Relationship Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension in Japanese: Effects of Language Proficiency and Text
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Abstract
This study investigates whether the relationship between breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension is affected by a reader factor (language proficiency) and a text factor (text type). Ninety-one Thai-speaking learners of Japanese as a foreign language (L2) read and recalled two expository texts (one general and one academic). Vocabulary breadth and depth were assessed by using a definition test and a word association test, respectively. Results indicated that as language proficiency increases, both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension improve, with the relationship between the two gradually changing. Vocabulary breadth is more highly correlated with reading comprehension than vocabulary depth. For advanced level of proficiency, the contribution of vocabulary depth, especially knowledge of word collocations and cooccurrences, increases especially in academic text comprehension. Implications are made regarding sensitizing students' awareness of the connection between vocabulary and reading and the importance of the word-to-text integration during reading.
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ข้อความและข้อคิดเห็นต่างๆ ในบทความเป็นของผู้เขียนบทความนั้นๆ ไม่ใช่ความเห็นของกองบรรณาธิการหรือของวารสาร jsn Journal
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