The Receptive Vocabulary of English Foreign Language Young Learners

Authors

  • Rosa María Jiménez Catalán University of La Rioja
  • Melania Terrazas Gallego University of La Rioja

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.127

Keywords:

English as a Foreign Language, receptive vocabulary size, L2 proficiency, primary education, gender difference

Abstract

This paper responds to the need for research on vocabulary knowledge in foreign language education. First, we investigate the receptive vocabulary knowledge of students learning English in Spanish primary education by using the 1,000 word test and the 2,000 frequency band of The Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT). Second, we study differences between the sexes by comparing their scores. Third, we evaluate whether students’ scores correlate with their scores on a cloze test. As a result, we show that their English receptive vocabulary size falls within the 1,000 word level. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of a positive correlation between the two frequency bands and a cloze test.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Agustín, M. P. 2005. “Lexical errors in the written compositions of primary school learners of English as foreign language.” Trabajo de Investigación Tercer Ciclo. Departamento de Filologías Modernas: Universidad de la Rioja (Unpublished manuscript).

Agustín, M. P., A. Fernández and S. Moreno. 2005. “Lexical errors in the written production of young ESL beginner learners: sex differences.” XXIII Congreso Internacional de la Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (AESLA). Universitat de les Illes Balears.

Bauer, L. and P. Nation. 1993. “Word families.” International Journal of Lexicography 6 (4): 253-79.

Beglar, D. and A. Hunt. 1999. “Revising and validating the 2000 Word Level and University Word Level Vocabulary Tests.” Language Testing 16 (2): 131-62.

Cameron, L. 2002. “Measuring vocabulary size in English as an additional language.” Language Teaching Research 6 (2): 145-73.

Cameron, L. 2003. “Challenges for ELT from the expansion in teaching children.” ELT Journal 57 (2): 105-12.

Cobb, T. 1999. “Vocabulary sizes of some City University students.” Journal of the Division of Language Studies of City University of Hong Kong 1 (1): 59-68.

Cobb, T. 2001. “One Size Fits All? Francophone Learners and English Vocabulary Tests.” The Canadian Modern Language Review 57 (2): 295-324.

Cobb, T. and M. E. Horst. 1999. “Vocabulary sizes of some City University students.” Journal of the Division of Language Studies of City University of Hong Kong 1/1. http:// www.er.uqam.ca/nobel/r21270/cv/CitySize.html/

Corporate Author Cambridge ESOL. 2004. Cambridge Key English Test 1 (Examination Papers from the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations) 2nd Ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Edelenbos, P. and M. P. Vinjé. 2000. “The Assessment of a foreign language at the end of primary (elementary) education.” Language Testing 17 (2): 144-62.

Fan, M. 2000. “How big is the gap and how to narrow it? An investigation into the active and passive vocabulary knowledge of L2 learners.” RELC Journal 31 (2): 105-19.

Hanania, E. and M. Shikhani. 1986. “Interrelationships Among Three Tests of Language Proficiency: Standardized ESL, Cloze and Writing.” TESOL Quarterly 20 (1): 97-109.

Hurlburt, D. 1954. “The relative value of recall and recognition techniques for measuring precise knowledge of word meanings.” Journal of Educational Research XLVII (8): 514.

Izawa, H. 1993. “The English Vocabulary of 21 Japanese Adults on a High Proficiency Level.” JALT Journal 15 (1): 63-75.

Jamieson, P. 1976. The acquisition of English as a Second Language by Young Tokelau Children Living in New Zealand. Unpublished Ph. D. thesis, Victoria University of Wellington.

Jiménez, R. M. 1992. Errores en la Producción Escrita del Inglés y Posibles Factores Condicionantes. Madrid: Editorial de la Universidad Complutense.

Jiménez, R. M. 1997. “Análisis de los intereses sociales y personales de alumnos navarros de secundaria.” Los Temas Transversales en la Clase de Inglés. Coord. R. M. Jiménez Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra. Departamento de Educación y Cultura. 7-27.

Jiménez, R. M. 2003. “Sex differences in L2 vocabulary learning strategies.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics 13 (1): 54-78.

Jiménez, R. M and S. Moreno. 2004. “L2 Word Associations and the Variable Sex: An Outline According to an Electronic Tool.” Proceedings of the 27th International AEDEAN Conference. Eds. Celada, A. R., D. Pastor and P. J. García. Salamanca: Editorial Ambos Mundos (CD-ROM format).

Jiménez, R. M and J. Ojeda. 2007. “La carta como instrumento de identificación e interacción comunicativa en L2: Análisis del vocabulario de los saludos y las despedidas.” IX Simposio Internacional de la Sociedad de Didáctica de la Lengua y Literatura. La Lengua Escrita. Ed. Jesús Ramírez. Logroño: SEDLL (CD-ROM format)

Jiménez, R. M and J. Ojeda. 2008. “The English vocabulary of girls and boys: similarities or differences: Evidence from a corpus-based study.” Theoretical and methodological approaches to gender and language study. Eds. Litosseliti, L, Sauton, H., Harrigton K. and Sunderland J. London: Palgrave, Macmillan.

Jochems, W. and F. Montens. 1988. “The multiple-choice cloze test as a general language profiency test.” ITL Review of Applied Linguistics 81: 139-59.

Kilgarriff, A. 1995. BNC Database and Word Frequency Lists. http://www.itri.brighton.ac.uk/Adam.Kilgarriff/bnc-readme.html

Kucera, H. and W.N. Francis. 1967. A computational Analysis of Present Day American English. Providence. Rhode Island: Brown University Press.

