Canadian Modern Language Review

This article has two goals: to report on the trialling of fourteen 1,000 word-family lists made from the British National Corpus, and to use these lists to see what vocabulary size is needed for unassisted comprehension of written and spoken English. The trialling showed that the lists were properly sequenced and there were no glaring omissions from the lists. If 98% coverage of a text is needed for unassisted comprehension, then a 8,000 to 9,000 word-family vocabulary is needed for comprehension of written text and a vocabulary of 6,000 to 7,000 for spoken text.

Most research on the acquisition of second language vocabulary has depended on estimates of vocabulary size, or 'breadth' measures, rather than on estimates of 'depth' defined either in terms of kinds of knowledge of specific words or in terms of degrees of such knowledge. Breadth tests provide rough comparative estimates of individuals' overall vocabulary knowledge, useful for such purposes as placement in instructional programs, and for charting group gains for purposes such as program evaluation. However, such measures have a number of limitations, an obvious one being that they do not measure how well given words are known (Read, 1988); thus they are of limited value in studies of the vocabulary acquisition process or in assessment of curriculum-related vocabulary learning. Few procedures and even fewer test instruments have been proposed that attempt to carry out these functions. This article surveys existing second language (L2) vocabulary measures of both kinds and describes in detail a recently developed instrument designed to assess levels of familiarity with given words, the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) (Paribakht & Wesche, 1993a, 1993b).

Nghiên cứu thực nghiệm này đã khám phá mối quan hệ giữa độ sâu và bề rộng của kiến thức từ vựng và khả năng đọc hiểu trong tiếng Anh như một ngôn ngữ thứ hai (ESL). Bằng cách sử dụng các phân tích đa biến, nghiên cứu đã kiểm tra vai trò của độ sâu và bề rộng của kiến thức từ vựng trong việc đánh giá hiệu suất của một nhóm người học ESL trẻ tuổi với kích thước từ vựng tối thiểu là 3.000 gia đình từ trong việc thực hiện các nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu học thuật chung. Kết quả hỗ trợ cho các giả thuyết rằng (1) điểm số về kích thước từ vựng, độ sâu của kiến thức từ vựng và khả năng đọc hiểu có mối tương quan cao và tích cực; và (2) điểm số về độ sâu của kiến thức từ vựng có thể đóng góp một cách độc đáo vào việc dự đoán mức độ đọc hiểu, bên cạnh những dự đoán mà điểm số kích thước từ vựng cung cấp. Các phát hiện từ nghiên cứu này kêu gọi sự công nhận tầm quan trọng của việc cải thiện độ sâu của kiến thức từ vựng trong quá trình học tiếng Anh của người học ESL.

Immersion and other intensive language programs produce both linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes. A principal non-linguistic outcome would be a willingness to communicate in the second language (L2), given the opportunity. Both increasing perceived competence and lowering anxiety help to foster a willingness to communicate. These variables are related to motivation for language learning and are expected to differ between immersion and non-immersion learners. Among university-level students, this study evaluates differences between immersion and non-immersion students in willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, perceived competence, and frequency of communicating. Also examined are elements of integrative motivation. Differences between immersion and non-immersion groups are observed in the communication-related variables, but not in motivation. Correlations among these variables also differ between the groups. Results are examined in terms of Skehan's notion of talking in order to learn and a model of L2 willingness to communicate

The present study had two purposes: (a) to replicate previous research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for language learning in French Canadian students of English, and (b) to consider the relations between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the integrative orientation. Québécois university students (N = 59) in a summer English immersion course completed a questionnaire addressing their reasons for language learning, perceptions of autonomy and competence, effort expended in language learning, determination to pursue English studies, and course achievement. The results of correlational analyses supported the predicted relations between theoretical antecedents and consequences of intrinsic and extrinsic orientations. The integrative orientation correlated most strongly with the intrinsic orientation. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of these orientations for language learning outcomes.

This study concerns adult immigrants' perceptions of their own pronunciation problems and the consequences of speaking with a foreign accent. Interviews were conducted with 100 intermediate proficiency ESL students (58 of whom belonged to a visible minority). Over half the respondents felt that pronunciation played a role in their communication problems, yet when asked what their pronunciation difficulties were, many were unable to answer. Those who did identify problems tended to focus on a small set of salient segmental units that generally have little effect on intelligibility. When asked whether they had been discriminated against because of accent, two thirds said no, but when asked if people would respect them more if they pronounced English well, the majority agreed. In light of the students' comments, recommendations are made for pronunciation instruction guided by intelligibility rather than salience; it is also suggested that the politics of accent and bias be explored with ESL students.