Development Of L2 Word Knowledge Of Chinese Tertiary-Level English Majors

The essential part that vocabulary plays in L2 learning as well as teaching is widely acknowledged. Research on L2 learning suggests that inadequacy in both L2 vocabulary size and depth of L2 word knowledge often leads to lexical errors in speaking or writing of L2 learners which would influence their performance in L2. The present research is aimed at exploring the L2 word knowledge development of a particular group of L2 learners who are English majors in Chinese tertiary institutions in the classroom setting. It is believed that such an investigation on the development of L2 word knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of L2 vocabulary acquisition in classroom settings and provide implications for L2 vocabulary learning and teaching.The theoretical underpinnings for the present study are the word knowledge frameworks proposed by Richards, Nation and Laufer who emphasize the multi-facet of word knowledge and claim that knowing a word means knowing the different types of knowledge of the target word, such as form, meaning, position in a sentence and associations with other related words. This study focuses on four types of word knowledge, namely basic meaning, multiple-meanings, derivative forms and near-synonym knowledge which are believed to be essential aspects of word knowledge. Four issues are addressed in the present study:the developmental patterns of L2 vocabulary size of Chinese tertiary-level English majors across the four learning stages; the developmental patterns of depth of L2 word knowledge concerning the knowledge of multiple-meanings, derivative forms and near-synonyms of Chinese tertiary-ievel English majors across the four learning stages; the interrelationships between different types of word knowledge examined and the similarities and differences in the developmental patterns of L2 vocabulary size and depth of L2 word knowledge of English majors across the different types of Chinese tertiary institutions.A cross-sectional approach was employed in the present study. More than 300 English majors across the four learning stages participated in the present research. They are from three tertiary institutions in Shandong province, China:one is a national key university, another is a provincial key university and still another is a local ordinary university. A macro lexicon-based approach and multiple test method were adopted in order to cover a larger number of target words and to examine the different aspects of word knowledge more specifically. The newly-released Vocabulary Size Test developed by Nation and Beglar and the test battery of multiple-meanings, derivative forms and near-synonyms for the depth of word knowledge recently developed by Ishii and Schmitt were employed as the instruments for the measure of vocabulary size and depth of word knowledge in the present study. After two careful pilot studies, some new items in the test of multiple-meanings and test of near-synonyms were added to replace the original items in order to suit the purpose of the study. Data were collected in natural class time in the three universities. All the data obtained were analyzed with the aid of the statistic software SPSS.Results of the empirical study manifest a non-linear developmental route for both vocabulary size and depth of word knowledge in the case of English majors in Chinese tertiary institutions across the four learning stages. Some major findings from the present study are:(1) A linear developmental pattern in vocabulary size of the participants has been found from the learning stages of Year One to Year Three, but stabilization or even attrition has also been observed from Year Three to Year Four. (2) Different types of word knowledge examined develop in different patterns and routes, implying a non-concurrent development of L2 vocabulary size and depth of L2 word knowledge. (3) Unlike the development of the other three types of word knowledge, knowledge of near-synonyms of the participants shows a state of stagnation or fossilization across the four learning stages. (4) The four types of word knowledge examined correlate with each other significantly and positively though the strength of correlation varies. (5) Differences have been found in the developmental patterns of the four aspects of L2 word knowledge across the different types of institutions, though similarities have also been observed. Although significant differences have been found in the four types of word knowledge of the participants from different institutions at the initial phase of their tertiary education, such differences diminish at the advanced stages. (6) The achievements of the participants from the ordinary tertiary institution are less homogeneous and more varied across the four learning stages in L2 word knowledge than those from key tertiary institutions.Discussion is made on the issue of frequency in the measure of L2 vocabulary size, the vocabulary size needed for tertiary-level English majors, word knowledge fossilization and lexical attrition as well as the incremental and dynamic nature of L2 vocabulary development in classroom settings. The results and findings of the present research provide significant implications in L2 vocabulary acquisition and vocabulary teaching. Theoretically, this study supports the incremental and dynamic nature of L2 vocabulary development in classroom settings and highlights the fact that the development of L2 word knowledge in classroom settings does not always follow a linear pattern, but rather it may show a state of stagnation, fossilization and even attrition at certain learning stages. Therefore, these issues should also be taken into account when we attempt to establish a theoretical model for L2 vocabulary acquisition in classroom settings. In this sense, the present study provides new evidence for the multistate model of L2 vocabulary acquisition proposed by Meara. Moreover, the results of the present study may indicate the reality of L1 influence in L2 vocabulary acquisition and calls for further research on cross-linguistic effect on L2 vocabulary acquisition. Methodologically, this study manifests again the effectiveness of lexicon-based macro approach and multiple test method proposed by Meara and Laufer and practiced in previous L2 vocabulary research. In addition, the present study has pedagogical implications in L2 vocabulary teaching and learning such as building lexical network, raising word family awareness and overcoming semantic fossilization and lexical attrition. Limitations of the present study are discussed and suggestions for future research are also provided at the end of this thesis.