2012/12/01 by DONGBO ZHANG, Dongbo Zhang · 2 citations
Psychology · Computer Science · #Second Language Acquisition and Learning #Reading and Literacy Development #Text Readability and Simplification
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.2012.01398.x
Abstract Using structural equation modeling analysis, this study examined the contribution of vocabulary and grammatical knowledge to second language reading comprehension among 190 advanced Chinese English as a foreign language learners. Vocabulary knowledge was measured in both breadth (Vocabulary Levels Test) and depth (Word Associates Test); grammatical measures focused on learners' implicit (timed grammaticality judgment task), as well as explicit knowledge (grammatical error correction task); reading comprehension had three indicators, namely, co‐reference, textual inference, and gist. Vocabulary knowledge related significantly to reading comprehension; grammatical knowledge showed a weak contribution to reading comprehension after controlling for the effect of vocabulary knowledge. In addition, learners' implicit knowledge of grammar had a stronger relationship to reading comprehension than explicit knowledge, over and above the effect of vocabulary size.