A Study On Correlations Among Non-English Major's Breadth Of Vocabulary Knowledge Depth Of Vocabulary Knowledge And Speaking Competence

Wilkins(1972: 111)claims that “without grammar,little can be conveyed,but without vocabulary,nothing can be conveyed”.Therefore,vocabulary plays an essential role in communication.All learners involved in the learning process can agree upon that learning vocabulary is an essential part of mastering a second language(Schmitt,2010).As Krashen and Terrell(1983: 89)states,“Vocabulary is of prime concern in second language settings,because it plays a dominant role in classroom success”.Vocabulary is the basis of language leaning,no matter in first,second or foreign language.Therefore,the importance of vocabulary in a second language leaning is undeniable,and vocabulary has been a subject which arouses researcher's attention for many years.Meanwhile,many researchers have conducted empirical studies to investigate the role vocabulary plays in a second language learning.With the development of researches on vocabulary knowledge,researchers have found that vocabulary knowledge mainly has two dimensions: breadth of vocabulary knowledge and depth of vocabulary knowledge.Breadth of vocabulary knowledge refers to the number of words for which the person knows at least some of the significant aspects of meaning;breadth of vocabulary knowledge is the quality or depth of understanding(Anderson & Freebody,1981).Depth of knowledge refers to lexical features,involving sound,form,syntax,semantics,collocations,grammar(Qian,2002).However,most previous studies focused on breadth of vocabulary knowledge in a second language learning rather than on depth of vocabulary knowledge.But it apart,even though,there were numerous researches exploring the relation between vocabulary knowledge and reading,listening or writing,there was little study concerning the relation between vocabulary knowledge and speaking competence.Speaking competence is a crucial factor to estimate how well the learners have learned a second language.Thus,this study attempted to reveal the relation between vocabulary knowledge and speaking competence,giving some advice to a second language learner and teachers.College and university studentsare supposed to master English comprehensively,and English majors general have learned English specifically and systematically,but non-English majors only received basic English education.So thirty-nine non-English majors(thirty-one females,eight males)of a college in Xi'an,aged from 18 to 19,took part in this study.In order to guarantee the reliability and validity of tests,there were three tests for subjects,including one vocabulary knowledge test and two speaking competence tests.Vocabulary knowledge test consisted of two parts: breadth of knowledge test and depth of vocabulary knowledge test.Vocabulary knowledge test was pen and paper test,speaking competence tests were oral testswhich recorded by phone.All original data were analyzed by Paired Sample T Test and Pearson Correlation Analysis with SPSS 18.The results in this study showed that there were significant high and positive correlations among breadth of vocabulary knowledge,depth of vocabulary knowledge and speaking competence,which meant the more words the learner knows,the better the word he masters;depth of vocabulary knowledge affected speaking competence much more deeper than breadth of vocabulary knowledge.And some advice is presented in the end of this study to make sure second language learners can acquire vocabulary knowledge efficiently.