Assessing the Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Developing EFL Learners&#x02019; Writing Skills: Implications for Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Learning

PDF(280 KB)

Asian Journal of English Language Teaching ›› 2023, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1) : 105-130.

Assessing the Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Developing EFL Learners’ Writing Skills: Implications for Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Learning

Linda H. F. LIN

Author information +

History +

Abstract

Vocabulary knowledge is essential for language learning. This is particularly so for English as a second language (L2) and foreign language (EFL) learners, whose affordances of input and output opportunities may be limited. A rich contextual learning environment is instrumental for these language learners because it enables incidental learning to take place. However, little research has investigated the role of vocabulary knowledge in developing EFL learners’ writing proficiency. The current study, drawing upon two vocabulary tests, one writing test, three focus group interviews, and two case studies, addresses this gap from multifaceted perspectives. The findings of the study provided empirical evidence of the critical role of vocabulary knowledge in EFL learners’ writing proficiency. The results also revealed the centrality of a contextual learning envi- ronment in developing EFL learners’ writing skills. The paucity of such an envi- ronment limited the learners’ writing experience, hampered their confidence, and caused their misconceptions of what counts as good writing. This study contrib- utes to research on the relationships between learners’ vocabulary knowledge and writing proficiency. It has significant implications for intentional and inci- dental vocabulary learning and profound implications for EFL teaching pedagogy.

Cite this article

EndNote

Ris (Procite)

Bibtex

Download Citations

Linda H. F. LIN. Assessing the Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Developing EFL Learners’ Writing Skills: Implications for Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Learning[J]. Asian Journal of English Language Teaching. 2023, 32(1): 105-130

