Effects Of Depth Of Vocabulary Knowledge And Vocabulary Learning Strategies On Reading Ability Among High School Students

As the foundation of language learning,vocabulary knowledge has always been a hot issue.It has been recognized that vocabulary knowledge includes two dimensions: breadth of vocabulary knowledge and depth of vocabulary knowledge.Because vocabulary learning not only involves the knowledge of its pronunciation,form and meaning,but also refers to a good command of the word,knowing its depth of vocabulary knowledge.Gradually more and more researchers dig into this dimension.As it is known,learner's ability is related to their concepts,methods and strategies,and vocabulary learning is no exception.Moreover,the correlations between vocabulary knowledge and reading ability have been proven significant for a long time.On the basis of several hypothesis and empirical researches,learners' vocabulary learning strategies and depth of vocabulary knowledge are supposed to be the two factors influencing learners' reading ability in the present study.The research investigates 50 high school students from an experimental and exemplary high school.The instruments include depth of vocabulary test and vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire,and also their reading scores in the mid-term examination.Therefore the vocabulary learning strategies and depth of vocabulary knowledge among high school students are investigated at first,and then the writer explores the relationship between these two items and their effects on reading ability.Three research questions are proposed in the present study:1)What's the overall pattern of vocabulary learning strategies adopted by high school students? And what's the overall state of depth of vocabulary knowledge?2)How is the learners' depth of vocabulary knowledge related with their vocabulary learning strategies?3)What effect do the two factors(DVK&VLS)have on learners' readingability?After collecting and analyzing the data by using SPSS,the results suggest that:1)Senior high school students have a good command of DVK and they adopt various kinds of strategies during the vocabulary learning process.2)Significant correlations are found between learners' depth of vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary learning strategies(r=0.488,sig.=0.000<0.01),and also between DVK and learners' reading ability(r=0.356,sig.=0.011<0.05).3)Although VLS shows no significant correlations with learners' reading ability(r=0.108,sig.=0.453>0.05),but its metacognitive dimension is highly correlated with learners' reading ability(r=0.321,sig.=0.023<0.05),which is a significant contribution.Metacognitive strategies are not only the most important factor positively related to learners' DVK,but also contribute a lot to learners' reading ability.Therefore,the teachers could develop learners' ability to adopt metacognitive strategies properly,and pay more attention to their depth of vocabulary knowledge in the vocabulary teaching process.