Investigating the Relationship between IELTS Scores and Receptive Vocabulary Size (original) (raw)
Related papers
This study was motivated by work related observations at Swansea University, which noticed the need for improved predictive assessments of international students’ potential academic performance, in order to better support them in-sessionally. Additionally, positive results from a range of studies linking vocabulary knowledge measures with proficiency levels and their capacity for predicting future performance in the four skills (Laufer, 1992; Staehr, 2008, Milton et al, 2010) directed an investigation into how effectively vocabulary scores could predict academic performance for L2 learners on a degree programme, and how these results would compare with the predictive capabilities of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) proficiency bands. Data was collected from 20 students on a Swansea University Law exchange programme. The participants’ vocabulary scores were measured using the XK_Lex test (Masrai, 2009) and a Vocabulary Size Test (Nation & Beglar, 2007b). Subsequently, the students’ IELTS band scores and end of programme grade point averages were correlated with the vocabulary scores. The results of the study showed vocabulary knowledge measures to be a more reliable predictor of academic performance than IELTS. Following on from this, the pedagogical implications were explored and suggestions for in-session support were made.
VOCABULARY SIZE OF ESL IGCSE STUDENTS.
Vocabulary is axiomatic to be acquired by learners in learning a second language. Possessing a wide size of vocabulary is regarded as a key to understand a text or a conversation, highlighting the core of being proficient in the language is through acquiring extensive vocabulary. With the increasing number of international exams offered by the local secondary schools in Malaysia, the urgency to improve students? vocabulary size becomes a concern to ensure students? performance in the exam. This study examines the size of vocabulary of Malaysian students who were enrolled in an international examination, Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) English as a Second Language examination. 109 students participated in the study. The results were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics.
Comparing the contribution of vocabulary breadth to IELTS and TOEFL reading cubtests
Porta Linguarum Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de las Lenguas Extranjeras, 2013
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.
Vocabulary Size and Depth of Knowledge: A Study of Bahraini EFL Learners
International Journal of English Linguistics, 2021
This study investigates the size and depth of vocabulary knowledge and its relationship to the general language proficiency of EFL learners. The study sample included 120 students from the University of Bahrain. The sample was randomly selected from the student population and split into two groups in terms of their level of English: intermediate and advanced. The study aims to answer four questions: (1) What is the effect of general language proficiency on the sizes of the receptive and productive vocabularies of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (2) How does general language proficiency affect the depth of vocabulary knowledge of learners of English at the University of Bahrain? (3) What is the relationship between receptive and productive vocabularies and the depth of vocabulary knowledge? and (4) What is the relationship between vocabulary size and the nature of lexical networking? All the students in the sample completed three vocabulary tasks. The first two tasks were Meara and Jones's Eurocentres Vocabulary Size Test (1990) and Meara and Fitzpatrick's Lex30 word association task (2000), which were used to measure the sizes of receptive and productive vocabularies. The third task was Gyllstad's COLLEX test (2007), which was used to investigate the depth of vocabulary knowledge. A quasi-experimental approach was adopted using a quantitative approach to analyze the data. The data of the study were analyzed by comparing the results of the two groups in relation to the three tasks using SPSS 16.0. The findings of the study have revealed that general language proficiency has a positive effect on learners' receptive vocabulary size, a moderate effect on learners' productive vocabulary size, and a very low effect on the depth of vocabulary knowledge. In addition, no relationship was shown between the size of vocabulary and the nature of lexical networking. With reference to these results, pedagogical and future research recommendations are made.
Comparing the contribution of vocabulary breadth to IELTS and TOEFL reading subtests
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.
Vocabulary knowledge is a key component for literacy skills as well as the development of communication deemed important for students to succeed in university. Gaining adequate receptive vocabulary knowledge would enhance a university student's comprehension of academic texts. This descriptive study aims to investigate the receptive vocabulary knowledge among English major university students in Malaysia and Thailand. The sample comprises 80 English major students from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia and 86 English major students from Prince Songkla University (PSU), Thailand. A Vocabulary Size Test (VST) adopted from Nation and Beglar was employed to gather the primary data from the respondents about their receptive vocabulary knowledge. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was used for data analysis. Results showed that, on average, UniSZA students had a higher VST score (44.64%) compared to that of PSU students (20.92%). The higher average score gained by UniSZA students was mainly due to early exposure to formal English education in schools. This study recommends preparing students with explicit academic vocabulary instruction, particularly in the beginning semester of an English programme, to meet the academic and professional needs of English major students in future. Keywords: Receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary, Vocabulary Size Test (VST), breadth of vocabulary knowledge, depth of vocabulary knowledge.
Applied Linguistics, 1996
reading materials In the first part of this study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of a list of 23,550 words (lemmas), taken from a school dictionary, for a 42 million-word token corpus of contemporary written Dutch It was found that, using frequency as a criterion, text coverage substantially increased with up to 11,123 words (i e words occurring more than 100 times in the corpus), but not beyond In the second part of the study, an assessment was made of the representativeness of the same list of 23,550 words for a relatively small corpus of first-year university reading materials The percentage of tokens covered in this small academic corpus did not differ substantially from the percentage of tokens covered in the big corpus analysed in the first part The third part of the study consisted of the development and administration of a 140-item multiple-choice vocabulary test aimed at measuring test takers' receptive knowledge of 18,615 content words of the 23,550 word list This test was administered to (i) native speakers entering university as freshmen, (u) non-native graduate students, and (m) non-native prospective students taking a Dutch language entry examination test battery Extrapolations of the test scores showed that the average vocabulary size of these three groups of test takers was 18,800, 15,800, and 11,200 respectively It is concluded that the minimal vocabulary size needed for university studies is 10,
The Breadth of Receptive Vocabulary Knowledge Among English Major University Students
Journal of Nusantara Studies (JONUS)
Vocabulary knowledge is a key component for literacy skills as well as the development of communication deemed important for students to succeed in university. Gaining adequate receptive vocabulary knowledge would enhance a university student’s comprehension of academic texts. This descriptive study aims to investigate the receptive vocabulary knowledge among English major university students in Malaysia and Thailand. The sample comprises 80 English major students from Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA), Malaysia and 86 English major students from Prince Songkla University (PSU), Thailand. A Vocabulary Size Test (VST) adopted from Nation and Beglar was employed to gather the primary data from the respondents about their receptive vocabulary knowledge. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0 was used for data analysis. Results showed that, on average, UniSZA students had a higher VST score (44.64%) compared to that of PSU students (20.92%). The highe...
Student EFL Teachers’ Receptive Vocabulary Size.pdf
This study reports the results of a study investigating the receptive vocabulary size of student EFL teachers. The study also examined the relationship between the participants' academic achievement (departmental GPA) and their receptive vocabulary size and the existence of any gender-related difference. The study was carried out in English Language Teaching (ELT) Department of a major state university in Turkey. A total of 104 undergraduate students (females: 76 and males: 28) enrolled in the department voluntarily participated in the study, took the Version 2 of the Vocabulary Levels Tests ) and responded to a survey investigating their GPA scores and genders. The results revealed that student EFL teachers have a high level of total receptive vocabulary capacity size in their foreign language (M=103.82). Learners' academic achievement (GPA) is treated as an indicator of their language proficiency level in many studies of English Language Teaching (ELT) field. However, the results of this study revealed that there was not any statistically significant correlation between academic achievement (GPA) and their receptive vocabulary size. Although GPA may be a sign of academic achievement (GPA) and successful studentship, it may not readily one's actual English language proficiency. The results also indicated that there was no significant difference between males and females regarding their receptive vocabulary size.