References

Atmojo, A. E. P. (2021). Facilitating positive washback through authentic assessment in EFL assessment. Journal of Teaching and Education, 3(2), 226-233.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology.Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.
Butler, Y. G. (2014). Parental factors and early English education as a foreign language: A case study in Mainland China.Research Papers in Education, 29(4), 410-437.
Cohen, A. D. (2006). The coming of age of research on test-taking strategies.Language Assessment Quarterly, 3(4), 307-331.
Crossley, S. A. (2020). Linguistic features in writing quality and development: An overview.Journal of Writing Research, 11(3), 415-443.
Ellis, N. C. (2014). Cognitive and social language usage.Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 36(3), 397-402.
Færch C., Haastrup K., & Phillipson R. (1984). Learner language and language learning. Multilingual Matters.
Folse K. S.(2004). Vocabulary myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching. University of Michigan Press.
Gass, S., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second language acquisition: An introductory course (3rd ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Gu, P. Y. (2020). Strategies for learning vocabulary. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies (pp. 271-287). Routledge.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. (2013). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar. Routledge.
Hamp-Lyons, L., & Kroll, B. (1996). Issues in ESL writing assessment: An overview.College ESL, 6(1), 52-72.
Hu, G. W. (2003). English language teaching in China: Regional differences and contributing factors.Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 24(4), 290-318.
Jin, L., & Cortazzi, M. (Eds.). (2011). Researching Chinese learners: Skills, perceptions and intercultural adaptations. Springer.
Kennedy, S., & Lui, R. (2013). Washback of a high-stakes English test in China: Student and teacher perceptions.Concorda Working Papers in Applied Linguistics, 4, 22-29.
Laufer, B., & Paribakht, T. S. (1998). The relationship between passive and active vocabularies: Effects of language learning context.Language Learning, 48(3), 365-391.
Laufer, B., & Ravenhorst-Kalovski, G. C. (2010). Lexical threshold revisited: Lexical text coverage, learners’ vocabulary size and reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 15-30.
Lin, L. H. F. (2019). The NMET impact on the English writing of Mainland Chinese students.ERL Journal, 1(1), 122-131.
Lin, L. H. F., & Morrison, B. (2021). Challenges in academic writing: Perspectives of engineering faculty and L2 postgraduate research students.English for Specific Purposes, 63, 59-70.
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2011). Reticence and anxiety in oral English lessons: A case study in China. In L. Jin & M. Cortazzi (Eds.), Researching Chinese learners: Skills, perceptions, and intercultural adaptation (pp. 119-137). Palgrave Macmillan
Liu, N., & Nation, I. S. P. (1985). Factors affecting guessing vocabulary in context.RELC Journal, 16(1), 33-42.
Llach, M. P. (2011). Lexical errors and accuracy in foreign language writing. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
McCarthy, M. J. (1990). Vocabulary. Oxford University Press.
Meara, P. M., & Alcoy, J. C. O. (2010). Words as species: An alternative approach to estimating productive vocabulary size.Reading in a Foreign Language, 22(1), 222-236.
Millman J., Bishop C. H., & Ebel R. (1965). An analysis of test-wiseness.Educational and Psychological Measurement, 25(3), 707-726.
Milton, J. (2009). Measuring second language vocabulary acquisition. Multilingual Matters.
Nation, I. S. P. (1990). Teaching and learning vocabulary. Newbury House.
Nation, I. S. P. (2007). The four strands.Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 1-12.
Pavlenko, A. (2009). Conceptual representation in the bilingual lexicon and second language vocabulary learning. In A. Pavlenko (Ed.), The bilingual mental lexicon: Interdisciplinary approaches (pp. 125-160). Multilingual Matters.
Qian, D. D. (1999). Assessing the roles of depth and breadth of vocabulary knowledge.Canadian Modern Language Review, 56(2), 282-308.
Qian, D. D., & Lin, L. H. F. (2020). The relationship between vocabulary knowledge and language proficiency. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies (pp. 66-80). Routledge.
Read, J. (1998). Validating a test to measure depth of vocabulary knowledge. In A. J. Kunnan (Ed.), Validation in language assessment: Selected papers from 17th Language Testing Research Colloquium, Long Beach (pp. 41-60). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Reid, J. (1993). Teaching ESL writing. New York: Prentice Hall.
Saldaña, J. (2021). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. SAGE Publications Ltd.
Schmitt, N. (2014). Size and depth of vocabulary knowledge: What the research shows.Language Learning, 64(4), 913-951.
Schmitt N., Cobb T., Horst M., & Schmitt D. (2017). How much vocabulary is needed to use English? Replication of Van Zeeland & Schmitt (2012), Nation (2006) and Cobb (2007).Language Teaching, 50(2), 212-226.
Schmitt N., Dornyei Z., Adolphs S., & Durrow V. (2004). Knowledge and acquisition of formulaic sequences: A longitudinal study. In N. Schmitt (Ed.), Formulaic sequences: Acquisition, processing, and use (pp. 55-86). John Benjamins.
Shaw, S., & Falvey, P. (2008). The IELTS Writing Assessment Revision Project: Towards a revised rating scale. University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
Singleton, D. (2007). How integrated is the integrated mental lexicon? In Z. Lengyel & J. Navracsics (Eds.), Second language lexical processes: Applied linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives (pp. 3-16). Multilingual Matters.
Stæhr, L. S. (2008). Vocabulary size and the skills of listening, reading and writing.Language Learning Journal, 36(2), 139-152.
Stæhr, L. S. (2009). Vocabulary knowledge and advanced listening comprehension in English as a foreign language.Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(4), 577-607.
Webb, S. (2020). Incidental vocabulary learning. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies (pp. 225-239). Routledge.
Yanagisawa, A., & Webb, S. (2020). Measuring depth of vocabulary knowledge. In S. Webb (Ed.), The Routledge handbook of vocabulary studies(pp. 371-386). Routledge.
You, X. (2010). Writing in the devil’s tongue: A history of English composition in China. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Yu J., Brown G. T., & Stephens J. M. (2018). Retrospective case studies of successful Chinese learners of English: Continuity and change in self-identities over time and across contexts.System, 72, 124-138.
Zhao, J. (2016). The reform of the National Matriculation English Test and its impact on the future of English in China: Will English lose its predominance in the Chinese foreign language landscape?English Today, 32(2), 38-44.