Vocabulary Levels and Size of Malaysian Undergraduates

Harji, Madhubala Bava; Balakrishnan, Kavitha; Bhar, Sareen Kaur; Letchumanan, Krishnaveni

doi:10.5539/elt.v8n9p119

Cited by 23 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Academic words that make up 10% of the vocabulary used in the texts (Coxhead, 2000) consist of low frequency words; words that are not commonly used in general English. Findings from several studies (e.g., Kamariah, Mahani & Bordin, 2016, Harji et al, 2015, Asgari & Mustapha, 2012 revealed that many Malaysian undergraduates do not possess adequate English vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary size; this may have presumably impeded their reading and understanding of reading material at the university level. This echoes with the participants' opinions they pointed out that some of the vocabulary used in the texts were unfamiliar and this makes the academic texts difficult to understand.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading English Academic Texts: Evidence from ESL Undergraduates’ Eye Movement Data

Sulaiman

Salehuddin

Khairudin

2020

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Reading English academic texts can be a daunting task for many ESL university students. The complex features of academic texts which include academic discourse, text structure, and vocabulary may affect the reading process. An investigation of how ESL university students read English academic reading materials would provide insights on what learners do to attain comprehension of the text. This study aims to investigate the cognitive processes that take place when ESL undergraduates read English academic texts using eye movement data. Quantitative data (total fixation duration, total fixation count, fixation duration) and qualitative data (scan path) of eye movements derived from eye tracker accompanied with retrospective interview were collected from twenty ESL undergraduates from two academic programmes. The findings revealed that participants who failed to recall the texts had longer fixation duration and resulted in more in words regressions compared to participants who recalled and explained the texts accurately. Vocabulary used in academic texts was found to be one of the factors that affect the comprehension of the texts. The findings of the study suggest that specialised instructions that emphasise academic reading skills should be implemented at the early level of tertiary education.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reading English Academic Texts: Evidence from ESL Undergraduates’ Eye Movement Data

Sulaiman

Salehuddin

Khairudin

2020

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“…Despite their importance, mastery of the 1k is not enough for functional language proficiency (Groot, 2000) -knowledge of the most frequent 3,000 word families is considered a minimum requirement to achieve success in language learning (Laufer, 1992;Nation, 2001) as this vocabulary size provides students with 95% lexical coverage necessary for minimum comprehension (Laufer, 1989). Thus, the students of this IEP do not yet have an adequate vocabulary and this will hinder their performance, directly affect their ability to understand texts, and impair their ability to operate successfully in a language (Alderson & Banerjee, 2002;Gyllstad et al, 2015;Harji et al, 2015). Results reveal that the IEP did improve students' vocabulary size, but not where it is needed.…”

Section: The Frequency Effectmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Numerous researchers have argued that a vocabulary size of these 3,000 word families is the minimum threshold in order for learners to communicative and successfully engage in either receptive or productive language use (e.g., Li & MacGregor, 2010;Schmitt et al, 2015). Without mastery of these words, students' inadequate vocabularies will indeed hinder their performance, directly affect their ability to understand texts, and impair their ability to operate successfully in a language (Alderson & Banerjee, 2002;Gyllstad Vilkaite & Schmitt, 2015;Harji et al, 2015;Romer, 2011). Schmitt (2000) makes the important point that "the learning of these basic words can not be left to chance, but should be taught as quickly as possible because they open [...] the door of further learning (p. 137)" and Gallego and Llach, (2009) emphasis that the sooner these words are learnt, the better students' performance will be.…”

Section: Word Family Frequency Listsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of an Intensive English Program on the Vocabulary Size of Lebanese English Foreign Learners

Abouzeid¹

2018

IJEL

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The research concerning intensive programs in general has yielded conflicting results and as such, whether or not such time-shortened courses are effective in achieving their learning objectives is a matter of controversy. This study hopes to contribute to the current body of research available and perhaps aid in clearing the uncertainty surrounding such compact programs in a foreign language context by evaluating the effectiveness of one IEP at an English-medium university in Lebanon through the construct of vocabulary size. The vocabulary size of 100 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners enrolled in an Intensive English Program (IEP) was measured pre and post instruction using the New Vocabulary Levels test (NVLT). Test results were examined and compared using a dependent samples t-test to determine the effectiveness of the IEP in improving students’ vocabulary size. Results revealed that across the NVLT’s 6 receptive vocabulary lists (1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, and 5000 most frequent words in addition to the Academic Word List), students showed a statistically significant improvement on the post test (p=0.000< 0.05), endorsing the effectiveness of IEP in a foreign language context in enhancing students’ receptive vocabulary size. This study concludes with practical implications for EFL IEP teachers and syllabus designers.

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“…Another study conducted by Mokhtar et al (2010) also found a rather low range of vocabulary size among 360 first through third year Diploma students in a public university: 1691, 1691, and 2154 word families respectively. A more recent study by Harji et al (2015), which was conducted among 120 first year undergraduates in a private Malaysian university, found a mean vocabulary size of only 2,000 word families. Lin et al (2015) reported a vocabulary size of 3,335 word families among 106 tertiary remedial students, while Yunus et al (2016) found that first year English major undergraduates have an average of 4,460 word family.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Many past studies (e.g. Mokhtar et al 2010, Lin, Pandian & Jaganathan 2015, Harji, Balakrishnan, Bhar & Letchumanan 2015, Yunus, Mohamad & Waelateh 2016, Mathai et al 2004) conducted in Malaysian university contexts have shown that students' vocabulary size is lower than the 9,000 word family which was argued to be the requirement for success in college education (e.g. Nation 2006, Schmitt & Schmitt 2014, Laufer Ravenhorst-Kalovski 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Association between Vocabulary Size and Language Dominance of Bilingual Malay-English Undergraduates

Rahman¹,

Yap

Darmi

2018

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Bilingual learners' inadequate English vocabulary size is one of the most frequently stated problems in applied linguistics. Using mostly qualitative case studies, earlier findings reported several factors (e.g. negative attitude, lack of exposure, poor proficiency, and age of acquisition) as related to bilingual learners' insufficient English vocabulary size. Therefore, the present study undertakes an in-depth quantitative study to measure language dominance, which encompasses language history, use, proficiency, and attitude towards Malay, the first language (L1), and English, the second languages of 96 Malay-English bilingual undergraduates. It also examines the relationship between vocabulary size and overall dominance scores. The 20,000 Vocabulary Size Test was used to measure English vocabulary size and the Bilingual Language Profile (BLP) was used to determine the dominance score. The results show that most of the Malay-English bilinguals are Malay dominant. A positive and statistically significant association was found between the overall language dominance score and English vocabulary size. One of the most striking findings to emerge from this study is that the language dominance score accounts for 30% of the variability in the vocabulary size of Malay-English undergraduates.

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Vocabulary Levels and Size of Malaysian Undergraduates

Cited by 23 publications

References 11 publications

Reading English Academic Texts: Evidence from ESL Undergraduates’ Eye Movement Data

Reading English Academic Texts: Evidence from ESL Undergraduates’ Eye Movement Data

The Effect of an Intensive English Program on the Vocabulary Size of Lebanese English Foreign Learners

The Association between Vocabulary Size and Language Dominance of Bilingual Malay-English Undergraduates

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