| Vocabulary knowledge is an important aspect of second language (L2) vocabulary acquisition, and it is widely accepted as a fundamental component of second language proficiency. A clear tendency in the field of L2 vocabulary acquisition study is that vocabulary knowledge is no longer viewed as a one-dimensional construct rather than as a multi-dimensional one. Many various but complementary vocabulary knowledge frameworks have been proposed, in which breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge occupy a primary and central position. As is well-known to all, vocabulary is one of the basic requirements in reading. In the domain of L2 vocabulary acquisition research, however, much attention has been paid to the study of vocabulary breath or its relation to reading comprehension; few studies explored the relationship between vocabulary depth and reading comprehension. The central purpose of this study was to investigate the correlational relationship between vocabulary breadth, depth and reading comprehension, and empirically evaluate the role of in-depth word knowledge in L2 reading on the basis of the framework of vocabulary knowledge proposed by Nation (1990,2001).The present study, consisting of three tests: vocabulary size test, vocabulary depth test and reading comprehension test, was carried out with a sample of 53 non-English major freshmen from Wenzheng College of Soochow University. Two-tailed Pearson product-moment correlations and a multiple regression analysis programmed in SPSS 12.0 were chosen as the main analysis tools for the data.The major research findings of the study indicate that: (a) there exists a moderate, positive correlation relationship among vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth and reading comprehension; (b) the depth of vocabulary knowledge, represented by lexical meaning and collocational knowledge, can make a unique contribution to reading comprehension.This study has both theoretical and practical significance. It scientifically assesses the role of vocabulary knowledge in reading comprehension and reveals that in-depth vocabulary knowledge is much more important than learning as many words as possible. Learners must learn to master deep knowledge concerning individual words in various aspects. To improve reading comprehension, at least two components of vocabulary depth knowledge deserve special attention. First, in addition to primary meanings of the individual words, synonymy and polysemy are also indispensable elements that could be introduced in the classroom. Secondly, syntactic properties of words, in particular their collocational relations with other words, are also well worth learners' attention. The findings from this study call for a recognition of the importance of improving adjective-noun collocational knowledge in learners' EFL learning process. Finally, this study also sheds some light on the teaching and research of English vocabulary and reading in our country. |
