| Reading comprehension plays an important role in English teaching and learning in senior high schools. Vocabulary is the foundation of reading comprehension; to expand English learners' vocabulary knowledge is an important part of improving their reading ability. There are many studies of vocabulary knowledge (especially vocabulary size) or reading comprehension both in China and abroad, but there are some of the relationships between the two. Based on the vocabulary knowledge framework proposed by Nation (1990), the present study attempts to investigate the relationship between vocabulary knowledge (breadth and depth) and reading comprehension among senior high students.72 senior high students in Nanjing Senior High School took part in the study and three tests were conducted respectively examining their vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences was employed for Pearson correlation analysis.The results showed:(1) There is significant and positive correlation between breadth of vocabulary knowledge, depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. It shows that in addition to the prediction of breadth of vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension, depth of vocabulary knowledge can also make a unique contribution to it. (2) There is significantly positive and high inter-correlation between breadth of vocabulary knowledge and depth of vocabulary knowledge. (3) Whether students are good at English or not, how much they master vocabulary knowledge will have a great effect on their reading comprehension.To sum up, vocabulary learning is much more than learning as many words as possible. Learners must learn to master depth of vocabulary knowledge concerning individual words in various aspects. Since the two aspects of vocabulary knowledge are strongly associated with reading comprehension, it is very important to attach importance on both breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge in English vocabulary teaching and learning. |
