The Roles Of Breadth And Depth Of Vocabulary Knowledge In English Writing

Vocabulary acquisition is a key factor in the language acquisition of English and it is also the basis for other language skills, such as speaking and writing. Developing a great number of words is a long-term task and a top priority for English learners. Due to the importance of the vocabulary, more and more researchers and teachers have paid attention to this field.In recent years, vocabulary researchers have shifted their attention to Vocabulary Knowledge, which contains breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge. Among them, breadth of vocabulary knowledge focuses on learners'vocabulary size while depth of vocabulary knowledge assesses the development of different components of individual words. Most studies focus on how the learners obtain their vocabulary by reading and its strategies. A few researches have discussed to what extent Vocabulary Knowledge contributes to second language skills. Even within these few studies which have explored into the interrelationship between Vocabulary Knowledge and writing in a second language, most directs its attention on breadth of vocabulary knowledge and hardly explain the other aspect of Vocabulary Knowledge: depth of vocabulary knowledge.Taking such situation into consideration, this study explored the relationship between breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge and English writing for the third-year English majors in China where English is seen as a foreign language. 36 subjects in Shanxi Jinzhong University participated in the study, and three tests were respectively conducted to examine their vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge and English writing ability. Vocabulary size was measured by the Vocabulary Levels Test designed by Nation (1983, 1990), and then modified and expanded and presented its validity by Clapham and Schmitt (2001). Depth of vocabulary knowledge was assessed by the Word Associates Format from Read (1993, 1997, 1998), which includes meaning and collocations. Two kinds of depth of vocabulary knowledge were measured in this format, that is, meaning and collocation. Timed composition was adopted to assess the subjects'English writing ability. The topic was selected from TEM4 (Test for English Major—Band Four) (2000). The scores from these three tests were adopted as raw data and SPSS 11.5 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was offered for Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis.The results revealed: (1) There exists positive and high correlation among vocabulary size, depth of vocabulary knowledge and English writing. (2) Apart from the prediction of vocabulary size on writing, depth of vocabulary knowledge contributes to English writing uniquely.From the above results, it is showed that word learning is much more than memorizing as many words as possible. Deep knowledge regarding individual words in different aspects should be learned. To improve writing ability, at least two aspects of depth of vocabulary knowledge need sufficient attention in conducting EFL teaching. First, apart from basic meaning of words, polysemy and synonymy are also vital elements that should be taught in the class. Second, the synactic properties of words, especially the collocational relations with other words, deserve learners'attention, because the levels of these components of word knowledge highly relate to those of writing. In a word, it is very important to emphasize both breadth and depth of Vocabulary Knowledge in the process of English vocabulary learning and teaching.