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Vocabulary size revisited: the link between vocabulary size and academic achievement

James Milton, Jim Milton

Applied Linguistics Review, Volume: 4, Issue: 3, Pages: 151 - 172

Swansea University Author: Jim Milton

Abstract

Many researchers have tried to assess the number of words adults know. A general conclusion which emerges from such studies is that vocabularies of English monolingual adults are very large with considerable variation. This variation is important given that the vocabulary size of schoolchildren in t...

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Published in: Applied Linguistics Review
Published: 2013
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa13625
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Abstract: Many researchers have tried to assess the number of words adults know. A general conclusion which emerges from such studies is that vocabularies of English monolingual adults are very large with considerable variation. This variation is important given that the vocabulary size of schoolchildren in the early years of school is thought to materially affect subsequent educational attainment. The data is difficult to interpret, however, because of the different methodologies which researchers use. The study in this paper uses the frequency-based vocabulary size test from Goulden et al (1990) and investigates the vocabulary knowledge of undergraduates in three British universities. The results suggest that monolingual speaker vocabulary sizes may be much smaller than is generally thought with far less variation than is usually reported. An average figure of about 10,000 English words families emerges for entrants to university. This figure suggests that many students must struggle with the comprehension of university level texts.
Keywords: vocabulary size, first language
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Issue: 3
Start Page: 151
End Page: 172