Lapkin, S. and M. Swain. 1977. “The Use of English and French Cloze Tests in a Bilingual Education Program, Evaluation: Validity and Error Analysis.” Language Learning 27 (2): 279-314.

Laufer, B. 1989. “What percentage of text-lexis is essential for comprehension?” Special Language: From Humans Thinking to Thinking Machines. Lauren, C. and M. Nordmann. Eds. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 316-23.

Laufer, B. 1992. “How much lexis is necessary for reading comprehension?” Vocabulary and Applied Linguistics. Eds. Bejoint, H. and P. Arnaud. London: Macmillan. 126-32.

Laufer, B. 1997. “The lexical plight in second language reading: words you don’t know, words you think you know, and words you can’t guess.” Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition. Eds. Coady, J. and T. Huckin. 20-34.

Laufer, B. 1998. “The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: same or different?” Applied Linguistics 19 (2): 255-71.

López-Mezquita, M. T. 2005. La Evaluación de la Competencia Léxica: Tests de Vocabulario. Su Fiabilidad y Validez. Universidad de Granada: Tesis Doctoral.

Meara, P. 1992. EFL Vocabulary Tests. Wales University, Swansea Centre for Applied Language Studies: ERIC Document Reproduction Service Nº. ED 362046.

Meara, P. 1996. “The dimensions of lexical competence.” Performance and Competence in Second Language Acquisition. Eds. Brown, G., K. Malmkjaer and J. Williams. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 35-53.

Meara, P. and B. Buxton. 1987. “An alternative to multiple choice vocabulary tests.” Language Testing 4 (2): 142-51.

Meara, P. and T. Fitzpatrick. 2000. “Lex30: an improved method of assessing productive vocabulary in an L2.” System 28: 19-30.

Meara, P. and G. Jones. 1990. “Tests of vocabulary size in English as a foreign language.” Polyglot 8 (1): 1-40.

Meara, P. 1990. Eurocentres Vocabulary Size Tests 10KA. Zurich: Eurocentres Learning Service.

Milton, J. and P. Meara. 1995. “How periods abroad affect vocabulary growth in a foreign language.” ITL Review of Applied Linguistics 107.108: 17-34.

Nation, I. S. P. 1983. “Teaching and testing vocabulary.” Guidelines 5 (1): 12-25.

Nation, I. S. P. 1990. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury.

Nation, I. S. P. 1993. “Measuring Readiness for Simplified Material: A Test of the First 1,000 Words of English.” Simplification: Theory and Application. Ed. M. L. RELC Anthology Series 31: 193-203.

Nation, I. S. P. 2001. Learning vocabulary in another language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Nurweni, A and J. Read. 1999. “The English vocabulary knowledge of Indonesian university students.” English for Specific Purposes 18: 161-75.

Pérez, C. 2004. “Assessing the vocabulary size of Spanish students of English Philology: An empirical investigation.” Towards an Understanding of the English Language: Past, Present and Future. Studies in Honour of Fernando Serrano. Eds. J. L. Martínez-Dueñas, N. McLaren, C. Pérez Basanta and L. Quereda. Granada: Universidad de Granada. 1-21.

Quinn, G. 1968. The English Vocabulary of Some Indonesian University Entrants. English Department Monograph IKIP Kristen Satya Watjana: Salatiga.

Read, J. 1988. Measuring the vocabulary knowledge of second language learners. RELC Journal 19: 12-25.

Read, J. 1997. Vocabulary testing. In N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy: Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 303-20.

Read, J. 2000. Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Schmitt, N. 1993. The Vocabulary Levels Test—Versions 1 and 2. Nottingham: Department of English Studies, University of Nottingham.

Schmitt, N. 2000. Vocabulary in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Schmitt, N. and P. Meara. 1997. “Researching vocabulary through a word knowledge framework: Word associations and verbal suffixes.” Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19 (1): 17-36.

Schmitt, N., D. Schmitt and C. Clapham. 2001. “Developing and exploring the behaviour of two new versions of the Vocabulary Level Test.” Language Testing 18 (1): 55-88.

Sutarsyah, C., P. Nation and G. Kennedy. 1994. “How useful is EAP vocabulary for ESP? A corpus based case study.” RELC Journal 25: 34-50.

Takala, S. 1984. Evaluation of Students’ Knowledge of English Vocabulary in the Finnish Comprehensive School (Reports of the Institute of Educational Research, No. 350), Jyväskylä: Finland.

Takala, S. 1985. “Estimating students’ vocabulary sizes in foreign language teaching.” Practice and Problems in Language Testing. Eds. Kohonen, V., H. van Essen and C. Klein-Braley. Tampere, Finland: Publications de l’Association Finlandaise de Linguistique Appliquée (AfinLA). 157-65.

Thorndike, E. and I. Lorge. 1944. The Teacher’s Word Book of 30,000 words. New York Teachers College: Columbia University.

Ward, J. 1999. “How large a vocabulary do EAP engineering students need?” Reading in a Foreign Language 12 (2): 309-23.

West, M. 1953. A General Service List of English Words. London: Longman.

Downloads

Published

29-05-2008

How to Cite

Jiménez Catalán, R. M., & Terrazas Gallego, M. (2008). The Receptive Vocabulary of English Foreign Language Young Learners. Journal of English Studies, 5, 173–191. https://doi.org/10.18172/jes.127