Receptive And Productive Vocabulary Size Among Chinese Non-English Majors: A Written Form

In most colleges and universities in China, non-English major students are usuallyprovided with formal instruction only in Grade1and Grade2. English courses are oftennot allotted in Grade3and Grade4. Language learning is a lifelong developmentalprocess. When formal instruction in the first two years ends, how will learners’language proficiency develop thereafter? The present study takes vocabulary as astarting point to investigate the development and changes of receptive vocabulary sizeand productive vocabulary size of non-English major undergraduate students in the fouryears of tertiary education. In addition, this thesis offers an empirically based result tothe relations between receptive vocabulary size and productive vocabulary size indifferent learning stages. It also focuses on vocabulary size under instruction-aided andnon-instruction aided conditions to see whether current formal instruction setting cangive full play to the role of well cultivating learners’ language proficiency. Specifically,we hope to answer the following research questions:1) How does learners receptive vocabulary size develop during the four years?2) How does learners productive vocabulary size develop during the four years?3) How do the relationships between receptive vocabulary size and productivevocabulary size change at the four learning stages?4) How do learners receptive vocabulary size and productive vocabulary sizedevelop under instruction-aid and non-instruction aided language learning?Without formal instruction, how do highly-motivated and low-motivatedlearners vocabulary sizes develop?A pseudo-longitudinal research method was taken in present study. The subjectswere311non-English major undergraduate students from a national key universitywhich is also a demonstration site of college English reform. These subjects had similarlevels of English proficiency when they were admitted into university. A VocabularyLevels Test (Schmitt et al.,2001) was employed to measure learners’ receptive vocabulary size. Productive vocabulary size was investigated through a widely usedtimed writing test. The subjects were asked to complete the Vocabulary Levels Test, thewriting test and a questionnaire in the allotted time. In the mean time, to furtherinvestigate the features of receptive and productive vocabulary size of different groups,the subjects of Grade4were separated into two groups: highly-motivated learners andlow-motivated learners. Through the data we collected and analyzed, we found that:1) Receptive vocabulary size gradually became larger with increasing academicyear, and there was a significant increase from Grade2to Grade3.2) The development of productive vocabulary size was relatively slow. Differencesin productive vocabulary size between each neighboring grade did not reach statisticalsignificant. A significant increase in productive vocabulary size does not arise until thefourth grade.3) Receptive vocabulary size significantly correlates with productive vocabularysize in Grade1and Grade3, though showing a low correlation. There is no significantcorrelation between receptive and productive vocabulary size in Grade2and Grade4.4) Classroom instruction gives a hand to the development of learners receptivevocabulary ability, but there is no improvement on learners receptive and productiveability while learning without instructional aids. It is inferred that classroom instructionin the first two years did not fulfill its role in fostering learners language proficiencyability and the furtherance of continuous motives of learning objectives. A significantdifference in receptive vocabulary size was found between highly-motivated learnersand low-motivated learners, while such difference was not found in productivevocabulary size. Learners productive vocabulary ability stagnated in spite of thecontinuity in language learning.The findings of this research lead to some implications for college English reform.First, balanced input and output in-class activities should be designed. Emphasis shouldbe placed on promoting learners productive ability. Second, it is necessary to sustainthe learning of English throughout four years of tertiary education. English coursesshould be allotted not only in the first two years, but also in Grade three and Grade four. "Four years of continuous language learning" should be fully implemented. Third,college English teachers should encourage students to use newly learned words inpractical activities to improve their productive ability.