The Correlation between The Correlation between Senior High School Students’ Senior High School Students’ Vocabulary Size and Reading Vocabulary Size and Reading Performance in the College Performance in the College Entrance Examination in Entrance Examination in TaiwanTaiwan

Proposed by Betty Hsu Proposed by Betty Hsu

RationaleRationaleThe average scores of KLSH students in the standardized college The average scores of KLSH students in the standardized college admission-examination: the Scholastic Aptitude English Test (SAET) have admission-examination: the Scholastic Aptitude English Test (SAET) have been on the decline in recent years. The outcome of the examinations is a been on the decline in recent years. The outcome of the examinations is a big discouragement and warming toward students as well as toward the big discouragement and warming toward students as well as toward the researcher-teacher. To cope with the problem, the researcher is anxious to researcher-teacher. To cope with the problem, the researcher is anxious to explore the cause of students’ downward performance and tries to find out explore the cause of students’ downward performance and tries to find out potential solutions. As Taiwanpotential solutions. As Taiwan’’s college entrance examinations for English s college entrance examinations for English are reading-oriented, English reading competence is key to studentsare reading-oriented, English reading competence is key to students’’ success in the examinations. And among all the components of reading, success in the examinations. And among all the components of reading, vocabulary is a crucial one. A lot of second language studies have vocabulary is a crucial one. A lot of second language studies have demonstrated: 1) reading comprehension is related to vocabulary demonstrated: 1) reading comprehension is related to vocabulary knowledge, more strongly than to the other components, either in oneknowledge, more strongly than to the other components, either in one’’s s native language or in a foreign language, and 2) vocabulary serves as a native language or in a foreign language, and 2) vocabulary serves as a good predictor of reading success. Therefore, the researcher plans to good predictor of reading success. Therefore, the researcher plans to conduct a study to verify whether inadequacy of vocabulary contributes to conduct a study to verify whether inadequacy of vocabulary contributes to studentsstudents’’ adverse performance in SAET and to identify students adverse performance in SAET and to identify students’’ real real competence levels and learning problems. By doing such a study, the competence levels and learning problems. By doing such a study, the researcher-teacher attempts to find out possible solutions to her teaching researcher-teacher attempts to find out possible solutions to her teaching problems and to provide students with more effective instructions and problems and to provide students with more effective instructions and suggestions on their learning in English vocabulary and reading.suggestions on their learning in English vocabulary and reading.

DefinitionsDefinitionsVocabulary Size : the number of words for which a learner has at least some minimum knowledge of the words’ meaning while reading a text, in more receptive aspect than productive one

Threshold in reading comprehension: a level below which the reader will be handicapped by a lack of comprehension and above which the reader will be able to apply his or her reading strategies to help comprehension and achieve better results. Laufer (1989,1992,1996) claims that a threshold of 95% lexical coverage of a text is needed for minimum comprehension, expressed in 56% on a reading comprehension test. English Reference Word List : published by the College Entrance Examination Center (CEEC) Taiwan, designed for the two levels of English tests in the college entrance examination of Taiwan, namely the Scholastic Aptitude English Test (SAET) and the Department Required English Test (DRET ). This English reference word list contains 6,480 words in American English. The words of levels 1-4 are supposed to be appropriate for SAET, and the words of levels 1-6, for DRET.

Purpose and Research questionsPurpose and Research questionsThe study plans to explore the relationships between vocabulary size and The study plans to explore the relationships between vocabulary size and reading comprehension in the standardized college admission English reading comprehension in the standardized college admission English examination: the Scholastic Aptitude English Test (SAET) in Taiwan. examination: the Scholastic Aptitude English Test (SAET) in Taiwan.

The researcher intends to explore following research questions:The researcher intends to explore following research questions:

  1. What is the vocabulary size level of students (the status quo of students’1. What is the vocabulary size level of students (the status quo of students’

lexical competence)?lexical competence)?

2. How do different vocabulary size levels of students perform in the SAET2. How do different vocabulary size levels of students perform in the SAET

reading comprehension items? To what extent do different levels ofreading comprehension items? To what extent do different levels of

vocabulary size correlate with their scores of the SAET reading test?vocabulary size correlate with their scores of the SAET reading test?

3. What is the minimum vocabulary size range needed to achieve acceptable 3. What is the minimum vocabulary size range needed to achieve acceptable

performance in the reading test of SAET (the test-specific vocabulary performance in the reading test of SAET (the test-specific vocabulary

threshold)? threshold)?

4. To what extent does vocabulary size contribute to predicting students’ 4. To what extent does vocabulary size contribute to predicting students’

performance on SAET reading comprehension?performance on SAET reading comprehension?

Research MethodResearch Method The research plans to use multivariate analyses to assess the The research plans to use multivariate analyses to assess the

relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, including their correlation, the threshold level and comprehension, including their correlation, the threshold level and the prediction power .the prediction power .

Subjects:Subjects: five intact classes of 3 five intact classes of 3rdrd graders in KLSH (around 200 students) graders in KLSH (around 200 students)

InstrumentsInstruments: 3 major instruments applied in the research:: 3 major instruments applied in the research:

1)1) Vocabulary Test: to be based on “English Reference Word List”Vocabulary Test: to be based on “English Reference Word List”

published by the College Entrance Examination Center, Taiwanpublished by the College Entrance Examination Center, Taiwan

2)2) Reading Comprehension Test: to be based on past SAET reading Reading Comprehension Test: to be based on past SAET reading

comprehension testscomprehension tests

3) Two questionnaires: one on “vocabulary acquisition” and the other 3) Two questionnaires: one on “vocabulary acquisition” and the other

on “reading problems and strategies”. on “reading problems and strategies”.

Design of the Research Design of the Research Procedure Procedure

vocabulary test vocabulary acquisition questionnaire

reading test reading questionnaire

After the above tasks, the research will further

1) examine if there is any discrepancy (gap) between students’ vocabulary size and the vocabulary amount required in the SAET

2) analyze how the discrepancy in vocabulary size influences students’ performance on SAET

3) investigate how much the vocabulary level accounts for and predicts students’ reading test scores.

4) determine what number of words (vocabulary threshold) students need to possess to benefit their reading comprehension while taking the SAET.

5) analyze key issues on successful vocabulary learning and give suggestions