview of 72 students was conducted in order to gain some insight of how they did the tests. The findings revealed that the results of Rubric 1 YN tests correlated better with the results of the concurrent validity test than those of Rubric 2 YN tests.

Receptive Vocabulary Size of Male and Female Saudi English Major Graduates

This study measured Saudi university students’ receptive vocabulary knowledge towards the end of their final semester. The subjects were 71 Saudi male and female students. The Vocabulary Levels Test, adopted from Nation’s (2008), was administered in this study. The test assesses learners’ receptive knowledge of word meaning at the following distinct vocabulary levels: the 2nd 1,000-word level, the 3rd 1,000-word level, the 5th 1,000-word level, the 10th 1,000-word level, and the Academic Word List (AWL). The results showed different participants’ performance at different word levels with decreasing mean scores as the frequency of word levels decreased. The results also showed, with no exception, that males outperformed females with statistically significant differences in all the five sections of the test. The participants’ average vocabulary size is approximately 876 and 799 words in the 2nd 1,000-word level, 436 and 355 words in the AWL, 725 and 590 words in the 3rd 1,000-word level, 580 and 477 words in the 5th 1,000-word level for males and females respectively. However, the average vocabulary size decreased dramatically in the 10th 1,000-word level to 254 words for males and 124 for females. Based on these findings, it is concluded that Saudi English Language and Translation university graduates, even with large vocabulary size in the high frequency bands, are generally still below the level of the desired vocabulary competency as EFL learners, and are in fact, in need for more support and concentration in their undergraduate study with regard to their vocabulary learning.

Vocabulary learning estrategies: their relation to learning success

In the fields of Second Language Acquisition, there is a recent trend towards the identification of vocabulary learning strategies. However, the majority of this work has focused on the identification of strategies itself, rather than relating it to vocabulary mastery. This article presents a study on the use of vocabulary learning strategies and their relation to receptive vocabulary size. To do so, seventy secondary-school learners took part in the study. They were asked to respond the 2K version of the Vocabulary Levels Test (Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001) and a vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire, adapted from Schmitt’s taxonomy (1997). The data were examined looking into how the use of vocabulary learning strategies related to larger or smaller receptive vocabulary size. Results will have practical implications in language teaching, as, with the identification of those most useful strategies, teachers will be able to foster their use, turning learners’ efforts into a more successful experience.

Vocabulary learning estrategies: their relation to learning success

<p>En el ámbito de la investigación en enseñanza de segundas lenguas, hay un movimiento reciente que busca identificar las estrategias de aprendizaje de vocabulario. Sin embargo, la mayoría de estos estudios se han centrado en la identificación de las estrategias en sí, más que en la relación de estas con otros aspectos del aprendizaje de vocabulario. Este estudio presenta un análisis del uso de estrategias de aprendizaje de vocabulario y su relación con el nivel de vocabulario receptivo. Para ello, setenta alumnos de cuarto curso de educación secundaria participaron en el estudio. Se les pidió que respondieran el primer nivel del Vocabulary Levels Tests (Schmitt, Schmitt & Clapham, 2001) y un cuestionario sobre el uso de estrategias de aprendizaje de vocabulario, adaptado de la taxonomía de Schmitt (1997). Los datos se examinaron buscando una posible relación entre el tamaño de vocabulario receptivo y un mayor o menor uso de determinadas estrategias de aprendizaje. Los resultados tienen una aplicación práctica en la enseñanza de lenguas, ya que, con la identificación de las estrategias más fructíferas, los docentes podrán facilitar su uso en el aula, convirtiendo así los esfuerzos de los alumnos en experiencias satisfactorias.</p>

Acceptance of lexical overlap by monolingual and bilingual toddlers

Aims and Objectives: Mutual exclusivity refers to children’s assumption that there are one-to-one correspondences between words and their referents. It is proposed to guide the process of fast-mapping when children encounter novel words in referentially ambiguous situations. However, children are often required to suspend this default assumption and accept lexically overlapping labels, which is particularly common for bilingual children who learn multiple labels for most referents in their environment. Previous research has shown that school-aged bilinguals are more successful at learning overlapping labels than monolinguals, but the mechanisms underlying the development of this word-learning ability remain unknown. Methodology: This study investigated the ability to accept lexical overlap in monolingual and bilingual two-and-a-half-year-old children and its relation to children’s lexical competence. Children’s ability to retain two novel labels assigned to a novel referent was assessed in an interactive lexical overlap paradigm. In addition, parental inventories were used to measure children’s receptive vocabulary size and patterns of language exposure and use. Data and analysis: Data were collected from 68 (34 monolingual and 34 bilingual) children between 26 and 34 months of age. Binomial logistic regressions were used to assess the effects of children’s language background and their individual lexical competence (receptive vocabulary for monolinguals and bilinguals, and conceptual vocabulary size and degree of bilingualism for bilinguals). Findings: Results showed that vocabulary size was a significant predictor of lexical overlap performance for monolingual children, but this was not the case for bilinguals. Originality: These findings are the first to indicate that the individual linguistic experience of growing up monolingual or bilingual shapes the mechanisms that underlie the development and usage patterns of early word-learning strategies. Limitations: This study leaves open the question of what aspect of growing up bilingual leads children to develop word-learning strategies that are shaped by their linguistic experience.