| Morphological awareness (MA) is considered a prime force in children's vocabulary growth, but this skill has scarcely been measured in adults. This study tested a method for assessing MA using complex (multimorphemic) words and a two-stage process designed to elicit explicit morphological knowledge. Participants, 106 college students, indicated which of the complex words they knew and were tested on morphological analysis and on definitions of the words. For example, correct responses on the morphology test would indicate that readmission is related to admit (and not to mission) and that presumptuous is based on presume (and not sumptuous). A standardized test, the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (ND), was also administered. Two metalinguistic scores were derived: MA was calculated for known words for which the morphological base word was identified, and Accuracy was based on known words for which the correct definition was selected. Participants with better ND Vocabulary and Comprehension scores also had higher MA scores and greater metacognitive awareness of their own lexicons. An inadequate vocabulary is one cause of reading problems, and a method that extends MA research to an older age group allows further research into vocabulary development with implications for remedial strategies. |
